A Telephone call for Genevieve Snow

Genevieve Snow (Beth Buchanan) is a mousey piano teacher at a primary school ruled by a formidable headmistress, in this revisionist version of the Little Red Riding Hood fairytale based on a short story by Carmel Bird. One day as he is driving past the school, Nigel hears Genevieve being summoned over the public address system and decides to call her and through the series of elliptical phone conversations that follow, the pair strike up a strange relationship. Yet Genevieve’s lonely desperation and Nigel’s odd canine obsessions suggests their mutual attraction may have fatal consequences. Moody black and white photography emphasises these sinister undertones, yet the gothic atmosphere of this seemingly cautionary tale is shot through with a sense of the absurd, especially in relation to the claustrophobic rituals that enforce conventional roles. Cast also includes Damien Richardson, Esme Melville. Awards: Silver Lion for best short film in competition 57th Venice Film Festival 2000.