Warp Records' offshoot wins a BAFTA.

“SHIT OFF” reads the destination on the back of the bus carrying the man with no name and his lawyer dog, who’s just killed a duck. This is what Enid Blyton had nightmares about.

Chris Morris’ first short film, My Wrongs #8245-8249 & 117, won a BAFTA last weekend. Mark Herbert, the film’s producer and founder of Warp Films, collected the award, while Morris, inevitably, didn’t show up to thank the Academy or God. “Chris was umming and aahing but decided against it,” says Mark a couple of days later. “So me and Paddy [Considine, the lead actor in My Wrongs] went. Paddy was convinced we weren’t going to win, because we were sitting in the middle of the rows. He’s been before and he said you only win if you have aisle seats, and I believed him. So it was a complete shock.”

Warp Films, an offshoot of Warp Records, was given the go-ahead in October 2001, pledging to mirror the label’s artist-led production and head up the next generation of cutting edge cult films. Warp had already been responsible for the hugely successful Chris Cunningham/Aphex Twin promos, Come To Daddy and Windowlicker, outstanding short films in their own right which were released as retail videos and sold 90,000 copies between them.

When the company launched, Mark cited the likes of Blade Runner, Being John Malkovich and A Clockwork Orange as yardsticks. And with Morris and Cunningham on board, his confidence is understandable. He’s also excited about getting the films into shops – most short films can only be seen at film festivals – and My Wrongs has already exceeded expectations, possibly due to huge press response and the BAFTA.

“It looks really contrived because the DVD was out last Monday,” says Mark. “But it wasn’t. The sales have gone way above what we thought… It’s in the charts, which is great for a short film.” Next up is a DVD album from Cunningham, who has been commissioned to create 12-14 short pieces. Rumour has it these will include collaborations with Squarepusher, and revitalised versions of previous work he’s done, specifically the trailer he did for Aphex Twin’s Drukqs album, featuring himself naked in a wheelchair with an enormous Elephant Man-type head. They’re also talking about developing a feature film together.

As well as securing the likes of established geniuses like Morris and Cunningham, Warp are on the lookout for new talent. “We’re looking for people who are untainted by the system,” says Mark. “We’re not gonna try to make mainstream films. We’re not interested. We’re not gonna try to do the next Full Monty, there are other people who can do that much better. The stuff we’re into, we’ll do it and we’ll put 100 per cent into it.” Alex Godfrey 28 February 03

My Wrongs #8245-8249 & 117 is out now on Warp Films at £6.99.

useful link: www.warprecords.com