With the election less than two months away, we are rapidly running out of time to make fun of the current government. So here's Coalition Fangirls, a short film that shows just how very, very much Clegg and Cameron mean to young female voters — less One Direction perhaps than wrong direction.
Part of the film was shot in the shadow of Big Ben, which you’d think might be tricky, but according to the film's writer-director Charlie Dinkin it was surprisingly easy:
"Officially, you're not allowed to film in Parliament Square without a permit, but you can film almost everywhere else in the area as long as you don't use a tripod or have a large crew. We shot the whole film on a DSLR and used radio mics so we could be as subtle as possible. I don't know if Brits are just too polite, desensitised to public activity, or expect bizarre things to be happening around that area, but we didn't really get much attention at all.
“I try to make films that are thought-provoking without being too leading: so my main hope is just that viewers consider how they personally feel about and engage with politics. Saying that, the fact that it's about teenage girls isn't incidental. Women — particularly young women — are yet to be genuinely invited into a lot of arenas of power, so no wonder that when they're sold to — specifically via the manipulation of pop stars or celebrities — this feels like a much easier thing to care about. But we need to make sure that we always turn up and demand our seat at the table, even if it's not the easiest or most fun option.
"I'm definitely political in that I want to have an understanding of the decisions that are being made on my behalf. I love comedy, because it's one of the clearest and most impactful ways to introduce an element of non-aggressive dissent, which is essential for keeping power in check."
Dinkin's film came about via co-operation between the Roundhouse Online Film Fund and Ideas Tap (which sadly announced it was shutting down this month — though you can join the campaign to keep them open here). Coalition Fangirls was shown recently at the LOCO London Comedy Film Festival.
Want to be featured? If you have a London-themed short film that you’d like us to consider for this series, send an email with the subject “London Shorts” to Stu Black and Ioanna Karavela via our email: [email protected]
To see other London Shorts click here (but please note, links may not always work if the filmmakers are showing their shorts in competition).
