Dad's Dead

Dad's Dead
Directed byChris Shepherd
Written byChris Shepherd
Produced byMaria Manton
StarringIan Hart
Chris Freeney
Dave Kent
Edited bySeb Duthy
Music byJohn Moore
Distributed bySlinky Pictures
onedotzero
Release date
  • 29 December 2003 (2003-12-29)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Dad's Dead is a seven-minute award winning film written and directed by Chris Shepherd, commissioned by animate! and funded by Arts Council England. It was first transmitted on Channel 4 in 2003.[1][2] Mixing animation with live action,[3] the film deals with how memory works.[4][5][6][7] The film was shot on DV and Betacam SP and edited in Adobe After Effects and Aura.[1][6][7]

On 27 August 2007, Dad's Dead was released as an extra on the DVD release of Danny Boyle's science fiction film Sunshine.[8] A new remastered HD version of the film was released for the first time in January 2011.[9] The film received a sequel in 2016, Johnno's Dead.[5][6][7]

Synopsis

Ian Hart plays the narrator, an urban storyteller who relives his youth in 1970s and 80s Liverpool.

The narrator opens by asking the viewer if they ever think about the people they went to school with. He goes on to talk about his "best mate", Johnno, a popular and rebellious boy at school. However, Johnno turns out to be a thoroughly obnoxious and violent person, frequently swindling, stealing, vandalizing property and generally committing antisocial acts. He apparently enjoys cruelty to animals, throwing hamsters and cats off high-rise flats and bricking ducks. Johnno once confused the narrator by falsely telling him his father had died (hence the film's title).

The film then shows Johnno (whose face distorts into an ugly caricature every time he commits an unpleasant act) first beating up the narrator, then inviting him to the house of a "mate" — a blind man who thinks Johnno is his best friend, while Johnno in fact vandalizes his house, leaves maggot-infested food in his kitchen and even spits on him, all without the man being aware of it. The climax of the film has Johnno leaving the narrator unconscious as he burns the blind man's apartment — a crime for which the narrator is wrongly imprisoned. At the end, the narrator's elderly mother is shown answering the door to her Meals on Wheels carer - who turns out to be Johnno, laughing nastily as he enters the old woman's home.

Cast

  • Ian Hart as Narrator[10]
  • Chris Freeney as Johnno[10]
  • Dallas Messias as Johnno's Mum[10]
  • John Murphy as Johnno's Dad[10]
  • Charlotte McDougall as Lady in Children's Book[10]
  • Joe Robson Rutherford as Boy in Children's Book[10]
  • Goldie as Dog in Children's Book[10]
  • Dave Kent as Old Man[10]
  • Kay D'Arcyas Narrator's Mother[10]
  • Thomas Sturges-Allard as Hand Artist[10]
  • Julie Maisey as Newsreader[10]
  • Spud Murphy (uncredited)

Awards

2003

  • Winner of Best Short Film, British Independent Film Awards[11]
  • Winner of The Quantel Animation Award at Rushes Soho Shorts Festival[11]
  • Winner of The Metropolis Prize at L'Isola Del Cinema Festival in Rome, Italy[1]
  • Winner of The Grand Prize at Cabbagetown Film & Video Festival, Toronto[1]
  • Winner of The Encouragement Award at Fantoche International Animation Fest, Switzerland[1]
  • Winner of Special Video Award at Split International Festival of New Film, Croatia[1]
  • Winner of Best Independent Animation Award at FAN International Animation Festival, Norwich[1]
  • Winner of Best Animation Award at Kino International Film Festival, Manchester[1]
  • Winner of Best Professional Film Award at BAF! International Animation Festival, Bradford[1]
  • Winner of Special Prize at DaKino Film Festival, Romania[1]
  • Winner of Third Prize at Animadrid, IV International Animation Festival, Spain[1]

2004

  • Nominated for Best Animation Short, BAFTA Film Awards[11]
  • Winner of Best Short Film at the British Animation Awards[11]
  • Winner of Best Film at Cutting Edge, British Animation Awards[1]
  • Winner of Honourable Mention (Editing) at Carolina Film and Video Festival, USA[1]
  • Winner of Best Film, Pitcher and Piano Awards, London[1]
  • Winner of Honourable Mention at Ann Arbor Film Festival, USA[1]
  • Winner of Honourable Mention at Bermuda International Film Festival, USA[1]
  • Winner of Silver Remi Award at Worldfest Houston International Film Festival, USA[1]
  • Honourable Mention for Visual Style at Los Angeles International Film Festival, USA[1]
  • Diploma for Best Experimental Film, Balkaname 2004, Bulgaria[1]

DVD releases

  • Shorts! Volume 1 December 2003. USA. Region 1. ASIN:B00013UGE6. As part of compilation with The Making Of Dad's Dead and director's commentary.
  • onedotzero_selectdvd2 January 2004. UK. All regions. ASIN:B000189K80. As part of a compilation with The Making Of Dad's Dead.
  • Animatic Volume 1 2004. France. Reperages Magagzine. All regions. As part of a compilation.
  • Sunshine August 2007. UK. Region 2. ASIN:B000S6UZEM. As extra.[8]
  • Sunshine October 2007. UK. Region 2. Blu-ray. ASIN:B000VIRD6U. As extra.
  • Sunshine January 2008. USA. Region 1. ASIN:B000Y7U98C. As extra.
  • Sunshine January 2008. USA. Region 1. Blu-ray. ASIN:B000Y7U98W. As extra.
  • Motion Blur 2 January 2008. UK. All regions. ISBN 1-85669-509-3. Interview and feature on director with film on DVD.
  • Chris Shepherd: Beyond Animation 2014. France. All regions. As part of compilation.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Films: Dad's Dead: Background material". animate!. Archived from the original on 5 April 2005. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  2. ^ Westall, Mark (22 April 2013). "'Ten Year Anniversary of 'Dad's Dead' Screening at Bar Shorts in Manchester'". FAD Magazine. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  3. ^ Wells, Paul (2005). The Fundamentals of Animation. AVA Publishing. pp. 66–69. ISBN 9782940373024. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  4. ^ Cavalier, Stephen (14 January 2016). "100 Greatest Animated Shorts / Dad's Dead / Chris Shepherd". Skwigly Online Animation Magazine. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  5. ^ a b Munday, Rob (25 February 2016). "Dad's Dead". Short of the Week. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Brewer, Jenny (16 November 2016). "Animation director Chris Shepherd talks about his long-awaited sequel to Dad's Dead". It's Nice That. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  7. ^ a b c Robinson, Chris (January 22, 2018). "Pictures from the Brainbox: A Weekly Dose of Indie Animation - 'Johnno's Dead'". Animation World Network. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Sunshine (2007) DVD News". Real Movie News. 24 August 2007. Archived from the original on 24 August 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  9. ^ "Dad's Dead (2015 Remastered Version)". Vimeo. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Credits". Dad's Dead. Archived from the original on 13 July 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
  11. ^ a b c d "Awards". Dad's Dead. Archived from the original on 13 July 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2025.
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