Two Hats Films

Two Hats is a not-for-profit organisation set up by a collective of professional actors, writers, musicians and directors in 1997 to produce high quality theatre and film for the local communities in Warwickshire.

With many critically acclaimed productions to their name, the company maintains this ethos

Projects

COVID 19

Sadly the lockdown has forced us to put shooting on hold for the time being, but the film is fully cast and crewed and we look forward to cracking on. Here is some of the background work we have been doing. We have some superb locations lined up, props and costumes.

Calling the Tune

Based on Roger Harding’s 2002 studio production, Calling the Tune is set in 1980 in the Loire Valley, mid-western France. Elizabeth visits her estranged, housebound mother Gisele. But is she really housebound ? Why has she not ventured out for 30 years ? Why does she keep the shutters closed ? Slowly Elizabeth teases out Gisele’s past – though she would much rather not reveal the real reason for her shame.

But it is through the medium of a simple piece of music for piano and soprano that Elizabeth’s most difficult question is answered: who is her father ?

... took us back to 1980 where a mother and daughter were battling with their troubled relationship. As the secrets of the past unfolded with a deliciously complex plot the audience was taken to France during the German occupation in the Second World War.

The unusual subject helped the play and somehow the two actors in a bare farmhouse kitchen managed to recreate the fear and excitement of the war...

... it was the plot which carried the play. Its inventive twists and teasing way we found out about the lives of the characters was a delight. - Emma Hardwick ****

Leamington Courier

Here is a sample of the explosive effects produced by Arc of Fire

We are pleased to say that the 21st Infantry have agreed to help us shoot some of the flashback scenes. We shot this sequence for publicity purposes

Lockdown Recitals

During lockdown we have not been idle, recording four lockdown recitals at the Holst Museum, with social distancing. We hope to have the recitals edited and uploaded by the time the museum opens, hopefully on Holst's birthday in September. Sukushi, John, Adam and Aaron were a joy to work with

A Woman's Life

Just before lockdown, we completed shooting A Woman's Life by Sally Jones, at the Holst Museum in Cheltenham. Imagining a meeting between Clara Holst

and Mrs Beeton, Sally's script highlights the living conditions of women about a century apart. A Woman's Life stars Emmeline Braefield and Emma Wilkes

Shooting of A Woman's Life has been completed, with a couple of days of pickup shots at the Gustav House Museum in Cheltenham - a lot of the shots lit by candle light. Pleased with the results !

The Shakespeare Hauntings

We made a TV pilot for Birmingham TV and also entered it for the Filming Shakespeare competition - for which it was sortlisted. Andrew Cullum, Kate Willis and Gus MacDonald brought the characters to life

Trailer for The Shakespeare Hauntings

The Wrong Funeral

When octogenarian John Corvin innocently mounts a one-man production of King Lear, he inadvertently exposes a trail of suspicion, corruption, deception and carnage leading all the way to the Ministry of Defence - involving MI5 surveillance, murderous undertakers and five of the world’s most detested dictators. The Wrong Funeral – featuring the slowest car chase in cinema history. An Independent British feature length film

Trailer for The Wrong Funeral

We filmed about 30% of the film in six days for use in pitching. Since then there have been about 26 re-writes - and the screenplay is now much tighter and funny, thanks to the input of Joe Pavlo.

In these dark days, maybe a black comedy is exactly what is required ....