Middle Watch

2022 0h 12m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 7

WarThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

As World War Two draws to a close, a sailor aboard ship in the Indian Ocean must do his duty. Watch must be kept, the horizon scanned for enemy craft and the bubble trails of deadly torpedoes fired from stealthy submarines. Haunted and scarred by conflict and the loss of fellow shipmates, our sailor's task is the Middle Watch, or the graveyard watch, as old mariners call it. But, as he goes about his duties, in the small hours of the morning, his routine is shattered by an encounter that could tip the balance of his delicate state of mind.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Cast

Boris Hiestand
Starkey (voice)
Christopher Hill
Crewman (voice)
Joel Correia
Crewman (voice)
Jem Brookes
Crewman (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Stevenson
Writers: John Stevenson, Aiesha Penwarden, John Stevenson
Languages: English
Countries: Czech Republic, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 12-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 4 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Czech Republic, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Isabelle Wroth shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Boris Hiestand and Christopher Hill and Joel Correia carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt18396060 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 7 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Stevenson directs. Isabelle Wroth cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Czech Republic, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 12-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Released 4 years ago.
4International production across 2 countries: Czech Republic, United Kingdom.
5Editor Isabelle Wroth shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Boris Hiestand and Christopher Hill and Joel Correia carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt18396060 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 7 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Editing: Isabelle Wroth
Sound: Anna Žihlová
Runtime: 12 min · 0h 12m
Status: Released
Budget: $63,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: Middle Watch (2022)

Also by

John Stevenson

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-02-12
★ 7/10
Based on a true report from a sailor in the Indian Ocean, this short animated feature quite cleverly illustrates the tasks facing a watchman onboard ship in the middle of the night during WWII. Whether it be Nazi U-boats or giant sea creatures, we get a sense of the peril and emotional isolation caused by the environment, and of the loneliness of this "graveyard" watch - as well as an indication as to the traumatic effects suffered by survivors who are continually reliving not just their memories of past events, but enduring the risks that it could happen again - to them, now. The animation is simple and effective with an solid score underpinning the story that is peppered by only the briefest "hello mate" degree of dialogue. It's all about solitude - physical and mental, this - and it works well.

Production companies