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The University of Southampton
Winchester School of Art

The Problemless Anonymous - an Update

Published: 14 March 2017
Still from the film

We previously published a news item about Gary Roberts, a WSA Graphic Arts alumni, who is now a filmmaker, and his latest work, 'The Problemless Anonymous'.

You can read that story here

Gary has recently been in touch with an update, and we thought you'd be interested to know how this former student is getting on.

The film has just finished it's run on a prestigious international festival circuit grabbing a number of awards along the way. Including the Méliès d’Argent prize for best European Fantasy Short Film. It was also part of the BAFTA-Qualifying London Short Film Festival's 2017 programme.

And the film is now available to watch online at https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2017/02/27/the-problemless-anonymous

The film description reads: "What could go wrong in a world where being perfect is illegal? Sadly, Ivan has tested positive for perfection and the law states he must attend an imperfection clinic in order to assimilate to the flawed world around him."

 

Gary says: "Over a coffee a few years ago, writer Samuel Barber told me about a story he’d written called “The Problemless Anonymous”. Straight away I thought it was such an original concept, and it stayed with me for a long time after we met. But the best thing about it was it kept making me think.

I started to find myself contemplating details about how that world work. What would it look like? How would people act towards each other? What are the repercussions in a world with these rules? It challenged me.

So, I definitely set out to make a film that challenged the audience to think, it asks more questions than it gives answers, but they’re the sort of films I enjoy and ultimately the kind I would love to keep making. It’s a non-standard sci-fi film probably more in line with the Twilight Zone episodes or Tales of the Unexpected.

The film was commissioned by Talkies Community Cinema and Short Sighted Cinema in London as a local borough funded scheme where they offer a local filmmaker £500 to make a short film utilising the local area as inspiration and filming locations. Shot over 2 days in early 2016, this production couldn’t have been possible without the collaborative spirit and dedication of a crew of friends. Thanks to their commitment we managed to get this film made and I am immensely grateful."

 

We wish Gary all the best for his film and future career.

More information about BA Graphic Arts which Gary studied, can be found at https://www.southampton.ac.uk/wsa/undergraduate/courses/w210_ba_graphic_arts.page

 

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