Oscar-Qualifying THE STUPID BOY Taking Festival Season By Storm

The Stupid Boy (Short Film Trailer) from Authentive on Vimeo.

Oscar-Qualified Live Action short THE STUPID BOY, currently winner of over 32 awards, and counting as it continues to stream globally.

Phil Dunn's OSCAR-qualified THE STUPID BOY presents an intense encounter between an autistic teenager and a white supremacist

Written and directed by Phil Dunn, THE STUPID BOY tells the parallel narrative of Michael, a 16 year-old neurodivergent boy unable to recognise hatred and bullying, and Stephen, a broken man full of repressed rage following a history of abuse and loss.

These characters' journeys are brought together in a heart-stopping finale when their narratives cross paths. Winner of the Audience Award and the Youth Jury Award at the Odense International Film Festival after its European Premiere there in 2022, this short film has now qualified to be considered for a 2024 Academy Award.

THE STUPID BOY can be seen at more than 500 cinemas across America, the UK, Europe and around the world through its selection by the Manhattan Short Film Festival, until November 2023.

Whilst a broken man is groomed by a Christian white supremacist group, a boy from Brixton sees the world in a different way. But seeing things differently can be dangerous…

Phil Dunn is a director, writer, poet and owner of Authentive, a production company based in Brixton, South London. With a varied background, having studied Medicine, then Theology, Phil had no formal training in film. Through Authentive, set up in 2005, he learned on the job, making hundreds of films for clients in the corporate, charity, fashion and music sectors.

In 2018, Phil felt it was time for him to apply skills he had gained and to one of his own stories. His first short, BOX OFFICE SMASH marked a jumping off point in his career, garnering official selections at prestigious international festivals, winning 14 awards and critical acclaim.

His next short film, ABOUT (2020), continued this momentum, winning the same number of awards and obtaining equally impressive reviews, propelling him further into the world of cinema. His third and most recent short, THE STUPID BOY, is Phil's most ambitious and personal to date. 

Gabrielle Oliver is a Producer with over 18 years experience working in television and film production. She started her career in broadcast television, working on a variety of programmes for BBC, Channel 4 and SKY. From there she moved into independent film production for clients in the corporate and charity sectors, which brought her to work with Phil at Authentive on numerous projects. THE STUPID BOY is Gabrielle's first narrative short film credit.

Mario Genovese is the director of photography for this short, with over 20 years experience mastering light, lenses and cameras at all levels of production. He and Phil have collaborated on countless projects, and more recently, both award-winning short films, BOX OFFICE SMASH (2018) and ABOUT (2020). Many of the accolades for both were for Best Cinematography, including festivals in Los Angeles, New York (winning a Grand Jury Prize) and in his home country of Italy.

Authentically cast Michael is played by Joshua Griffin who trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and has appeared in The Mousetrap in London's West End.

Alongside him are stars Derek Elroy (Bridget Jones' Diary), Ellie Piercy (Black Mirror: Bandersnatch), Shaun Mason (Line Of Duty) and Barry Aird (Beast).

THE STUPID BOY will screen all over the US, in Europe, Africa, Canada, UK, Australia, Central America and South America, and has qualified to be considered for a 2024 Academy Award.

Watch the new trailer here:

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