Shouting at the Sea

It's no easy task to get an audience to connect with, and care about, a film's characters in just 20 minutes, but Ben Verrall and his team of co-writers achieve this brilliantly with Shouting at the Sea. It manages to do what all great character-driven films do: Make poignant heartache somehow feel redemptive and uplifting.

The performances of the two protagonists are wonderful, played subtly and seemingly effortlessly, allowing the watcher to feel as if they're glimpsing a moment of reality - one that is shot beautifully, managing to capture the essence of a once-great seaside town in need of the love and attention so clearly craved by one of its inhabitants. The addition of the ever-brilliant Daisy Haggard as the voice of the sea is a great touch, bringing a poeticism very much in keeping with the piece.

I'll very much look forward to what this up-and-coming British director produces next.

This too short film makes you think, feel, reflect and see... with a great score- and subtle writing and tender performances.

It captures the gaps, traps and memories of one's youth... with the sea as a backing track or character who has seen it all.

Such assured pace and silence and shouts.

Must sea. Must watch.

I'd highly recommend you take the time to absorb this. Rewatch if possible. And see how friendships are formed, forgotten and found again when childhood leaves and adulthood arrives.

A sweet lament to the passing of time and what is success, what is happiness and how we look forward or back in our lives.

Absolutely loved it - the cinematography, the pacing, the framing, the wonderfully 'simple' script that allowed so much said and unsaid to give body and real depth to the characters. Excellent performances too from Harry Michell and Maddie Rice, each delivering an honest and gentle reflection on friendship and youth and what it means to stay or to go.

Shot on location in Hastings, there is an affectionate specificity about some of the scenes, but it's clear that the Film Makers have an excellent eye for place and space and this town is very much every town, every where, in which people stayed in, and people left - and a genuine curiosity for what 'home' means.

Added to that the wonderful backdrop & scope of the sea, voiced by the fantastic Daisy Haggards adds a real poetry to what is a really thoughtful and beautiful film.

A beautifully crafted short film that poignantly explores the essence of human connections, capturing the fragility, warmth, and profound impact of the bonds we share.

The two leads share a refreshingly authentic chemistry-raw, vulnerable, and genuine. Set against the charming backdrop of an out-of-season seaside town, Hastings provides the perfect setting for the characters to reconnect and reflect on their shared history.

Exceptional performances, stunning cinematography and a captivating spoken word soundtrack enhance the film's magic.

Highly recommended for fans of intelligent, emotionally charged cinema.

A beautifully written short film, convincingly acted by Harry Michell and Maddie Rice with stylish direction from Benjamin Verrall and atmospheric music and cinematography. On one level this short film feels quite gentle and subtle, but on another, I found it much deeper and thoughtful.

Set in the seaside town of Hastings out of season, two old school friends reconnect years later and gradually try and understand the past while getting to know each other in the present. The sea (voiced by Daisy Haggard) narrates as its waves endlessly break onto the shore.

I was totally convinced by the outstanding performances and left wondering not only about them but about my own life...but surely everyone sometimes wonders about the paths they've taken and the people they left behind on the way, don't they?