Short film in Cornwall 'Topless' to apply for film festivals

Patrick Hansted, a 20-year-old film student at Falmouth University, has told spoken to The Packet about his aspirations for the short film 'Topless,' which is based in Falmouth and is being worked on by independent, aspiring LGBTQ+ filmmakers.

The film, described as a 'gay rom-com' is about a misguided, heartbroken young romantic who uses sex as a coping mechanism, but emotional immaturity makes it difficult to find love as he risks losing self-respect and the people that matter most. 

The story looks at how the protagonist does not necessarily get what they want, but rather what they need, in return flourishing as a human being.

On the set of Topless (Image: Patrick Hansted)

Writing on the short began in September of 2020, after Patrick moved to Falmouth, but was put on the backburner for a while as it wasn't flowing in the way he wanted.

Patrick told The Packet: "It all started with this idea of living alone at an early age, say 16, and then suddenly not having the same kind of love that you have at home and looking for a substitute in a way.

"I've always thought of filmmaking as a way of healing trauma.

"It's so much easier to express yourself on paper sometimes, or through drawing or music.

"By January 2022 I was on draft 17, and getting a big helping hand from my lecturer, Laura Canning.

"I wanted to make the film, but I didn't want it to be student-esque, I wanted it to be like a 'high-production,' and Laura said to me 'If you're not going to start it in the first place, you're not going to get to know what it is in.

"So it started with around 12 people on the project, and now we're at a whopping 37.

"Some of them are students, some of them have finished recently, and every single department tries to make sure we tell the story of the protagonist in the same way.

"For example, the clothing department, when the character is feeling low or going through a rough time, we're reflecting that in the clothing."

Patrick with actors from Topless (Image: Patrick Hansted)

Having held a fundraiser for the film back in June of this year at Falmouth venue, The Cornish Bank, the film is currently in the post-production phase and the crew will be looking to get into a variety of film festivals once the film is ready.

Patrick continued: "It might take a little while until it goes public as we're going to go first to the festivals.

"We're hoping to be able to win some prizes, if possible, we have the chance to.

"The project should hopefully be finished by December, but first we're going to apply to some festivals, and then hopefully some more next year, bigger ones.

"If we do pick up some festival wins then we can approach the big boys, we're going to try to go to Encounters, we're going to try to go to Raindance, as well as some independent festivals."