**Winner at the Shine Award at Bradford Film Festival. Highly Commended for the performance of actor Kentaro Suyama.**
*"Funny, touching and beautifully put together"
- Richard Holmes (Producer Eden Lake and Shooting Fish*
Toshi
A lonely businessman, a cheating wife, a crazy drunk.
15 minute short film. Shot on the RED ONE.
Writer/Director: Jon Gilbert
Producer: Matt Grimwood
Director of Photoraphy: Christopher Ross
Starring: Kentaro Suyama, Sandy Foster
IMDB
Festival Screenings:
2009
Palm Springs ShortsFest, USA
Berlin Interfilm Festival, Germany
Moscow 27plus Fesitval, Russia
2010
16th Bradford International Film Festival, UK (Award Winner)
Hill County Film Festival, USA
BeFilm Festival, USA
Awkward loser Toshi is a socially-inept young Japanese businessman who finds himself in London with a group of older colleagues who ignore and exclude him at every turn.
Stranded in a lonely hotel when his colleagues sneak off to enjoy the city’s night-life, Toshi’s evening goes from bad to worse when he discovers that no sooner had his plane left the tarmac at Tokyo International than his wife had jumped into the arms of another man.
As he stands on the brink of ending it all, Toshi is jolted out of his despair when a bang at his hotel room door introduces him to a collapsed drunken bride-to-be, attempting to return from her hen night.
Forced to look after the brash bride, Toshi engages in a tongue-tied tête-à-têtes, during which he learns some surprising things about his current state of affairs that make him re-evaluate his imploding world and see things from a fresh perspective…
Writer & Director - Jon Gilbert
Regarded as one of the UK’s most exciting emerging talents. In 2006, Jon was signed to Independent Talent after his debut screenplay, The Sculptress and the Thief, came third in the international Final Draft ‘ Big Break’ competition.
Judge Joel Schumacher (Phone Booth, Tigerland, Batman Forever) described the script as “original, fascinating, visual and full of surprises”, and it has been optioned by Gifted Pictures, producing in collaboration with Oscar-winning producer David Parfit (Shakespeare In Love).
As well as maintaining a successful career as a screenwriter, Jon has directed a number of low-budget short films,including From The Embers (35mm, 2005), Timebomb (16mm, 2004) and The Confidence Trick (35mm, 2003) that was screened at the LA Shorts, Portobello and St Louis.
Director of Photography - Christopher Ross
Already a flourishing feature film cinematographer. A long time collaborator of Jon’s, they have formed a successful and creative partnership.
After successfully completing camera work on films such as Atonement (2007) and Control (2007) Chris has recently become recognised for his work as cinematographer with director Paul Andrew Williams on the celebrated British feature films London to Brighton (2006) and The Cottage (2008). More recently, Chris has completed work on Eden Lake (2008) and Malice in Wonderland (2009)
In July 2008 Chris was winner of the Kodak ‘Best Cinematography Award’ for his work on BAFTA nominated short film Soft.
Toshi - Kentaro Sumaya
Born in Takasaki, Gunma, Japan. Kentaro moved to the UK in 1995 and has pursued a successful career as an actor and teacher specialising in the Corporeal Mime physical theatre technique.
The Bride - Sandy Foster
Sandy trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama where she graduated with Honours in 2007. Toshi marked her very first foray into film.
A Lazarus Films / Wild Honey production in association with Pulse Films and Pogo Films.
Made with the assistance of Working Title Films, The Pinewood Group, Kodak, Panavision, Panalux, Buckingham Fine Art and The Crowne Plaza Hotel Docklands.