''James'' is a 2008 Northern Irish

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

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 a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

. The film stars

Niall Wright Niall Wright (born 26 July 1991) is an actor born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He trained as a child at the Gwyneth Murdock School of Drama and studied professionally at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He also studied a business degree at U ...

as James, a teenage boy attempting to come to terms with his burgeoning

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

Plot summary

James (

) is a withdrawn and secretive teenager, coming from a family with long-buried secrets. With no friends and a refusal to confide with his parents (Margaret Goodman and Gerry Doherty), he faces an inner battle as he comes to terms with his sexuality. His literature teacher, Mr. Sutherland (Matt Jennings), is his sole beacon of hope, believing that he may understand the trouble he faces. However, in his moment of need, Sutherland, concerned by the risks involved, fails to provide James with the support he needs. Devoid of hope, he makes an audacious decision to turn to seemingly the last person who can help, an old man (Louis Rolston) that he meets in the public toilets.

Reception

The film won ''Best Northern Irish Short'' at the

Belfast Film Festival The Belfast Film Festival is Northern Ireland's largest film festival, attracting over 25,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1995, the festival has grown to include the Docs Ireland international documentary festival, as well as an Audi ...

, the ''Iris Prize for Best UK Short'', and ''Best International Short'' at the

St. Louis International Film Festival The St. Louis International Film Festival (also known as SLIFF or Cinema St. Louis) is an annual film festival in St. Louis, Missouri, which has been running since 1992. The coordinating organization changed its name to "Cinema St. Louis" in 200 ...

in 2008. In January, it beat 6,000 other entries to be one of 22 short films that was selected for the International Dramatic Competition at

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

. It was also part of the Sundance iTunes 10/10.Belfast Telegraph
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Awards

*April 2008 Best Northern Irish Film, Belfast Film Festival 2008 *August 2008 Best Short Gaze Dublin International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2008 *August 2008 Jury Award Best Student Short Palm Springs Shortfest 2008 *October 2008

Iris Prize The Iris Prize, established in by Berwyn Rowlands of The Festivals Company, is an international LGBT film prize and festival which is open to any film which is by, for, about or of interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex au ...

Festival Best UK Short 2008 *October 2008 Outlook Award Best LGBT Short Film 53rd Corona Cork Film Festival *October 2008 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival Award of Merit *November 2008 Best International Short 17th Annual Saint Louis International Film Festival *April 2009 Bronze Palm Award, Mexico International Film Festival *May 2009 Best Foreign Film, NYC Downtown Short Film Festival

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 1351642, James 2008 films 2008 short films British LGBT-related films British short films British teen LGBT-related films LGBT-related coming-of-age films LGBT-related short films 2008 LGBT-related films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films