Chatter Box Film

New short film by Naqqash Khalid dropping on BBC iPlayer.

Khalid, who came to prominence in 2024, with his directorial debut IN CAMERA which starred Nabhaan Rizwan in a breakthrough performance.

The film stars Rory Fleck-Byrne as the eponymous Flint, a man who has returned home after a long period of absence from his family life. He arrives to his Mum and Dad, now caring for his ailing grandfather.

Flint struggles to adapt to normal life, he sees flashes of a younger self as he walks around his familiar estate and in local shops.

It becomes clear that Flint has been in a mental institution or in jail due to causing self-harm upon his arms. Flint has flashbacks to the use of knives, one stunning sequence sees him chopping his own hand off in a gruesome fashion. Throughout the piece you find a protagonist wrestling with emotions and the need to be a functioning adult/person nevermind a man in this current socio-political spectrum.

Fleck-Byrne, who was quietly stunning in In Camera as a male struggling in the National Health System, from the burden of expectation drowning in a dream of blood spilt in his workplace. Here with a beard and soulless eyes he evokes the mood of overhanging trauma and how he struggles with the willingness and acceptance of his family who take him back with open arms.

The film evokes a slew of past British masters – Hogg, Loach and Paul Andrew Williams’ Bull. That slow burn and enigmatic tension that arises from an individual’s reaction to a mundane activity as eating breakfast.

A longer film is in the offing here and the film does abruptly end with a family kitchen disco dance to conclude, which provides a moment of relief amidst the heavy subject matter on show.

Khalid though again shows a flair behind the camera which stands him out as someone who understands tone and can produce a tightly bound ball of angst in the short running time and yet keeps you yearning for more.

Flint will premiere on BBC iPlayer from 27th February, as they host a new series of short films across the platform.