Small wonder

CHUBBY FUNNY I A bittersweet breakout…

Made for shrapnel, Chubby Funny announces writer/ director/actor Harry Michell (pictured below) as a name to watch. He plays Oscar, a young actor trying to make it in showbiz. It turns out he can’t even make his own bed – which, incidentally, he shares with his mate and fellow actor Charlie (Augustus Prew) because they’re so skint.

“I was about to graduate and, looking at filmmakers who inspire me, it seemed many of them just went out and made their first feature on whatever money they could scramble together,” says Michell. “Frances Ha was revelatory in terms of its mumblecore style and presenting a life I recognised, so I decided to make my life, my London.” (And yes, the bed-sharing really happened, at the Edinburgh Festival: “It’s so expensive. We were very close and very loving, so we were happy to spoon from time to time.”)

Michell’s background is in sketch comedy, but his calling card was bittersweet from its first draft. Nine drafts and a three-week-shoot later, Chubby Funny has emerged as a dog-eared, dolorous delight. As for Michell, he’s already on to his sophomore feature. “I’ll hopefully be shooting in September. It has the sensibilities of Chubby but applied to a more genre-d world.”

ETA | 30 JUNE / Chubby Funny opens late r this month.