Expresso (film)
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''Expresso'' is a 10-minute British
comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
, produced by Martin Nigel Davey and Kevin Powis, and directed by Kevin Powis, Consisting of eight micro-films involving the characters that frequent one table during one day in a British
coffee house A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, Caffè americano, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually ...
. Former
ELO Elo or ELO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Electric Light Orchestra, a British rock music group ** ''The Electric Light Orchestra'' (album), the group's debut album * ''Elo'', a member magazine for the Tuglas Society Biology * Very-long-c ...
drummer
Bev Bevan Beverley Bevan (born 25 November 1944) is an English rock musician who was the drummer and one of the original members of the Move and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). After the end of ELO in 1986, he founded ELO Part II. Bevan also was a drum ...
has a cameo in the movie as a customer. Funded by the
UK Film Council The UK Film Council (UKFC) was a non-departmental public body set up in 2000 to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It was constituted as a private company limited by guarantee, owned by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and ...
and ScreenWM, it premiered at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
in May 2007, and later released on DVD to promote the
World's Biggest Coffee Morning Macmillan Coffee Morning (formerly World's Biggest Coffee Morning) is an annual fundraising event run by Macmillan Cancer Support where people across the UK host and attend Coffee Mornings in aid of Macmillan. Since 1990 it has raised over £31 ...
set up by
Macmillan Cancer Support Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, an ...
and raise money for the same charity.


Tagline

One day, one table, in a coffee shop...


Synopsis

Expresso is a series of eight micro-stories, that develop the viewer as they watch the visitors during one day, to one table in a typical UK coffee shop: * "Autopilot" – a man taking breakfast with his wife (
Don Warrington Don Warrington MBE (born Don Williams, 23 May 1951) is a Trinidadian-born British actor. He is best known for playing Philip Smith in the ITV sitcom '' Rising Damp'' (1974–78), and Commissioner Selwyn Patterson in the BBC detective series ' ...
and Isabelle Warring), is more involved with his daily paper than the conversation that takes place around him, leading to an amusing crossing of wires. * "The Liar" – a businessman (
Vincent Franklin Vincent Warren Franklin (born 3 November 1966) is an English actor from Haworth, England. He is best known for his roles in comedy television programmes. He has appeared in a number of feature films including the Mike Leigh films ''Topsy-Turvy'' ...
) who desperately wants to spend the afternoon with his plate of pastries, to the amazement of the waitress ( Joanne McCallin), so resorts to blatant lies to achieve this. * "Herbal Tea" – a couple ( Guy Henry and
Finty Williams Tara Cressida "Finty" Williams (born 24 September 1972) is an English actress. She is best known as the voice of '' Angelina Ballerina''. Her mother, Judi Dench, voiced Angelina's ballet teacher, Miss Lilly. Biography Williams was born on 24 Sep ...
) meet for coffee. But the lady who has opted for the healthy option, namely a "Herbal Tea", has her eyes on her partner's cream-topped drink. * "Breakfast with DeNiro" – catch the conclusion of a typical lovers' tiff ( Martin Nigel Davey and Ivania Elena) * "Normal Coffee" – with echoes of Six Easy Pieces, sees a working man (
Geoffrey Hughes Geoffrey Hughes may refer to: * Geoff Hughes (born 1939), Australian tennis player * Geoffrey Hughes (actor) (1944–2012), English actor * Geoffrey Forrest Hughes (1895–1951), Australian aviator and pilot See also * Jeff Hughes (disambiguation) ...
) fighting the system in his own way to get his plain and simple drink against the advice of the pompous waiter ( Lewis Harwood). * "BUZZ" – a vicar with writer's block (
Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010), was an English actor, comedian, musician, and singer, best known for his series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966, in which he portrayed the endearingly inept charact ...
) sits waiting for inspiration as he tries to write his next sermon, only to be targeted by a vicious vindictive fly. * "Can I Help You?" – a young lady ( Lucy Mans) is frustrated and struggling with a shrink-wrapped cake, when a man sitting opposite (
Richard Ng Richard Ng Yiu-hon (27 December 1939 – 9 April 2023), also known as Richard Woo, was a Hongkongers, Hong Kong actor known for playing comedic roles, particularly in Hong Kong films of the 1980s and 1990s. Film and television career Ng a ...
) takes his chance to impress by offering to help open the wrapper. Things never work out how you expect! * "End of the Day" – the last person to leave the café is an old lady who is obviously upset ( Shirley Hall). The waiter has little sympathy, but the waitress takes the ultimate revenge.


Production

The film was an idea of producer and actor Martin Nigel Davey who described it as "Breakfast with DeNiro" set in a coffee shop. He also told Kevin Powis about several other ideas that could take place in this setting, after which the decision was made to give other people the chance to collaborate. They put out a call for stories and quickly received over 150 submissions from which they chose the eight best entries which Powis worked into a screenplay they could use to request funding. The appointed script advisor from
UK Film Council The UK Film Council (UKFC) was a non-departmental public body set up in 2000 to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It was constituted as a private company limited by guarantee, owned by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and ...
liked the script and the duo was given a budget of £8,500. Screen West Midlands also supported the film. After funding was secured, Nigel Davey contacted actors and while negotiations were ongoing Powis tailored the script to the individual actors. Filmed in
Bromsgrove Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about north-east of Worcester and south-west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 34,755 in at the 2021 census. It gives its name to the wider Bromsgrove District, of which it is ...
, the cinematographer was Simon Wyndham, with the entire production process taking a year. Post-production saw Powis edit for eight hours at a time each day to hit the required deadlines. Still photography was done by Darren Seymour.


Norman Wisdom

Norman Wisdom came out of retirement to participate in the film. Initially given a visual role so he wouldn't have to remember his lines, during filming he was alert and making people around him laugh, so Davey and Powis kept changing his performance to elicit more laughs. He recorded a message that was included on the DVD, in which he tells how much he enjoyed working on the film saying "every minute was worth an hour". The DVD also includes a
foreword A foreword is a (usually short) piece of writing, sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Typically written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between th ...
by
Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actors, she is noted for her versatility, having appeared in films and television, as well as for her numerous roles on the stage ...
. Wisdom's appearance in ''Expresso'' was officially his final acting role, as he died in a care home on the
Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
at the age of 95 on 4 October 2010.


External links


Official Expresso Website
*


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Expresso (Film) British comedy short films 2007 films 2000s English-language films