''Friend Request Pending'' is a 2011 British

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

short film written and produced by Chris Croucher and directed by Chris Foggin. It stars Judi Dench, Tom Hiddleston, and Philip Jackson. It was included in the feature film ''

Stars in Shorts ''Stars In Shorts'' is a 2012 compilation of seven movie-star-filled short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines ...

''.

Plot

Mary (Dench) and Linda (Ryder) spend an afternoon discussing the pleasures, pitfalls and problems with using

social networking A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...

to try and woo the local

choirmaster A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

and Mary's new love interest, Trevor (Jackson). While chatting on Facebook, Mary's son Tom (Hiddleston) IM's her, earning a response from Linda about wanting to " poke" him. When Linda leaves to go to the market, Trevor finally gains the courage and asks Mary out. When Linda returns, she finds Mary has gone out with Trevor, and decides to do a little Facebook flirting of her own and decides to send a friend request to Tom.

Cast

* Judi Dench as Mary * Tom Hiddleston as Tom * Philip Jackson as Trevor * John Macmillan as Jason, Tom's friend *Penny Ryder as Linda

Production

Development

Production began on FRP back in December 2010 when director Chris Foggin first approached writer Chris Croucher with the information that Judi Dench had agreed to make a project with him. Penny Ryder has been a close friend of Judi's for years, so when the offer came to play opposite Judi, as her best friend, she didn't waste any time saying yes.

Filming

The film was shot in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

, England over the course of two days in May 2011.

Awards

The short film won Best Comedy Short at the 2012 Rhode Island Film Festival and received the Director's Choice Award for Best Comedy Film at the 2012 Ricon Film Festival. It gained the Audience Special Recognition at the 2012 Aspen ShortsFest, Short Film Honorable Mention at the 2012 Omaha Film Festival, and Special Jury Award for the Best Ensemble Cast at the 2012 Savannah Film Festival.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 2069775 British romance films British comedy-drama short films Films about social media 2010s English-language films 2010s British films