''Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1993 British short

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

film written and directed by

Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in '' The Thick of It'' (2005–2012), for ...

. It stars Richard E. Grant as

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

and co-stars

Ken Stott Kenneth Campbell Stott (born 19 October 1954) is a Scottish stage, television and film actor who won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1995 in the play '' Broken Glass'' at Royal National Theatre. He portrayed th ...

. The title refers to the name of the writer Franz Kafka and the 1946 film ''

It's a Wonderful Life ''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet ''The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern self-published in 1943 and is in turn loos ...

'', directed by Frank Capra, and the plot takes the concept of the two to absurd depths. The film features a rendition of "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life" from the 1910 operetta '' Naughty Marietta''. In 1994, the short won the

BAFTA Award for Best Short Film This page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best British Short Film for each year. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, child ...

. The following year it won the

Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under various names, since 1957. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, "Best Short Subject, One- ...

, tying with ''

Trevor Trevor ( Trefor in the Welsh language) is a common given name or surname of Welsh origin. It is an habitational name, deriving from the Welsh ''tre(f)'', meaning "homestead", or "settlement" and ''fawr'', meaning "large, big". The Cornish la ...

''.

Synopsis

The great writer

is about to write his famous 1915 work, ''

The Metamorphosis ''Metamorphosis'' (german: Die Verwandlung) is a novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, ''Metamorphosis'' tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himsel ...

'', but inspiration is lacking, and he suffers continual interruptions.

Cast

* Richard E. Grant –

* Crispin Letts – Gregor Samsa *

– Woland the Knifeman * Elaine Collins – Miss Cicely *

Phyllis Logan Phyllis Logan (born 11 January 1956) is a Scottish actress, known for playing Lady Jane Felsham in ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1993) and Mrs Hughes (later Carson) in ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2015). She won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer f ...

– Frau Bunofsky *

Julie Cox Julie Cox is an English actress. She played Princess Irulan in the Sci Fi Channel's 2000 miniseries ''Frank Herbert's Dune'' and its 2003 sequel, ''Frank Herbert's Children of Dune''. She also played The Childlike Empress in ''The Neverending ...

– Party Girl *

Jessie Doyle Jessie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jessie (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jessie (surname), a list of people Arts and entertainment * ''Jessie'' (2011 TV series), a 2011–15 Disney Channel ...

– Party Girl * Samantha Howarth – Party Girl *

Justine Luxton Justine may refer to: People * Jean-Lou Justine (born 1955), male French scientist * Saint Justine of Padua (died 304), a Christian martyr * Justine Bateman (born 1966), American film actress * Justine Clarke (born 1971), Australian actress * ...

– Party Girl * Laura Reiss – Party Girl * Thea Tait – Party Girl * Lucy Woodhouse – Party Girl

Accolades

References

External links

* *
Full record for ''Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life''
at the National Library of Scotland 1993 films 1993 comedy films Live Action Short Film Academy Award winners English-language Scottish films Works about Franz Kafka Cultural depictions of Franz Kafka Films directed by Peter Capaldi Scottish films BBC Scotland television shows 1993 short films British comedy short films 1990s English-language films {{short-comedy-film-stub