Man behind 2018's viral £50 advert releases romantic same-sex Christmas film
'The complexity of emotion made simple. Beautiful,' viewer tweets in praise
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The man behind last year’s most tear-jerking Christmas advert, which several viewers said was “better” than the John Lewis Elton John campaign, has released a new emotional festive film.
In 2018, following the release of John Lewis‘ big budget Christmas campaign, filmmaker Phil Beastall shared a festive short film that he had originally made in 2014 titled Love Is A Gift.
The film, which was made for just £50, captured the hearts of the nation, depicting a man listening to cassette tapes left for him by his late mother in the lead up to 25 December.
The incredible response to the heartfelt story led Mr Beastall to create a moving Christmas advert for Good Morning Britain‘s 2018 “1 Million Minutes” campaign, with the aim of raising awareness of loneliness.
One year on, the filmmaker has struck gold yet again, telling the tale of a long-distance relationship in a short film titled Made For You.
The film opens with a man called Rhys lounging on his bed, speaking with his partner John over video chat on an iPad.
Emphasising the distance between them, John points to a map of the world stating: “Right there. At some point I’m going to be there,” as Rhys smiles lovingly at his screen.
The film transitions to another scene, showing John celebrating Rhys’ birthday by wearing a miniature hat, blowing a party horn and stuffing his face with a chocolate cupcake, prompting chuckles from his partner.
Later on, Rhys is seen lying on his bed scrolling through pictures of him and John, a small smile and a faint look of sadness visible on his face.
On Halloween, the pair video chat once again, Rhys wearing a Joker mask and John donning a terrifying clown get-up.
A close-up view of Rhys’ phone shows the messages being exchanged between them, which read: “I love you x” and “I love you too".
After asking John if he wants to dance, Rhys dances serenely on his own in his room, presumably imagining that his loved one is there with him.
As the festive period arrives, Rhys travels to his parents’ home to stay with them for Christmas.
On 25 December, he and his parents sit in the living room to unwrap the presents underneath the Christmas tree.
Rhys spots a box wrapped up in a ribbon addressed to “Joker”, in reference to the mask he wore on Halloween.
An expression of understanding dawns on Rhys' face as John enters the room.
As the pair hold hands, John gets down on one knee, asking Rhys: “Wanna dance?”, to which Rhys responds: “Sure.”
Several people have praised Beastall on his emotionally-arresting short film, which was created by Anzara Video Production.
“Great work @philbeastall love your style. So natural and effortless! Zero distractions from the message. Straight in the feels!” one person tweeted.
“Lovely work. The complexity of emotion made simple. Beautiful,” another remarked.
Several people stated that Beastall’s new festive film “made them cry”.
“Phil I’m not an overly emotional person but you got me again! You sure know how to tug the heartstrings, beautiful story,” a Twitter user commented.
Argos Christmas Advert 2019
Show all 13For all the latest news on this year’s Christmas adverts, from John Lewis to Sainsbury’s, click here.
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