During the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, Bombay Sapphire® premiered the 5 short films based on the winning scripts from their beloved Imagination Series Contest. Geoffrey Fletcher, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Precious, once again provided the dialogue framework of a script for a 5-minute short film.

Using Fletcher’s dialogue (which they were not allowed to change), screenwriters were called upon to infuse their own brand of imagination—such as genre, location, situation, characters, etc.—to make Fletcher’s words come alive in whatever story-world they could dream up.

Watch the five short films below and read exclusive insights from the filmmakers themselves: 

Graffiti Area
Winning Script Writer: Maite Fernandez
Director: weareflink — Niko Tziopanos & Philipp von Preuschen
Cast: Rick Mancia, Andrew Walke

weareflink on Graffiti Area: "When we first read the original script, we were intrigued that there was still a lot of room to explore the character of the Graffiti coming alive. We really saw the opportunity developing the character of the beast / monster (as we like to call it), which was a lot of fun. We imagined it to have terrifying aspects, but at the same time, to be fasczinating and still have some comedic elements. One expression of this is the way it moves really quickly as it leaves traces of paint on the walls and corners.

It was important to create some conflict between the two protagonists on the run. One blames the other for their predicament and at the end we are left wondering if there ever were really two guys…"

Exit Log
Winning Script Writer: Chris Cornwell
Director: Gary Freedman of The Glue Society
Cast: Ophelia Lovibond, Ruta Gedmintas

Gary Freedman on Exit Log: “There is a very relatable thought at the heart of the story - two work colleagues who don't get along and yet are bound together in this oppressive, confined space. It's a sci-fi, future setting but I think people really can empathize with the situation. Everyone's had a bad room mate or work colleague. The idea of being stuck in time loop with them forever…it's a nightmare. Showing the drudgery of their existence seemed to make the idea - and the reveal at the end - more powerful."

Need For Speed Dating
Winning Script Writer: Allyson Morgan
Director: Mary Nighy
Cast: Amy Bailey, Graham Dickson

Mary Nighy on Need for Speed (Dating) : "Allyson Morgan created a script that played with the failures to connect between men and women at a speed-dating night. I thought it might heighten the heroine's uncertainty if she were a newly arrived American in London - facing men with the accents and expectations of a different culture and in doing so, mixing up a longing for home with the longing for love. Having the actors deliver their lines direct into camera was a way of implicating the viewer, and trying to exacerbate the awkwardness of the dates."

The Other Side of the Game
Winning Script Writer: Kiara C. Jones
Director: Zoe Cassavetes
Cast: Jordan James Smith, Jacy King

Zoe Cassavetes on The Other Side of the Game: "It was a great experience working on such a creative and collaborative project. I usually write my own material but the script from Kiara Jones was so clever and tight that I was honored to try to bring her idea to life. And the Bombay Sapphire team really let us have the creative freedom to explore without compromise. It was a lot of fun."

Reflections
Winning Script Writer: Anthony Khaseria
Director: Adam Randall
Cast: Chloe Pirrie, Edward Akrout

Adam Randall on Reflections: "Reflections was a great project to work on. The concept was immediately engaging, and it offered challenges that were exciting to overcome. Technically, we needed to make the reflections seamless and create a mysterious world that was totally believable in a short space of time. It was a film that needed to get across so much with imagery and sound; to distill a relationship within minutes so that the fantastical could become emotional by the end. I'm incredibly proud the film and the work everyone did and truly enjoyed making it."

We should add that Room 8, one of last year’s Imagination Series short film winners, went on to win a BAFTA for Best British Short Film. All our best to winners this year—who knows what additional kudos they may garner.