''Dad's Dead'' is a seven-minute award winning

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

written and directed by

Chris Shepherd Chris Shepherd (born 11 December 1967) is a double BAFTA nominated television/film writer and director. Born in Anfield, Liverpool, Lancashire, in 1967. He is mainly known for combining live action with animation. His work fuses comedy with com ...

, commissioned by animate!. It was first transmitted on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

, in 2003. Mixing

animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

with live action, it deals with how memory works. On 27 August 2007 ''Dad's Dead'' was released as an extra on the DVD release of

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including ''Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel ''T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', '' 28 Days Later'', '' Su ...

's science fiction film ''

Sunshine Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when th ...

''. A new remastered HD version of the film was released for the first time in January 2015 to coincide with the completion of the 2016 sequel Johnno's Dead.

Synopsis

Ian Hart Ian Davies (born 8 October 1964), better known by his stage name Ian Hart, is an English actor. His most notable roles are Rabbit in the Channel Four drama miniseries ''One Summer'' (1983), Joe O'Reilly in the biopic ''Michael Collins'' (1996) ...

plays the narrator, an urban storyteller who relives his youth in 1970s and 80s

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. The narrator opens by asking the viewer if they ever think about the people they went to school with. He goes on to talk about his "best mate", Johnno, a popular and rebellious boy at school. However, Johnno turns out to be a thoroughly obnoxious and violent person, frequently swindling, stealing, vandalizing property and generally committing antisocial acts. He apparently enjoys

cruelty to animals Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or harm upon non-human animals. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suf ...

, throwing hamsters and cats off high-rise flats and bricking ducks. Johnno once confused the narrator by falsely telling him his father had died (hence the film's title). The film then shows Johnno (whose face distorts into an ugly caricature every time he commits an unpleasant act) first beating up the narrator, then inviting him to the house of a "mate" — a blind man who thinks Johnno is his best friend, while Johnno in fact vandalizes his house, leaves maggot-infested food in his kitchen and even spits on him, all without the man being aware of it. The climax of the film has Johnno leaving the narrator unconscious as he

burns Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...

the blind man's apartment — a crime for which the narrator is wrongly imprisoned. At the end, the narrator's elderly mother is shown answering the door to her

Meals on Wheels Meals on Wheels is a programme that delivers meals to individuals at home who are unable to purchase or prepare their own meals. The name is often used generically to refer to home-delivered meals programmes, not all of which are actually named ...

carer - who turns out to be Johnno, laughing nastily as he enters the old woman's home.

Awards

2003

* Winner of Best Short Film,

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...

* Winner of The Quantel Animation Award at Rushes Soho Shorts Festival * Winner of The Metropolis Prize at L’Isola Del Cinema Festival in Rome, Italy * Winner of The Grand Prize at Cabbagetown Film & Video Festival, Toronto * Winner of The Encouragement Award at Fantoche International Animation Fest. Switzerland * Winner of Special Video Award at Split International Festival of New Film, Croatia * Winner of Best Independent Animation Award at FAN International Animation Festival, Norwich * Winner of Best Animation Award at Kino International Film Festival, Manchester * Winner of Best Professional Film Award at BAF! International Animation Festival, Bradford * Winner of Special Prize at DaKino Film Festival, Romania * Winner of Third Prize at Animadrid, IV International Animation Festival, Spain

2004

* Nominated for Best Animation Short, BAFTA Film Awards * Winner of Best Short Film at the British Animation Awards * Winner of Best film at Cutting Edge, British Animation Awards * Winner of Honourable Mention (Editing) at Carolina Film and Video Festival, USA * Winner of Best Film, Pitcher and Piano Awards, London * Winner of Honourable Mention at

Ann Arbor Film Festival The Ann Arbor Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Ann Arbor in the U.S. state of Michigan. Established in 1963, it is the fourth-oldest film festival in North America (after the Yorkton Film Festival, 1947; Columbus International Film ...

, USA * Winner of Honourable Mention at Bermuda International Film Festival, USA * Winner of Silver Remi Award at Worldfest Houston International Film Festival, USA * Honourable Mention at Los Angeles International Film Festival, USA An animate! commission funded by

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

and

DVD releases

*Shorts! Volume 1 December 2003. USA. Region 1. ASIN:B00013UGE6. As part of compilation with The Making Of Dad's Dead and director's commentary. *onedotzero_selectdvd2 January 2004. UK. All regions. ASIN:B000189K80. As part of a compilation with The Making Of Dad's Dead. *Animatic Volume 1 2004. France. Reperages Magagzine. All regions. As part of a compilation. *Sunshine August 2007. UK. Region 2. ASIN:B000S6UZEM. As extra. *Sunshine October 2007. UK. Region 2. Blu-ray. ASIN:B000VIRD6U. As extra. *Sunshine January 2008. USA. Region 1. ASIN:B000Y7U98C. As extra. *Sunshine January 2008. USA. Region 1. Blu-ray. ASIN:B000Y7U98W. As extra. *Motion Blur 2 January 2008. UK. All regions. . Interview and feature on director with film on DVD. *Chris Shepherd - Beyond Animation 2014. France. All regions. As part of compilation.

Sources

*http://www.dadsdead.com *http://www.chrisshepherdfilms.com
animate!: Dad's Dead
*{{IMDb title, 0350754, Dad's Dead *https://web.archive.org/web/20060724033236/http://www.sundancechannel.com/film/?ixFilmID=6873 *http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/filmnetwork/A8659407 *http://www.realmovienews.com/dvd/news/1231 2003 animated films 2003 films 2003 short films 2000s animated short films 2003 drama films British animated short films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films