"The Priest"

31 January 2020

5 mins 49s

Silver linings prayer book.

Siblings Andrew and Rebecca are given some unorthodox advice in director Jim Owen’s pitch-black comedy set in a church. Seeking answers after their brother’s suicide (or even just something to eat), the pair are ‘comforted’ by a priest (Rachel Stubbings) who is not all she seems. First and foremost, how does she know so much about comically botched suicides?

The straight-talking cleric’s description of faces blown off by shotgun, overdose-related organ failure, and extensive brain damage (“He thinks he’s a satsuma”) is highly disturbing, leavened by the deadpan reactions of co-leads Jack Berry and Liz Kingsman. If it doesn’t touch a nerve, it will make you laugh.

UK

Short Film