BURY THE DOGS PRODUCTION.
Inspired by lockdown
Bury the Dogs was the result of the creator being locked down in her childhood bedroom
WORDS. Robert Shepherd IMAGES. Cosmosquare Films/AB Photography
A s the world grappled with the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, most people spent the best part of two years not knowing when they would next see their family and friends, let alone find creative inspiration. However, that’s exactly what director and writer Beth Rowland did when she found herself moving into her family home in Stoke during lockdown. The result is Bury the Dogs , a short by the BFI and Cosmosquare Films, which centres around Ant and his relationship with new-found father figure Tosh, a charismatic ex-squaddie who takes the teenager under his wing while feeding him far-right rhetoric. The former introduces his best friend, Emily, to his new mentor – in the hope they can build a three-way friendship. “I went back in lockdown and just being in my childhood room brought back so many memories and gave me a number of ideas,” Rowland remarks. “I was working full-time in care and couldn’t see myself returning to filmmaking any time soon – it reminded me of the frustration I felt growing up in Stoke as a teenager.” Rowland had wanted to write something on that subject for a while but had been finding it hard to get back into the same mindset. Then, the idea was there: a coming-of-age story. “Without giving too much away, Ant’s beliefs are challenged as Tosh’s ideals bleed into his
“I was working full-time in care and couldn’t see myself returning to filmmaking any time soon”
27. AUGUST 2023
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