Short Films: Phil The Hat Films

Phil The Hat Films

is a series of surreal short films made with videographer and photographer friends, some of us are ADHD or autistic. Anxiety, psychological themes and surrealism run through the work — being on the edge of society, not quite fitting the mould, and how that affects people who think differently. The films draw on poetry, folklore, history, art, painting and photography as much as film itself.

Films range from the whimsical, like Hobson's Choice, to the historical — a lone Viking warrior, complete with a boat I built myself.

Subscribe for new short films about the mind, mixing humour with the darker stuff.

Perfect Clap: The Burden of Perfection

Dan is the one everyone says has "a talent" for clapping. It's all happening inside his head — an imagined class, an imagined audience, endlessly circling the same question: how good is your perfect clap? Underneath it, this is about what happens when your one talent becomes the only thing people see.

Morris Matters: Learn to Morris Dance

For centuries, Morris dancing has held a unique place in the hearts (and occasionally the nightmares) of the British public. This 'definitive' documentary charts the arduous journey of one dedicated practitioner as they attempt to single-handedly revitalise this ancient art form.

Covbridge 2020: Covid in Cambridge

Covid lockdown 'One' had ended in Cambridge, October 2020. It felt surreal and trippy being let out again, walking amongst people, wondering if it was actually safe. Time dragged. Ordinary moments stretched out until they didn't feel ordinary anymore.

Hobson's Choice: Sogno Chiaro (A Clear Dream)

Hobson's trapped in his own world. A gameshow host runs the show, not helping him, playing games with him instead. Purple is the safe path, the one he always takes. Yellow is the new one, the unknown. If you've ever felt stuck in a rut, moaning about it but never actually changing anything — this one's for you.

External Anxiety in the Surrey Hills

A short film about anxiety and paranoia — that feeling of being watched, being chased, when you can't always tell what's real and what your own mind is building. For anyone who's ever felt that low hum of anxiety turn into something closer to paranoia.

A Viking Saga: Innføddur (Natives)

Ambushed by Saxon spears in the woods, Grimur Camban fights back — one man falls to his sword, another felled by an arrow in the back. Persian by birth, an expert assassin and archer, he's come north the long way round — through Byzantium, among the travelling Vikings — rowing away from a past he wants to leave behind.