Andrew Davidson
A recent film, television and radio graduate from Staffordshire University, Andrew Davidson was all-too-aware of the general perception about student films when he set about making a short on a shoe-string budget.

"You think of 18-year-olds kids playing police officers, very contrived, awkward acting and over ambitious stories," he admitted. "I wanted to be ambitious but within the limits of what I could do. I wanted to make something that wasn't you stereotypical student film."

The result was Quondam, a drama about a dying man who is haunted by the ghosts of his past mistakes. Davidson left his job working in a cinema, 'maxed' his overdraft and appealed to family and friends in order to get his vision made.

"I said to myself, 'I have two options: I can either stay working there and be comfortable with money coming in. Or I could leave the job and really challenge and push myself into doing what I want to do - to get into the film industry making films'."

Influenced by DVD documentaries and director commentaries, Davidson filmed a making-of documentary to accompany the film's release, organized a premiere through Staffordshire University and created a website.

"The website started off as a way of me not having to keep telling my family and friends what I was doing but I realized it was a very powerful tool," recalled the 22-year-old.

The move seems to have paid off - Davidson's film has been well received and he's now looking for financial backing for two new shorts. One is a kids' animation, the other a musical "with a racial subtext."

He's also just finished writing a 12-part series that he's shopping around. "I'd like to tell interesting stories," he said of his future plans, 'and take the British film industry in different directions."

Since the interview took place, the musical short film has developed and grown into a feature film called The Musicals and was recently announced.

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