Watch Over Me - New Bristol Film Released
Posted on: 02 Jun 2016Watch Over Me is the new film from award winning Bristolian film maker Simon Pearce. It is a 30-minute action extravaganza, and is one of the most exciting films to come out of Bristol in a long time.
The film stars Pearce's long-time collaborator and friend Oliver Park (who is also one of the film's producers) as the unnamed lead and features an array of other local talent such as Kate Marie Davies, Tim J. Henley and Steve Speak. It tells the story of a mysterious drifter arriving in an unfamiliar city. He's looking for some kind of redemption, and thanks to a girl who's made some mistakes in life, he might just get a shot at redeeming himself.
Watch Over Me toured the festival circuit in 2015 to great success in winning three awards - Best Short Film and Magic City Comic Con in Miami, Best Action Short at the Buffalo Dreams Film Festival and the Platinum Award for Original Drama at World Fest in Houston.
To make the film, Pearce and Park invested their own money into the project, and called on an array of local talent both in front of and behind the camera. While Pearce took on writing, directing and editing duties - local cinematographer Paul Dudbridge took on the monumental task of shooting and lighting the gritty drama. Thanks to Pearce and Dudbridge's brilliant working relationship, the film looks like a work of art. Beautifully lit, wonderfully shot and the action is all captured perfectly. Action is a major part of Watch Over Me - the fight scenes have been meticulously coordinated by Joe Golby (who also worked on Ridley Scott's Robin Hood), and performed by an amazing stunt team as well as Oliver Park himself, who doesn't have a stunt double - he's just crazy enough to do them himself. The fight scenes have plenty of gasp-out-loud moments that will make you wonder how anyone came out of the shoot unscathed - they're just that believable.
While it's true that some action movies prefer good action to engaging characters and a believable story, Watch Over Me is an exception to this rule. While watching the film, you can't help but feel for Park's nameless lead and Holly George's Emma. Their performances are such that you want them to be okay, and you care about what happens to them. The script is very well thought out, and it just leaves you wanting more and more.
Watch Over Me kicks ass, takes names and delivers on every level. And the best bit? You can watch this amazing film in its entirety right now via this Vimeo link.
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Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
