Girlfriend in a Kimono

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Girlfriend in a Kimono is a short film made in the summer of 2005, written and directed by Dominic Thackray who describes it as an anti-romance. It tells the tale of autoslacker Vincent (played by Raindance Film Festival producer Jesse Vile) who falls for French burlesque dancer Candice (played by model Amber Butchart). It also features Penny Rimbaud (of Crass) as the enigmatic Rimbaud and Shizuka Hata (of Banzai (television show)) in two roles. The film’s score is by Hey Is Dee Dee (Ramone) Home producer Ronni Raygun Thomas, and there is additional music from Saint Etienne, Crass and Talulah Gosh. The film was shot by Candida Richardson, with super-8mm camera by Captain Zip, it was cut by Mia Bittar, soundmixed by Matt De Sando, produced by former Raindance producers Oli Harbottle and Rachael Castell, and exec produced by Ronni Raygun and Yumiko Tahata.

The film was selected by the British Council in early 2006 for inclusion in their film festivals programme. Writer-director Thackray worked a succession of effete jobs, the last of which as a receptionist in a zero-star hotel on the left bank in Paris in 1995, where he occasionally rented out rooms by the hour. Soon after quitting that slice of existential hell he embarked upon a degree in graphic design. Since 1999 he has worked for the Raindance Film Festival in swinging London. Girlfriend in a Kimono is his first film and he is currently developing a feature version.

Some reviews of the film:

‘A seductive sense of chaos, anarchy and romance. An original, spirited take on the madness and unpredictability of life in our capital city’ Dave Calhoun, Time Out London

‘Really funny’ Wendy Mitchell, Indiewire

‘Smart script and well-paced. This is the short Zach Braff might have made before embarking on Garden State’ Adam Watkins, Six Degrees Film

‘Penny Rimbaud crops up as a malevolent presence in the groovy mini-fable Girlfriend in a Kimono, a nicely shot and perfectly formed short’ Chris Anderson, Plan B magazine