| Director: | Dylan Holmes Williams |
| Producer: | Nathan Craig Anthony Toma |
| Screenplay: | Jess O’Kane & Dylan Holmes Williams |
| Starring: | Patsy Ferran Leo Suter Guy Henry Bobby Schofield |
| Cinematography: | David Wright |
| Studio: | Tatata Studios Deadbeat Films (Formerly Toma Productions) |
| Distributor: | Salaud Morisset |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Runtime: | 14 minutes |
The Devil's Harmony is a live action short film directed by Dylan Holmes Williams in 2019.[1]
In 2020, it won the Jury Prize for International Fiction at Sundance Film Festival. In 2019, it won the Best UK Short Jury Prize at Raindance Film Festival,[2] a Best Director award at Fantastic Fest[3] and British / Irish Short Film of the Year at the London Film Critics Circle Awards.[4] It was nominated for a British Independent Film Award (BIFA) for Best British Short Film.[5]
The Devil's Harmony was produced by Nathan Craig (Tatata Studios) and distributed worldwide by the International Production & Distribution company Salaud Morisset.[6]
Kiera is a bullied teenage girl and the captain of her high school's glee club. A mysterious epidemic has spread throughout the school, with many of the athletes from the snobbish, abusive squash team falling into inexplicable and unending sleep. It is revealed that Kiera is responsible for these events: frustrated by the lack of support from the unsympathetic school staff regarding her bullying, she has been taking revenge by leading the glee club to ambush her enemies with a low, ominous "devil's harmony" that causes them to fall into a vegetative state.
Kiera's scheme becomes complicated when the next target is Connor, an athlete who had previously rejected Kiera's advances but, after a change of heart, wants to leave the squash team and his old friends in order to be with her and pursue his secret love of singing. Unaware that he is the next target, he plans to invite his remaining team members to his house to announce the news and asks Kiera to come over that night. Kiera, attempting to save him, intentionally leads the club to the wrong house before leaving on her own to look for Connor. However, Connor's friends, incensed at his declaration, have locked him in his closet and trick Kiera into believing that he is sleeping with someone else.
Connor escapes the next morning and runs to the school, where he discovers that the entire student body is comatose. He encounters a vengeful Kiera with her glee club, but as the members harmonize, he breaks into song and reveals the truth before declaring his love for her. The glee club, shocked and betrayed, sing the devil's harmony, causing Connor and Kiera (who was not wearing the earplugs she usually used for protection) to fall asleep. Now leaderless, the film ends with the club standing quietly as the students around them sleep.
| In credits order | ||
| Patsy Ferran | as Kiera | |
| Leo Suter | as Connor | |
| Bobby Schofield | as Doug | |
| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | ||
| Jordan Ajadi | as Schmidt | |
| Cassian Bilton | as Kornitzer | |
| Guy Henry | as Headmaster Plugg | |
| Ramzan Miah | as Lawrence | |
| Matthew Morrison | as Philips | |
| Kieran Slade | as Michael | |
| Kit Young | as Tyrone | |
Since its launch, the film has been selected in many festivals around the world.
| 2019 | Encounters Film Festival | Brief Encounters Grand Prix[7] | ||
| 2019 | British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) | Best British Short[8] | ||
| 2019 | Raindance Film Festival | Jury Prize – Best UK Short | ||
| 2019 | Sitges Film Festival | Official Fantastic Selection[9] | ||
| 2019 | PÖFF Tallinn Festival | International Short Film Competition[10] | ||
| 2019 | Austin Fantastic Fest | Short Fuse Award – Best Director[11] | ||
| 2019 | American Film Institute Festival | Official Competition[12] | ||
| 2019 | Underwire Film Festival | Best Film[13] | ||
| 2020 | Palm Springs International ShortFest | Best of the Festival[14] | ||
| 2020 | Sundance Film Festival | Short Film Grand Jury Prize[15] | ||
| 2020 | Berlin British Shorts Film Festival | Jury Award[16] | ||
| 2020 | London Film Critics' Circle Award | British Short Film of the Year[17] | ||
| 2020 | Grand Jury Award – Best Short[18] | |||
| 2020 | San Francisco International Film Festival | Best Narrative Short[19] | ||
| 2020 | Norwegian Short Film Festival | Best International Short Film[20] | ||
| 2020 | London Short Film Festival | Best Short Film |