A director who has been making films with his best friend since they were at school has won a Sundance competition with the first one they have ever completed.
Ben Aston, 27, will see the five-minute short, Russian Roulette, written by Oli Fenton, also 27, screened at the Sundance London film festival this weekend at the 02.
It tells the story of a London woman who meets a cosmonaut online. Aston said: “It’s a short comedy about how lonely London can be. We became obsessed with Chris Hadfield, the singing astronaut who was tweeting pictures of space from the International Space Station. We thought it would be hilarious if you could have somebody in London meet that person by Skype.”
Aston, who is just finishing a course at the London Film School, built a replica space station in his living room in Acton for £50 and used an office chair on wheels to help convey weightlessness.
He and Fenton began making films at school in Bath. Aston said. “I’m over the moon we ended up winning. Now I want to keep making more.”
Sundance London is at The O2, SE10, Apr 25-27, sundance-london.com
