Watch: Fantastic Short Film ‘Cactus Boy’ About a Childhood Friend
by Alex Billington
July 26, 2022
Source: Vimeo
“Apparently it helps them grow if you talk to them.” Time to meet the Cactus Man. I first watched this short film back in 2020 and totally loved it, and I’ve been patiently waiting for it to debut online ever since. After playing at numerous film festivals around the world for the past few years, it’s finally ready to watch on Vimeo. Cactus Boy is written & directed by British filmmaker Chris Brake and it features an incredible “Cactus Man” man-in-suit character. They built this themselves and it looks great. Cactus Boy tells the story of Winston Prickle, a grown man who decides to break up with his childhood imaginary friend, Cactus Man, after falling for his new co-worker Clem. Colin Ford stars with William John Banks as the Cactus Man and Georgie Flores as Clem. I dig the cactus costume, but this is also just a really sweet story that reminds me of Her in a few ways. Highly recommend watching this short whenever you have a few minutes to enjoy.
Thanks to Chris for the tip. “Ford plays Winston Prickle, a grown man working in an Arizona plant nursery, who still talks to his childhood imaginary friend, the Cactus Man. When the lonely Winston makes a human connection for the first time in his life, after meeting his new co-worker Clem (played by Flores), he begins to realise the time has come to put away childish things, including his cactus friend.” Cactus Boy is both written and directed by London-based filmmaker Chris Brake – you can see more of his work on his Vimeo or follow him on IG @chrisbrakeillo or on Twitter @chrisbrakeillo. Produced by Ryan Bennett and Pieter Engels. Featuring cinematography by Pierfrancesco Cioffi, and original music by Karim Younis. This initially premiered in 2019 at various film festivals, taking home the Audience Award at Film Fest Tucson and Best of the Fest at the Nassau Film Festival. For more info, visit Vimeo or its site. To view more shorts, click here.
