Film4 partners with Vimeo on shorts

Film4 is partnering with online video portal Vimeo for the release of two of its short films - part of Film4.0’s strategy to reach wider audiences for its shorts and gain exposure for the filmmakers behind them.

Jonah, which uses live action and animation to highlight the cost of human progress, has been released online, following its international premiere at Sundance in January.

Written by BAFTA-winning Jack Thorne (The Fades, This is England ’86), and produced by Ivana MacKinnon, Jonah is Kibwe’s second short after his award-winning Robots of Brixton which received half a million hits online.

The film is produced by Stray Bear Productions from the imagination of Factory Fifteen. It is backed by Film4, C4, BFI and Shine Pictures, in association with Jellyfish Pictures, and stars Daniel Kaluuya, Louis Mahoney and Malachi Kirby. Kibwe is currently in development with Film4 for his first feature.

Dr. Easy, a London-set short film based on Matthew De Abaitua’s novel The Red Men, is released online on June 21, the day after its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Directed by commercials and music video collective Shynola and produced by Ally Gipps at Warp Films, it stars Tom Hollander and the voice of Geraldine James, and was shot by DOP Barry Ackroyd (The Hurt Locker).

Both shorts will be available to watch online at Film4.com and Vimeo.

Anna Higgs, head of Film4.0, said: “We’re constantly looking for new ways to reach audiences, so it makes total sense to partner with Vimeo to bring these films to as many people as possible online.”