Scooterman (Kirsten Cavendish, 2010): UK

Reviewed by Katharina Martin. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival 2011.

Scooterman is a classic romance written and produced by Kirsten Cavendish. I had the honor of meeting her and her husband at SBIFF’s Women’s Panel, and found them both to be very pleasant people. I was excited to see a short by Kirsten in the Shorts Program later that week, as I was planning to see another movie featured that night as well. Scooterman is a story that is set in London, and stars a struggling writer who pays his bills by (not surprisingly) being a Scooterman. Edward Stoppard gives a great performance portraying a love story involving a triangle between himself, a client Daisy, and her unpleasant boyfriend. Throughout the story, Stoppard develops his character from a wayward lonesome guy to an accomplished writer. As an independent film, I think Kirsten did a wonderful job working with a low budget. Stoppard’s performance shows that there is talent everywhere, not just on the Hollywood screen.

Not only was Kirsten clever in finding a good lead actor, she also chose to set her film in London. This brought good variety to the Shorts Program. I can visit many locations featured in the other shorts of the program, however I have never been to London. Both the setting and the concept of a “Scooterman” was new to me, and I enjoyed the visual education received from watching this film.

The majority of aspects presented in Scooterman really gives rise to Kirsten and what she does. She shows great aptitude and talent for the art of film-making that I enjoyed watching on screen. I look forward to seeing more great projects by A Girl In The Film Productions and their creative team.