About

Tall Man Films is run by Michael Blackwood Barnes. Staff are employed on a freelance basis keeping the company as flexible as possible so that clients don’t have to pay wages and facilities that are not applicable to their project. This philosophy allows Tall Man Films to produce very competitive quotes for all types of projects, big or small.

About Mike:
Now in his forties Mike has been a film maker since the age of twelve when he picked up a Super8 camera from a junk shop for £25 after saving up paper-round money for four months.

At seventeen he won a national amateur Film Festival with a forty-minute Super Eight science fiction film ‘Night Skies’. He later applied for a place at International Film School Wales and studied there for three years.

Mike has worked on Cinema, Broadcast and Corporate projects as writer, Director, Camera and set up Tall Man Films in March 2000

Awards and nominations:

  • Filmed the 2011 Venice Biennale entry for artist Tim Davies, the two pieces have received an excellent critique.
  • In 2010 filmed and edited the Earthfall short film ‘Gravitas – Postcards’ it was nominated for a Welsh Bafta.
  • In 2008 filmed and edited a 30 minute drama for Hugh James, it was nominated for a ‘Business Innovation Award’.
  • In 2005, won a prestigious place in ‘The Best of British’ short film competition at the Brief Encounters Film Festival with, ‘Home’.
  • In 2002 selected for ‘Best New Directing Talent’ at Raindance Film Festival for feature film ‘Fatigue’.
  • First feature film ‘Fatigue’ (self-funded super 16mm) won Great Lakes film Festival ‘Best Narrative Feature’ and is now in world-wide distribution.
  • Recently made documentary films for BBC and ITV and music videos for MTV and NME TV.

Cinema credits include:

  • First feature film (Directed) – 95 minute ‘Fatigue’ was shot on super 16mm and made in true ‘guerrilla’ style. It premiered at the Welsh International Film Festival and was a ‘Film Four Audience Award’ finalist. It was short listed in competition (New British Talent) at Raindance Film Festival London, won Great Lakes Film Festival in North America (Best Narrative Feature) has travelled to numerous festivals around the world and is now in distribution with Ion – New Media in Germany. Paragon Film Group in Burbank Los Angeles, distributed to the rest of the world (twelve territories to date). It is now available for DVD rental on the UK high street at Choices, Blockbuster and on the internet with LOVEFiLM.
  • Wrote and directed a ten minute short – ‘Home’. The film has done very well having been picked up for distribution by The British Film Foundations Short Circuit scheme and achieving a prestigious place in ‘The Best of British’ competition at the Brief Encounters Film Festival in Bristol.
  • Wrote, directed and off-lined a 3 minute short – ‘Time and Space’. It was screened at Cardiff Screen Festival and achieved a ‘Highly Commended’ award at Leeds International Film Festival and ‘Best Script’ award at Manchester Fantastic Film Festival.
  • Wrote and directed ‘Motor Driving Made Easy’ a 20 minute 16mm short. It was runner up out of thirty five entries at the D.M.Davies Welsh International Film Festival and was purchased for distribution by Nahora Films, Paris.
  • Graduated from Newport Film School with a 16mm film called ‘Joyride’, made for just £1000 it was screened on BBC 2 and at a number of short film festivals.

Broadcast credits include:

  • ‘An Evening with Iris’ In 2008 I filmed, edited and on-lined two thirty minute documentaries about the Iris Prize Film Festival. Both were broadcast on ITV.
  • ‘Football Dreams’ In 2006 I photographed and directed a documentary about a group of homeless men and women as they trained for four months and competed to gain a place in the five a side squad representing Wales at the Homeless World Cup Finals in Sweden. The documentary has been very well received and has been screened on BBC2 a number of times.
  • ‘Fatigue in Cannes’ In 2004 I made a 30 minute documentary for ITV about the 53rd Cannes Film Festival. ‘Fatigue in Cannes’ received a ‘pick of the day’ review.

To view some of these films, please visit the screening room.