“No Such Thing As Monsters” is a short film, in the fantasy adventure genre, adapted from the novel “The Secret on the Second Shelf” and was produced in 2017. It follows the author’s completion of a practical course in filmmaking at the Met Film School in Ealing, London – applying his experience to the screenplay in addition to producing and directing the film. “No Such Thing As Monsters” (circa 10 minutes) takes some key scenes, largely from chapters 2 & 4 of the book – which introduce the characters of Tim, Tim’s Dad and Daniel – and explores what happens after Tim receives a curious parcel in the morning mail…

The film was shot in Ealing and North Acton, with the confrontation scene between Tim and Daniel shot at Ealing Studios; and employs some special effects as well as an original musical score from Alun Taylor to enhance the atmosphere of the film.

Those familiar with the book will be pleased to see the contents of the mysterious parcel revealed and also see how Tim uses it on his adventure…

A private screening of the film is premiering at the Everyman cinema in Esher, Surrey on June 11th 2017 – and the author continues to run private screenings of the film at schools in both Buckinghamshire and London. You can find out more about school visits by pressing this link.

The film had a fantastic crew, with Jamie Touche as Director of Photography and Sebastien Blanc as 1st Assistant Director and Editor (also responsible for sound design and special effects).  On sound was Joe Conneely, who also joined the Director (Jonathan White) on a visit to Little Ealing Primary School – where some of the children sang the nursery rhyme that features in the film.

The film also enjoys engaging performances from its 3 actors; with Henry George Lewis as Tim, Michael Good as Daniel and Tim Larkfield as Tim’s Dad.

Watch the film on YouTube, now available: