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Stars: Ben Radcliffe, John Travolta, Claire Price, Scarlet Grace, Iwan Bond, Simon Wilson, Millie Kent, Steven Mackintosh | Written and Directed by Iain Softley

I don’t usually cover shorts, I always seem to have more features to review than I do time, but I had to make an exception for The Shepherd. I remembered reading Frederick Forsyth’s novella when I was growing up, and a reading of it by the late Al Maitland has been a Christmas tradition on CBC radio since 1979. So, telling myself that since The Academy considers forty minutes to be feature length I finally used the Disney+ subscription my wife got us and checked it out.

Freddie is an Raf pilot stationed in Germany who wishes he was home for the holidays. He sees his chance when a fellow pilot is injured and can’t make his scheduled flight to England. Despite only recently qualifying...

Are you ready for a spine-tingling Christmas tale that will make you question your reality? Disney Plus and Alfonso Cuarón, the mastermind behind ‘Gravity’ and ‘Roma,’ present ‘The Shepherd’, a short film that will haunt you long after the credits roll.

Written and directed by Iain Softley, and starring John Travolta as the mysterious saviour, ‘The Shepherd’ is based on the book by Frederick Forsyth and tells the story of a young Raf pilot who faces a life-or-death situation on Christmas Eve. Flying home across the North Sea, he loses his radio and electric power, and his fuel is running low. Just when he thinks he is doomed, he hears a voice on the radio, guiding him to safety. But who is this voice, and what is his connection to the pilot? Find out in ‘The Shepherd’, a ghost story that will touch your heart and challenge your mind.

On...

"All I wanted was to come home to spend Christmas with you." Disney has unveiled an official trailer for a short film called The Shepherd, based on the book about a Raf pilot's miraculous flight. This project is co-produced by none other than fellow filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón, who's enthusiastic about adapting this story. On Christmas Eve in 1957, a fighter pilot on his way home from a distant mission gets lost mid-flight over water and needs a miracle to land safely. It will, of course, be streaming this December just in time for the holidays. Cuarón explains: "I was a long-time admirer of this story and, being old friends with Iain, he was the perfect match to bring this beloved narrative to life on film for the first time." I'm nice to hear this kind of support. He was inspired by the success of last year's short Le Pupille, which we've also added below.

Disney+ has released the first trailer for the upcoming short film “The Shepherd,” premiering on Dec. 1.

The story follows Ben Radcliffe as Freddie Hooke, a young Royal Air Force pilot flying home across the North Sea on Christmas Eve. He finds himself in peril when his radio and electricity cut out, leaving him stranded and running on limited fuel. John Travolta, who also executive produced the short, plays a mysterious, good Samaritan rescue pilot who appears at just the right moment.

Steven Mackintosh, Millie Kent, Simon Wilson, Iwan Bond, Claire Price, Simon Lennon, Jack Donoghue, Asan N’Jie, Olatunji Ayofe and Scarlet Grace also star.

Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuarón serves as the film’s producer, while Iain Softley writes and directs. Cuarón said in a statement, “John, Iain and myself have been long-time admirers of the beloved short novel by Frederick Forsyth. I am thrilled that we have been able...