Short film set in Newport starring Game of Thrones actor to premiere at festival

Stephen Price

A Wales-shot short film starring Game of Thrones’ Owen Teale that is fifteen years in the making is set to receive its UK premiere at Carmarthen Bay Film Festival later this month.

Something Pointless follows an intergenerational bond that forms between a lonely, bullied boy and an elderly man whose quiet, pointless daily ritual becomes an unlikely act of defiance against insignificance.

Written by Neil Graham and David Cormican, the film was shot entirely in Newport, with a Welsh-led cast, and is picking up accolades fast, having been nominated for the Best Short Film Made in Wales (John Hefin) Award as part of the Carmarthen Bay Film Festival, among additional Best Short Film nominations for scheduled upcoming international film festival screenings.

The short’s Emmy-nominated Producer David Cormican shared: “This film has been a labour of love — rooted in a remarkable screenplay that has patiently waited nearly fifteen years to reach the screen. We believe audiences are going to feel it deeply.”

The film also has an unbelievable 15-year backstory, with the screenplay winning Canada’s Short Screenplay Competition in 2010 before it finally reached the screen.

Director, Asa Bailey added: “Something Pointless is a film that embraces pure, unapologetic sentimentality.

“It’s a rare opportunity to portray what it means to be human without frills or fads — just heartfelt storytelling rooted in the textures and truths of a real community.

“We are so proud of what this extraordinary cast and crew have made, and we can’t wait for audiences to experience it.”

The stellar cast features BAFTA winning Welsh actor Owen Teale (Game of Thrones, Dream Horse), Olivier winner Sophie Thompson (Gosford Park), Sule Rimi (SAG nominee, The Day of the Jackal, Andor), and Swansea-based young performer Leo Harris (The Count of Monte Cristo) in the lead.

The film world-premiered at the USA Film Festival in Dallas this spring, and American critic Jeff York — who’s covered the Academy Award shorts for 15 years came out of that screening calling it “a genuine contender for such accolades.”

Connection

Cormican shared: “Bringing Something Pointless home to Wales feels like the final piece of a very long puzzle. This story has always belonged here — it was written for these landscapes, these rhythms, these people.

“To screen it in Llanelli at Carmarthen Bay, in front of an audience that will understand instinctively what Asa has made, is genuinely one of the moments I’ve been working toward since we started this journey.

“The John Hefin nomination is the icing on the cake — an honour named for a man who dedicated his life to Welsh storytelling, attached to a film that tries to honour exactly that tradition.”

Working with a Welsh cast, in Wales, was vital for the production. Cormican said: “Neil Graham’s script — which won the Canadian Short Screenplay Competition back in 2010 — was always rooted in a very specific kind of community. A place where people still know their neighbours, where a strange old man painting eggshells on a wall might actually be left alone to do it. That felt intrinsically Welsh to us.

“When Asa came on board, he brought his own deep connection to that landscape — he lives and works in Bala, in the heart of north Wales — so the casting followed naturally. Owen Teale is one of the great Welsh actors of his generation. Leo Harris, our young lead, is from Swansea. We wanted audiences in Wales to see themselves on screen — and audiences everywhere else to discover something they didn’t know they were missing.”

As for the long journey to bring the production to life, he added: “There’s something almost fitting about a film that asks whether anything truly pointless can leave a lasting mark, taking fifteen years to reach the screen. Neil Graham won the CSSC competition in 2010 with this script. We’ve carried it carefully ever since, waiting for the right moment, the right team, the right home. Wales gave us all three.”

Film critic Jeff York wrote: “Something Pointless, written by Neil Graham and David Cormican, and directed by Asa Bailey, is an involving tale, smartly told in just over 14 minutes. It tells the parallel story of two troubled individuals in a small town in the UK: a sensitive boy being bullied in middle school and a senior citizen whose life philosophy is put to the test as his days start to wane.

“The way Something Pointless is put together expresses both artistry and adroitness. It’s economically shot and edited, with no fat or excess, but it packs an emotional punch almost every second. Case in point, the unhappy boy is shown repeatedly in a montage having to clean out the stains from his shirts in a school sink, time after time, suggesting that this ordeal is daily and goes on for months.”

“It never uses subtitles to suggest the passage of time, only crisp editing. And that suggestion of time is important to the timeline, as parallel to the boy’s troubles are Evans’ efforts to collect as many eggshells as he can from his breakfast each morning to use in a town art project he’s started.

“Both lead actors are subtle, portraying their angst and insecurities without overplaying the pathos. Just how their stories will converge remains one of the cleverest conceits of the imaginative script. And the production values rival any feature, from its lovely cinematography by Keefa Chan to the rich score by Andrea Belluci. The whole enterprise moves fast, but never feels rushed. And don’t be surprised if there’s a tear in your eye by the end.

He added: “As a critic who’s covered the Academy Award-nominated shorts for 15 years now, this one feels like a genuine contender for such accolades. I’m sure it will figure in the awards at many of the festivals it will be a part of in the coming months.

“I won’t say anything else about Something Pointless except to implore you to look for it playing at a festival near you, or perhaps on a streaming platform you subscribe to, in the near future.

“It likely will be a part of the Chicago International Film Festival this fall as they always have a robust shorts programs.

“And while you’re at it, seek out other exceptional short films too as they not only often have all the storytelling qualities you’d find in features, but they’re short and sweet for everyone’s fractured world and sparseness of time.”

Taking place 18-21 May, Carmarthen Bay Film Festival champions the very best in independent film making and film-makers in Wales and from around the world. Find out more here.