Third Year University of Nottingham student Theo Gee had never studied anything related to film or media before he made his first short Amber, a 24-minute psychological thriller about the relationship between a hostage and her captors. “I read that a famous director urged young filmmakers not to study film, but to instead study something which would give them a good and unique perspective on life, like English, History or Philosophy.” The influence of his chosen subject, Psychology, is clear throughout the film. “My co-writer Ian Bousher pitched me the concept for the short based around a psychological condition called Stockholm syndrome (where a hostage falls in love with the captor), and the reciprocal condition called Lima Syndrome (where the captor falls in love with the hostage). It presented a really challenging topic to write a believable script about, but we read a lot of journals about the conditions to get a better understanding for just how they developed these situations. We were then able to use those real life ideas and psychological theories to influence the script.”
Starring AJ Stevenson, Chloe Crump and Tori Hope, Amber tells the story of the aftermath of a routine robbery that has drastically fallen apart. Witness Amber (Crump) is bound and gagged on a sofa, as her captors Alex (Hope) and Ciaran (Stevenson) begin to argue about how to handle her. Following a series of intense conversations, the shifting dynamic between the three reveals each character’s ulterior motives. Featuring strong performances from the three main cast members, particularly a brooding, malevolently charismatic AJ Stevenson, the solid script is done further justice by DOP James George Oshoba, whose own short films, No Way To Go and Memories Report, were the stand out films at the NCN Student Short Film Showcase last year.
“James was fantastic, utterly fantastic,” said director Gee. “Unfortunately one of the repercussions of not going to film school is that my technical knowledge of filmmaking is not up to par quite yet, but James made me feel completely safe letting him make all the decisions relating to cinematography. When I saw his shorts, I knew he could bring some very unique elements and ideas to the film, especially in the dream sequence where a little more creative freedom was possible, and he did not disappoint.”
Amber is a hugely impressive first short film in any context, but when considering it was made by a student with no media training during his third year at University for a budget of £500, it appears even more so. Both Gee and his DOP Oshoba represent the quality of student filmmakers in Nottingham currently, who seem to be raising the bar higher and higher every year.
Gee invites viewers to offer their honest opinions: “The more feedback I get, the more we can improve for next time. As pretty much all the cast and crew did this in their own time, I am working my hardest to make sure the product of their efforts are seen by as many people as possible to give them all maximum exposure to make sure their efforts don’t go to waste.”
Theo Gee Vimeo
James George Oshoba Vimeo
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