Girlfriend in a Kimono

Infobox Film
name = Girlfriend in a Kimono

---

caption =
director = Dominic Thackray
producer = Rachael Castell
Oli Harbottle
Ronni Raygun
Yumiko Tahata
writer = Dominic Thackray
narrator =
starring = Penny Rimbaud
Shizuka Hata
Amber Butchart
Jesse Vile
music = Ronni Raygun
cinematography = Candida Richardson
Captain Zip
editing = Mia Bittar
distributor = Dogwoof Pictures
released = March 2006
runtime = 9 mins 30 secs
country = UK
language =
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0486588

Girlfriend in a Kimono is a short film shot in the summer of 2005, written and directed by Dominic Thackray who describes it as an anti-romance. It tells the tale of autoslacker Vincent (played by Raindance Film Festival producer Jesse Vile) who falls for French burlesque dancer Candice (played by model Amber Butchart). It also features Penny Rimbaud (of Crass) as the enigmatic Rimbaud and Shizuka Hata (of Banzai) in two roles. The film's score is by Hey Is Dee Dee (Ramone) Home producer Ronni Raygun Thomas, and there is additional music from Saint Etienne, Crass and Talulah Gosh.

The film was selected by the British Council [ [http://www.britfilms.com/britishfilms/catalogue/browse/?tp=2&skip=100/ British Films Catalogue] ] in early 2006 for inclusion in their film festivals programme [ [http://www.britishcouncil.org/romania-arts-future-events-british-film-festival-programme-iasi.htm/ British Council website] ] and was shorlisted for awards at the Raindance Film Festival, Halloween London Short Film Festival and Coney Island Film Festival. Writer-director Thackray worked a succession of low-rent jobs, the last of which as a receptionist in a zero-star hotel on the left bank in Paris in 1995, where he occasionally rented out rooms by the hour. Soon after quitting he embarked upon a degree in graphic design. From 1999 to 2007 he worked for the Raindance Film Festival in London as designer and programmer. Girlfriend in a Kimono was his first film as director and he is on/off developing a feature version.

Some reviews of the film:

'A seductive sense of chaos, anarchy and romance. An original, spirited take on the madness and unpredictability of life in our capital city' Dave Calhoun, Time Out London

'Really funny' Wendy Mitchell, Indiewire [ [http://blogs.indiewire.com/indiewendy/archives/005197.html/ Wendywire] ]

'Smart script and well-paced. This is the short Zach Braff might have made before embarking on Garden State' Adam Watkins, Six Degrees Film [ [http://www.6degreesfilm.com/reviews.php?id=316/ 6 Degrees Film] ]

'Penny Rimbaud crops up as a malevolent presence in the groovy mini-fable Girlfriend in a Kimono, a nicely shot and perfectly formed short' Chris Anderson, Plan B magazine

References and bibliography

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486588/ IMDb]
* [http://www.bitchrabbit.com/ Official site]