In the Neighbour’s Garden // 12min // Drama // 2015 // UK

Director: Robert Hamilton
Writer/Producer: Andrew Martyn-Lewis and Matthew McPherson
Cinematographer: Ossi Jalkanen
Cast: Andrew Martyn-Lewis, Matthew McPherson

In the First World War, two soldiers live out their existence in either boredom or fear, until a chance discovery lifts them away from the trenches.

The film focuses on the lives of Tom and Edward, two English soldiers in the First World War, whose time is occupied by either surviving artillery barrages or living out the long hours on sentry duty. One morning after a heavy shelling, Edward discovers a cricket ball in no-mans land and the two soldiers play a makeshift game of cricket. The excitement of the game takes over.

Together, for the first time, they can forget their dire circumstances. After one huge bowl, they accidentally knock it back ‘over the top’. Tom attempts to retrieve the ball and is killed in the process. Edward is left in the
trench, back where he started, without his friend.