Synopsis
“Your uncle Stefano eats little girls who don’t behave”, jokes Betty’s stepfather.
It is 1954 and eight-year old Betty is sent to stay with her aunt and uncle on a remote Welsh farm.
Her imagination runs wild. Could it be true? A local girl is missing and clues mount up as Betty draws closer to discovering Stefano’s dark secret.
The Childeater was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short
Press Revews
"A Mini-Masterpiece... made all the more riveting in its 11-minute simplicity... it stands out as a smooth, professional project, the caviar among the short films hors d'oeuvres... fabulous outdoor scenery and lavish indoor sets...".
Leah Garchik, SF CHRONICLE
"But leave it to Britain's Film Four Channel to deliver the festival's classiest and most accomplished work. Director Jonathan Tammuz draws fine performances from his cast and beautifully captures youth's fear of the unknown".
Alex Demyanenko, VILLAGE VIEW
"From Great Britain director Jonathan Tammuz and writer Lib Stephen's exquisitely wrought THE CHILDEATER turns upon a child's misunderstanding of a stupidly cruel remark..."
Kevin Thomas, LA TIMES
“Perhaps the strongest example of the power of short films is THE CHILDEATER... (which) mixes tenderness, fear and the gnarly Welsh landscape with a kind of mastery that's usually found in the stories of Katherine Mansfield or Peter Taylor."
SANTA BARBARA NEWS-PRESS
"Jonathan Tammuz's gorgeous and elegant Childeater... is the only film in this collection that would have been better had it been longer".
MADISON WISCONSIN JOURNAL
"A beautifully told, heartwarming tale...”.
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC
"The Childeater is a strong film, with so much substance suggested that it could have, and maybe should have, been expanded. This short has some of the same powerful insight into a child's fears as "Spirit of the Beehive" and "The Reflecting Skin".
THE BOSTON GLOBE
"The Childeater... marvelously crams a whole feature film into a snug 11.25 minutes."
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
"Channel 4 production of The Childeater is gorgeously staged and shot and quietly emotional, in the classic British manner".
Ken Eisner, THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT
“Jonathan Tammuz's Oscar-nominated short The Childeater is an atmospheric piece... Chillingly evocative of the way a child's imagination can run riot".
TIME OUT, London