A (very) dark-comedy that explores the effects childhood abandonment can have on an adult life, Scott Rawsthorne and Jon Shaikh's Cowboy Ben is a short bound to shock and enthral those that view it. Essentially a two-hander between two stalwarts of British television (Shaun Dooley and Ramon Tikaram), the success of this 8-minute film balances on their powerful performances - a burden their wealth of experience can easily handle.

"Our desire was to create a dark comedy that was built upon nuanced performance and precise cinematography"

Though Cowboy Ben may open with one of the most cliched shots in modern-day cinema - a man staring into a mirror after snorting cocaine in a nightclub toilet - what follows might end up catching you a little off-guard. Almost lulling you into a false sense of security as you assume you know what's coming next, Rawsthorne and Shaikh's film captivates through its intriguing storyline and those strong performances, but it's the ending that will really impact and resonate long after those credits have rolled.

Shot over 2-days using the Arri Alexa with anamorphic lenses, one-half of the directorial duo, Scott Rawsthorne, explained to Short of the Week what they were hoping to achieve with their film:

"Our desire was to create a dark comedy that was built upon nuanced performance and precise cinematography that would work together to suck the audience into the world of the story in a matter of minutes, but stay with you after the film was over"

Now working on developing three different feature-length projects, you can follow the work of Scott and Jon at their website below or on their Vimeo page