Mancattan

Hello. First of all, my name is Colin Warhurst; yes, the same one from the film. This 'review' may not be the best place to write this, but I see no other way of trying to add balance on IMDb to a rather hurtful and anonymous 'review' which has been on here for many years.

Of course folks are entitled to an opinion, and 'iamchob' is certainly passionate in his. However, I have reason to believe that person may know us 'in real life' and as such has a vendetta against the film, and the Independent Film Scene happening in the North West around the time 2007-2010. I could be totally wrong about this, and don't wish to appear as a conspiracy theorist, but the tone is rather vitriolic and there a few hints in the text which makes me suspect this is the case.

Regardless of this, there are also some really crude and offensive remarks in the review which poke fun at various mental illnesses, and suicide; all of which are totally uncalled for in any public forum.

There are just enough references to technical film qualities that 'iamchob' alludes to in order to convince the reader that his diatribe still looks like a review. But I don't believe it is, I think regardless of his opinions of us or the film, his writing is just plain offensive and meant as an attack; it is not a piece of criticism, constructive or otherwise.

But to answer his apparent 'critiques' and provide some balance (and of course I am biased; I made the film!) Mancattan never, ever, claimed to be anything but an indie short. We shot the film for about about £500, just to see if we could 'have a go' at the very START of our careers. Inevitably, Mancattan was always going to be very rough around around the edges.

The tone of 'iamchob' and his 'review' seems like that of an angry cinema-goer, who was promised and sold a ticket to a something he wasn't expecting. I don't know how to answer that assumption, because it would be a false one; the film was distributed for free online, and from the very beginning, advertised itself as 'Low budget, independent, British Film.' We never wanted to even try to make money from it; rather, we wanted people to see our work however they could, and that is why we chose a free online distribution platform. We even donated the film's advertising revenue entirely to charity.

The question that each viewer will have to answer for themselves, is whether Mancattan should be judged harshly because it does not match up to a 'real film' in terms of it's budget and appearance, or if it should be given extra appreciation precisely because the film was completed despite it's financial limitations. I suspect the answer is somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.

Better films than ours have been made on less money... And worse films than ours have been made on more money.

All I know is that we got the film made. We spanned two continents to do so. We spent two years working on it, had it shown at two festivals and released it online where it received over 20,000 hits. It meant by the time I was 27, I had a feature film to my name.

It also means we've apparently upset a few anonymous people who obviously don't like independent low/no budget film. For this, we can't (and won't) apologise.

The film is still online for free viewing, and for any of you who had seen it, or may do so in the future, I would encourage you to form your own opinions, and to be wary of vitriolic anonymous reviews. If you like, or dislike, the film then please do share your views, opinions and criticisms; but doing so in a constructive way is better for everyone.

Finally, I'd encourage anyone thinking about making their own features,(DIY, independent, funded or otherwise) to do so and not be put off by reviews, nay-sayers or anyone in the industry who tells you to stop. If you feel the urge, then you must create, and the fates will fall where they may.

All the best, I hope you give the film a chance and enjoy it if you do. Many thanks to the 20,000 people who have watched (and enjoyed?) it so far.

Colin Warhurst