A Jewish director's short film has been picked to play the opening night of a London film festival, but a twist of fate meant the film was almost never made.
Glasgow-born Nadaav Soudry, 32, made The Opera Singer for less than £200 in January. It is a comedy about a singer who sells out and records her voice for a mobile phone ring-tone.
But the day before the shoot, the recording studio and sound technician pulled out and Mr Soudry rang his actors to cancel.
The first one he rang was the actor who was to play the mobile phone sound technician. Mr Soudry explained: "He sounded surprised and told me, in a tone that suggested he thought I already knew, that he actually is a sound engineer and has his own recording studio.
"The shoot went ahead and he acted, recorded the sound and provided the location. In a fluke of casting I had cast as the studio engineer someone who actually was a studio engineer."
The film was longlisted for the Virgin Media Shorts competition. It has now been picked to play the opening night of the London Short Film Festival at the Institute of Contemporary Arts on January 7 2011.
Mr Soudry, son of the long-time minister of Garnethill Synagogue in Glasgow, the Rev Ahron Soudry, began his career working in Israeli radio. He is a documentary maker by trade, with credits including Panorama and a programme on Jewish dating for ITV. He has been making films for ten years and lives in Tufnell Park.
But recognition for his short film has given Mr Soudry a taste for the world of fiction. He said: "This is the first time I've made my own independently funded film, the first time I've done fiction. Everything I've done before has been very journalistic. Fiction is a very different way of working from what I'm used to. I'm now thinking much more creatively. There's more to filmmaking than just chasing the story. But it's a challenge finding funding, especially with all the government cuts."
His current project is a series of five documentaries for Jewish Women's Aid, which will be shown to senior school pupils from January 2011 in Jewish schools . He said: "Again, it's been something different. It's been my first experience or writing a fictional script.
"The films are very dialogue-heavy and it is hard-hitting, although suitable for schoolchildren."
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