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Short film
Poster for Laid Off

Laid Off

2006 · 10 min

A quiet, wry short that drifts with a dead man through grey streets, mixing gentle absurdity with lingering regret.

Directed by
Zam Salim
Genres
Comedy
Starring
John Paul Hurley, Steve Ritchie, Vicky Allan
Overview
Martin (1966-2002) introduces himself. More than three years ago, he was struck by a car in the city centre; he died of the injuries. Now he wanders the streets, unseen by the living, waiting to find out if he'll be sent up or down. He fills his days walking, going to movies, and thinking. He regrets that he didn't dispose of his stash of pornography - he meant to. His grieving widow found it. Every two weeks, he goes to grief therapy. He waits.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Zam Salim
Genres
Comedy
Starring
John Paul Hurley, Steve Ritchie, Vicky Allan
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
    Pacing
    measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
    Attention
    engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
    Themes
    • death
    • grief
    • isolation
    • memory
    Places
    • big city
    Era
    contemporary
    Audience
    adult
    Form
    None
    Content intensity
    • Gore none
    • Language mild
    • Violence none
    • Sex mild
    All scales, 0 to 10
    Scales, 0 to 10
    ScaleValue0 to 10
    Action0
    Horror1
    Humour4
    Realism6
    Romance1
    Tension2
    Darkness5
    Complexity4
    Emotional weight5

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    Where to watch in the UK

    No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

    Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

    Details

    Genres
    comedy
    Directed by
    Zam Salim
    Written by
    Zam Salim
    Starring
    John Paul Hurley, Steve Ritchie, Vicky Allan, John Ross, Chris Waitt, Claire Knight, Jack Moran, Jaeson Finn
    Cinematography
    Ray Tallan
    Runtime
    10 min
    Country
    United Kingdom
    Languages
    English

    TMDBIMDb