Freddie’s Ready To Tell His Tale of Love Statues

The actor and now director Freddie Fox’s bold, time-spanning short film The Painting & The Statue has been officially selected for the 2025 HollyShorts Film Festival, an Academy Award®-qualifying event and one of the world’s premier showcases for short filmmaking. He gives us at .Cent a unique peek into his creative process. Find out more in Freddie’s Ready To Tell His Tale of Love Statues

With an acclaimed cast that includes highly loved household names such as Mark Gatiss (Sherlock), Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education), and Asim Chaudhry (Barbie), this very British short is making waves across the pond, so to speak.

Freddie is part of the film family, Fox dynasty, and sprints forward into the world of directing. This is his second short film; his directorial debut, Hero, won the Directorial Discovery Award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

.Cent: As an Actor, how does this enable you as a director, or can it be a hindrance?

I found it a real help, mostly. Directing at its core, is simply communicating, right? That’s what the verb “to direct” means at the end of the day. And actors I find are almost always thoughtful, empathetic communicators. I’m often amazed, when I’m working as an actor, how bad directors can be at the essential skill of simply communicating a vision and making the team feel confident & appreciated enough to deliver it well. That being said, there’s a whole heap of technical stuff I am totally oblivious to, which was probably a massive pain in the ass for my DoP, (director of photography), editor, producer etc, but exactly why I had a great team to help me get there. That’s why you hire experts in their field… you give the big picture, they work out the detail. 

.Cent: How did you ‘change’ your mindset from Actor to Director when you took on the project, and when you were on set, and what was the best part of directing?

I don’t really consciously change my mindset at all. Once you’re on set, the skill set of being an actor & director is really complementary. I think. For me, it’s about being prepared, but leaving space for better ideas to arrive in the moment. I had a great team, so my job became mostly about facilitating their brilliant work, and pretending I knew what I was doing.

This engaging short is told from the perspective of two works of art in a single room across 250 years of history. The people visiting the space come and go, and also, the people who live there and die there. The people may change, but the artwork is perpetual.

From starchy Victorians to the bright young things via British under nazi bombing up to school children visiting it as a modern-day art museum. The artworks, forever watchful, waiting and never disturbing. Until one day, when their eyes finally meet.

.Cent: Where did the story idea come from?

I wish there was a really cool answer for this, but the truth is: in the shower. 

Freddie Fox is already well-known and regarded for his acclaimed acting career on stage, TV and film. This is his most ambitious work to date, and was developed and produced by his company, Brandy Bay Productions, which is also currently working in co-production with The Kenneth Branagh Company on a feature documentary about British theatre. ,

.Cent: Did you live with art pieces that were handed down, that you (as a child) maybe wondered about their own life story?

I spent my childhood always wondering about what the walls would say if they could talk… Even though I have two amazing older sisters, they were much older than me, so I ostensibly grew up as an only child, and as a result (even though it’s a bit of a cliche, I think it’s often true) your imagination gets turbo charged, especially when you’re lucky enough to spend time wandering around & getting lost in big old houses like the one in my film.

Even though my family don’t own many artefacts or heirlooms, I was very lucky to spend a lot of time as a young kid being taken to houses that were stuffed with them – often with my parents when they were working on film sets – so my childhood was often spent exploring grand old houses whilst mum & dad were working. 

Fox describes the film as a story about isolation, connection, and the passage of time. A new facet on the age-old, timeless love story, but told from a perspective we don’t usually get to see, or even imagine.

.Cent: When you sat down to write the screenplay, what was your process? 

I sat on my sofa, turned off my phone, and didn’t stop til I had a draft. I saw the film pretty clearly in my head from the beginning, to be honest. Then I think I did 2-3 subsequent drafts, but this script actually came out pretty smoothly. (For once!) I also went to a Pre-Raphaelite exhibition at the Tate Britain, which was super useful about the Rossetti’s, and subsequently went round the Doria Pamphilj museum in Rome and took a lot of pictures of Roman statues to base my characters (and their body positions) on. 

.Cent: How did you take what were essentially words and turn them into a moving story?

A lot was done for me by the device of (mostly) using only 2 camera angles. Once I found the room I wanted to use – that I actually found when I was wandering around, bored, exploring on another film set that I was working on as an actor – it then became about planning a shot list from reccie pictures, and blocking on set with the actors which – when you have great actors as I was lucky enough have – was the fun bit. I also storyboard quite extensively, which was useful for a film that was often about very exact frame position… what the Painting & Statue see, and what they don’t. 

.Cent: Have you got the director’s bug? What do you love about the process?

Big time. It’s where I see a big part of my future for sure, if I’m lucky enough. I love being on set – busy, engaged, involved in a bit of everything – and the 4 days shooting this film were some of the happiest working days of my life. Also, the privilege of working with those actors and crew in that house is something I’ll cherish forever. 

.Cent: Can you tell us what is next for you?

I’m putting together a documentary on British theatre, then, hopefully, a comedy feature. Fingers very much crossed! As an actor, shooting House Of The Dragon S3, then I hope back on stage.

The coming documentary on British theatre is directed and produced by Fox and features appearances from Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Helen Mirren, Gary Oldman, and Eddie Redmayne.

The HollyShorts Film Festival takes place August 8–17, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Find out more here at Hollyshorts.com. Recognised as a launching pad for the next generation of filmmakers, the festival is an important platform for Oscar® consideration and global discovery.