“Sensibility”
The Howard's find themselves on the outskirts of London Society, however the unexpected arrival of a young eligible bachelor, and a Duke at that, offers the promises of a lifetime. The only thing standing in their way are themselves. Lady Howard must do battle with her cohort of un-married children if she is to stand any hope of capitalising on this once a season opportunity of bolstering the families standing within society.
Director Biography
Hailing from North Cornwall, Ben trained as an actor at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA), and has worked on both the stage and screen ever since. In 2018 he formed Ha Hum Ah Theatre and began developing his own body of work as both a producer, director and writer. Work for the company has included Moira Buffini's satirycal 'Loveplay' at the Minack Theatre, along with co-productions of 'A Dickensian Christmas' and 'Oh No It isn't!' with intoBodmin. 2021 saw Ha Hum Ah expand into the world of film with the creation of Ha Hum Ah Films. Sensibility marks Ben's film directorial debut.
He has recently been awarded this years FylmK award from Screen Cornwall to develop his next short which goes into production later this year.
Director’s Statement
It is safe to say that Sensibility isn’t your average short film for a first-time filmmaker. Many would argue that a period drama with elaborate costumes, locations and numerous characters possibly isn’t the obvious choice for one’s first dive into filmmaking. However it oddly felt like the right choice!
I have always been drawn by stories which have an epic or larger than life quality to them. I also can’t hide that I’m a big history geek and delving into a historical setting not only offers huge scope for play and story development as a storyteller, but also makes me feel like a kid in a sweet shop. For me that ability to transport an audience to another world or period in time is an exciting one. I also find that these explorations often give us an insight or a new understanding of our own world and time.
Sensibility was filmed entirely on location in Cornwall using a predominantly Cornwall and South West based creative team. Indeed I couldn’t imagine anywhere else to make this film, although I admit being a Cornishman makes me very biased!
Sensibility is as much an exploration of a genre as anything else. The period drama and in particular the regency love story have become firm favourites in popular culture. Mention the works of Jane Austen and there are few who have not heard of them. Their stories of courtship, social standing and victory through hardship resonate just as strongly now as they did over 200 years ago. Through this film I wanted to dissect this idea we have of the regency period and its archetypal stories of courtship and status.
Through the lens of a rather dysfunctional family, Sensibility explores a period in time and the people that inhabited it with a vibrancy and playfulness. Such an ambitious project of course wouldn’t have been achievable without a phenomenal team of creatives. I’m beyond thankful to every single one of them in helping to bring this story to the screen.