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You probably already know the name Tom Holland, but get ready to know his younger brother Harry Holland too, who is also now emerging onto the film scene as an exciting talent to watch out for.
Recently Harry screened his latest short film Last Call at the Sands International Film Festival in St Andrews, Scotland, to much applause on opening night. As Deadline reports: “The audience inside The Byre Theatre in St Andrews was charmed by the short, with many visitors remarking on its ambition and skill following the screening.” The outlet then went on to compare the 19-minute short to the much acclaimed British drama All of Us Strangers.
Following a desperate mother looking for a way to reconnect with her son, the film stars veteran actor Lindsay Duncan and Spider-Man star Holland as the pair – but as Harry tells us, he didn’t initially plan to cast his own brother. In fact, after the original actor had to drop out Harry considered pulling the plug on the whole thing – but Tom stepped in to save the day giving the young director the drive to continue forward on a project that was very personal to him, as Harry came up with the idea for Last Call whilst struggling with mental health issues.
As he told GamesRadar+ during a conversation at the festival: “We had a few issues with some actors and eventually it transpired that my friend was going to play Charlie [Holland’s character]. But a couple of weeks out from shooting he called me and said he had booked a TV show and had to pull out. I was at a place where I was so anxious about making the film I almost thought at that point like, I’m just not going to do this, I was just too scared. And then Tom as a sort of big brother just said, ‘you know what, I’ll step in and do it for him and I’ll do it for you’. As it turned out that was the most wonderful thing for the film because I couldn’t have asked for two more supportive actors [Holland and Duncan] to help me and guide me through the process, because they were so generous and so patient. I was incredibly grateful for Tom and it would not have been possible without him. He absolutely saved it.”
But what is it like directing your own sibling – especially one who has worked with accomplished filmmakers like J.A. Bayona (on The Impossible) and the Russo Brothers (on several projects including Avengers: Endgame)? Harry openly admits that at times Tom was giving him advice on set, but it was something that was much appreciated: “I’m unashamed to admit there were probably times where Tom was directing me on how to direct him. It was such an incredible crash course into that world.
Continuing, Holland also revealed that finally directing his brother helped him realize just how talented he is: “It will sound silly for me to say this, but I could not believe how good he was. And I mean that in the sense of his ability and relationship with the camera – I was really blown away! So, I was grateful to have that kind of relationship with him to see that firsthand, which sounds silly given that I’ve been on set with him so many times. I think the word I’m probably searching for is that I was so proud of him. He was lending his talent and ability to my little film, and ultimately, the film wouldn’t be what it is without him.”
Although Last Call is yet to be widely released into the world, Holland is already planning his next project – which would be his first-ever feature film. For any director, moving from shorts to features is an intimidating prospect, but it’s also one that excites the young filmmaker, as he concluded: “I’m currently working on my first feature with my writing partner Will South. It’s been really fun but scary – it’s a different kind of fear trying to get a feature made, the stakes are a bit higher. That is what the next step is, but I don’t know what the future holds.
“I think, for me, success would be just having this as my job. It’s not that common that people get to do their dream job and make a living. I’ve known I wanted to do this since I was 12 and I was very fortunate to have sort of figured out where I wanted my life to go. So, ultimately, if I can tell stories for a living, I would be incredibly happy.”
Last Call played at the Sands International Film Festival – no general release date is currently planned.
To stay up to date with the most exciting films heading your way, check our our guide to the upcoming movies of 2024.
