Cotton Wool
Info
Role: Writer & Director
Running Length: 38 Minutes
Synopsis: A seven-year-old boy attempts to care for his mother after she has survived a stroke, with little to no help from his older sister.
Status: Released on 'Prime Video' (UK Only)
Genre: Drama
BBFC: 12A
Budget: £50,000 (Estimated)
Production Company: Cherwell Productions
Aspect Ratio: 2.35: 1
Camera: Red Epic Dragon (Digital) & Arriflex 435 MOS (35MM)
Misc: Represented by Lift-Off Global Network at Cannes Film Festival.
Cast
Leanne Best (Line of Duty, Cold Feet, Star Wars, Tin Star)
Crissy Rock (Berlin Silver Bear for ‘Best Actress’ - Ladybird, Ladybird)
Kate Rutter (I, Daniel Blake, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Peterloo)
Max Vento (The A Word)
Gemma North (Peaky Blinders, No Offence, The Syndicate)
Jason Ricketts (Brassic, Peter Kay's Car Share)
Katie Quinn (Julie Julia and Judy, Wiccan)
Awards and Nominations
73 Nominations | 46 Wins | 28 Festivals
London Film Awards
Winner - Special Jury Award
European Independent Film Awards
Winner - Best Director, Best Drama, Best Actress (Leanne Best)
UK Film Review - Annual Critics' Awards
Winner - Best Short Film of 2018
Nominated - Best Director
British Independent Film Festival
Winner - Best Supporting Actor (Max Vento), Best Supporting Actress (Katie Quinn)
Nominated - Best Short Film, Best Music
Los Angeles Film Awards
Winner - Best Picture, Best Drama, Best Actress (Leanne Best), Best Supporting Actress (Crissy Rock), Best Young Actress (Katie Quinn)
Los Angeles Film Awards (Annual - Best of 2019)
Nominated - Best of the Festival 2019, Best Actress (Leanne Best)
Winner - Best Ensemble Cast.
New York Film Awards
Winner - Best Picture, Best Young Filmmaker, Best Ensemble Cast, Best Editing, Best Supporting Actress (Crissy Rock), Best Young Actress (Katie Quinn)
New York Film Awards (Annual - Best of 2019)
Nominated - Best of the Festival 2019
Winner - Best Director, Jury President Award, Best Actress (Leanne Best), Best Narrative Feature, Best Duo (Katie Quinn and Leanne Best) Best Ensemble Cast, Best Editing.
Indie Short Mag Awards
Winner - Best Short of the Year
New Renaissance Film Festival
Winner - Humanity Award for Film
Nominated - Best Actress (Leanne Best), Best Young Talent Narrative Short (Sponsored by Goldfinch Studios)
Global Independent Film Awards
Winner - Best Drama, Best Featurette, Best Actor Under 18 (Max Vento), Best Actress Under 18 (Katie Quinn)
IndieFlicks Short Film Festival
Winner - Director’s Choice Award
Madrid Independent Film Festival
Nominated - Best Featurette
Lift-Off Season Awards 2019
Nominated - Best Director
Gold Movie Awards
Winner - Best Featurette of the Year, Film of the Month, Feature of the Month
Nominated - Film of the Year
Unrestricted View Film Festival
Winner - Best Actress (Leanne Best)
Nominated - Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Short Film
Out of the Can Film Festival
Winner - Judge’s Choice Award 2018, Best Drama
Nominated - Best Screenplay, Best Lifestyle Project, Best Supporting Actress (Crissy Rock)
Little Wing Film Festival
Winner - Best Director
Nominated - Best UK Film, Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Katie Quinn)
Manchester Screenplays and Shorts Film Festival
Winner - Best Actress (Leanne Best)
Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival
Winner - Special Mention
TMFF - The Monthly Film Festival
Winner - Best Short Film, Best Cinematography, Best Score, Best Actress (Leanne Best)
Nominated - Film of the Year, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing
Birmingham Film Festival
Nominated - Best Young Director
Southampton International Film Festival
Nominated - Best British Short Film, Best Director
Critical Reception
UK Film Review
‘The Best Short Film of the Year”
'Deeply emotive and humbling’, 'Utterly enrapturing', Affecting and heartbreaking”
Film Threat
★★★★
'Cotton Wool is a heartbreaking message about the struggle young carers face when tragedy strikes.’ ‘Whether the story applies to you or not, it's definitely worth watching.’ 'As Rachel, Leanne Best's painstaking physicality is incredible and all-too-real.'
ScreenCritix
★★★★★
"'A heartwarming and eye-watering short film'
'Guaranteed to make many a viewer shed a tear'
‘Leanne Best is a revelation'
[Nicholas Connor] 'is certainly cementing his status as one of the UK's hottest prospects’
Indie Shorts Mag
★★★★
'If there is anything Connor has established with Cotton Wool, it is to imbue his characters with indispensable humanity. 'Every scene that has Rachel (Leanne Best) in it holds undeniable power'