Long-time readers of this blog will recognize the name Kibwe Tavares; we’ve featured all of his extraordinary short film work as we wait in anticipation of his feature film debut. Tavares was on my short list of potential *outside* directors for Marvel’s Black Panther movie before Ryan Coogler stepped in.
A graduate of the Bartlett School of Architecture with a thesis called “Robots of Brixton,” a short film that won the Special Jury Award for Animation at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Tavares got much attention for it and was able to secure financial backing from Film4 for his next short film, the wonderful, fantastical “Jonah” which won both the Special Jury prize and Best Short Film at the Commercial Film Producers of Europe and Shots Young Directors Awards. More recently, Tavares has been awarded a TED fellowship, named as one of the top 20 young global directors at the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase, was a 2016 Sundance Institute’s Directors Lab fellow where he worked on his feature, and recently finished directing his third short, a striking fairy tale titled “Robot & Scarecrow.”
“Robot & Scarecrow” premiered a week ago, but exclusively on social platform Vero; so you would’ve had to download and install the new app and follow the filmmaker to watch it in full. If you didn’t, the full short is now available online thanks to Vimeo. Check it out below.
“Robot & Scarecrow” stars Jack O’Connell and Holliday Grainger and was shot at one of the UK’s most iconic music festivals – the Secret Garden Party. It tells a love story between a robot and a scarecrow who meet and fall for each other at a summer music festival.
“Get Out” star Daniel Kaluuya also appears in the film. The actor starred in Tavares’ last short film, “Jonah.”
“Robot & Scarecrow” was produced by Daniel Emmerson of DMC Film – the London-based production company run by acclaimed actor and producer Michael Fassbender and his partner Conor McCaughan. The film was financed by new social network, Vero and arts funding body, The Space.
Watch “Robot & Scarecrow” below:
