UK Film Makers Find The Secret Of Happiness

In the midst of all the international financial gloom, a two-minute comedy film based on a school photography session for six year-olds and set in a British school, is raising spirits internationally.
School Portrait, a short film which cost just £200 and took only a day to shoot, is from up and coming London-based filmmakers Nick Scott (Crossroads Films) and producer Michael Berliner.
It has took the internet by storm, going viral with more than half a million views after it became the 'Staff Pick' on the Vimeo video sharing site. Watch the film at www.vimeo.com/picopictures/schoolportrait
The film has featured online in places as diverse as the Huffington Post, digital media site Gizmodo, and the front page of internet sharing site Reddit, and has attracted many Twitter admirers including congratulations from Stephen Fry and Armando Iannucci.
The film features Jonathan Rhodes as a bitter photographer, whose depressing personal circumstances make him determined to wipe the smiles off his innocent little subjects before taking their picture.
He tells them about the banking crisis, university tuition fees, global warming - and enjoys watching their faces fall. But the photographer soon meets his match when he faces a girl who, without saying a word, changes his view of the world and leaves everyone laughing. People all over the world have been commenting that the little film has made their day.
The light-hearted take on depressing global events has boosted the film's popularity, as Scott, now represented by Crossroads Films, is well aware: "Sadly, much of what is said to the kids is indicative of the pretty gloomy future facing their generation but hopefully the film shows that no matter how cynical you are there are always things that can give us hope!"
This short film comes as a survey from the Office for National Statistics last week found that Britons are still remarkably happy despite the looming recession. Concerns over work and money are outweighed by happiness gained from children, relationships and where people live.
(LB)