I guess here's where we get down to brass tacks and I explain all this "Gwailo Films" business.
Contents (click below to see what you want to see):-
Are you sitting comfortably...?
Then I'll begin...
Our story begins in mid-1996, as a young man - whom we shall refer to hence as Kieran Lefort, for that is his name - got together with some fellow students to make a martial arts film as part of his National Diploma in Performing Arts (not 'alf as posh as it sounds, I can tell you). And the people saw it and, lo, it stunk to high heaven.
It was so bad that all of the Sifu Productions crew (for that is what they saw fit to name their group) were promptly assassinated by offended Kung Fu experts. All except Kieran. This was not because, as happens in all bad Kung Fu movies, one lone soul survives the massacre to either a) recruit a roaming band of ninjas to help or b) train really damn hard at some preposterous martial arts style in order to take revenge. No, Lefort was spared... because he hid like a big girl behind a bush until the shouty men in pyjamas went to the chippy for a post-massacre nosh-up.
Kieran eventually emerged from the bush and decided that, since he was crap at martial arts, he would take his revenge in a really silly way...
BY MAKING MOVIES !!!!
To this end, he joined forces with fellow behind-the-camera type, Craig Kennedy (who was just a kind of wandering, bearded bloke really) and, together, they became the mighty Gwailo Films...
DISCLAIMER
Gwailo Films' lawyers would just like to point out that none of the above story is true, but it's a darn sight more interesting that the "real-life" version. It is all total fabrication. Apart from the bit about the Kung Fu film being crap... And Craig having a beard... And Kieran being a big scared girly.
That aside, it's all complete bovine faeces. Thank you for your attention.
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WHAT'S A "GWAILO"?
And before someone says it, no, it's not the fluffy thing in Gremlins. I shall explain...
When the stupid greedy white people decided to invade China, the Chinese had never seen anything like them before and promptly decided that they were ghosts and devils, what with their pale skin and silly clothes.
Thus, the term was born from the Cantonese: "Gwai" meaning ghost or devil and "Lo" meaning man
So why call an amateur film company after it ? Well, both Craig and Kieran are heavily influenced by Hong Kong film-makers, such as John Woo, Ringo Lam, Jackie Chan, Yuen Kwai, Sammo Hung etc, so why not be ghost men trying to make Hong Kong-style films ?
Well it makes sense to us !
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THE GWAILO FILMOGRAPHY
Co-production with Cobwebb Productions...
- Jack Stone: Fez/Off (Silly hard-ass action hero revenge movie. Devised & Directed by Kieran Lefort, Tom Webb, Dan Gould & Sam Milsom)
2001
- Office Story (Short documentary about boredom. Director/Producer/Editor - Kieran)
Co-productions with CobWebb Productions...
- Night Of The Living Kevs (Horror parody short. Writers (with Simon Evans)/Directors/Producers - Kieran & Tom Webb)
- Teabreak (Quirky short with a bit of action, comedy & romance. Written, Produced & Directed by Kieran Lefort, Tom Webb & Anya Pearse)
- No Picnic (Comedy/sci-fi/action short. Devised, Photographed & Directed by Tom Webb & Kieran)
2000
- Confrontation (Action short. Devised, Photographed and Directed by Kieran & Craig)
- A Matter of Knife and Death (Horror short. Writers - Kieran & Tom Webb; Director - Kieran)
ALSO... Helping other people...
- 1982 (Working title. Short period drama in post-production. 1st AD - Kieran; Assistant Producer - Anya Sen Pearse; Director - Paul Whittington)
Back to the top...- The Hunt (Action short abandoned in post-production. Directors/Producers/Actors/Editors - Craig & Kieran)
ALSO... TV...
- Eat My Shorts (Weekly cable TV amateur short film showcase. Presented by Craig & Kieran; Produced by Craig)
ALSO... Helping other people...
- A Shadow Of The Past (Supernatural drama TV short. Assistant Director - Kieran; Writer/Director - Hena Dasgupta)
ALSO... In association with Firecracker Productions...
- Beholder (working title) (Experimental short in post-production. Co-producer/Camera/Actor - Kieran; Director - Anya Sen Pearse)
ALSO... In association with 24 Hours Films...
- Stab In The Dark (Tongue-in-cheek horror short. Camera - Craig & Kieran; Editor - Kieran; Directors - Tom Webb, James Sharman, Treeve Philp)
Back to the top...- The Revenge Of One-Eyed Jon (Tongue-in-cheek action short. Directors - Kieran & Rob Smith)
Shown at Short Cuts 1998 and on local cable TV.
ALSO... Co-production with Firecracker Productions...
- A Good Bet (Supernatural drama short. Camera Assistant - Craig; Assistant Director/Co-Producer - Kieran; Writer/Director - Anya Sen Pearse)
Shown at Short Cuts 1998, Short-comings 1998, Electrozine ‘99, Ffilm Aberystwyth ‘99, Nottingham Amateur Film & Video Festival ‘99 and on local cable TV.
ALSO... Helping other people...
- End Games (Experimental horror drama short. Production Assistant - Kieran; Actor - Craig; Director - Bernard Farrell)
Shown at Short Cuts 1998, 2nd place in shorts competition at JVC Tokyo Digital Film Festival 1999 and shown on local cable TV.
Back to the top...- Bench (Heroic bloodshed crime short. Camera/Assistant Director - Kieran; Producers/Editors - Kieran & Craig; Writer/Director - Craig)
Winner of a Production Encouragement Award at the 1998 Co-Op Student Film Festival and Triple Distinction award in Buckinghamshire Open College Network’s Video Production Programme. - A Day In The Life (Short parody. Writers/Producers/Camera/Directors/Editors/Actors - Craig & Kieran)
Back to the top...- A Better Tomorrow (WHC) (Action tribute short. Actors/Producers/Editors - Craig & Kieran; Script Adaption/Director - Kieran)
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More to come to this page soon.
- Office Story (Short documentary about boredom. Director/Producer/Editor - Kieran)
