Exclusive: Hollywood Award Winning Producer Keith Large Brings Powerful New Film Fist and Chips to Formby
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
For most people walking along Three Tuns Lane in Formby this week, it may have looked like just another film crew at work.
Cameras rolled, scenes were carefully rehearsed, actors stepped in and out of character, and curious residents stopped to watch as a professional production took shape outside James’ Fish Bar.
What many people will not have realised is that they were witnessing the latest project from award winning producer, writer and director Keith Large, an independent filmmaker whose work has been recognised around the world, including in Hollywood.
Formby Bubble was invited behind the scenes during filming and spent time speaking exclusively with Keith about his remarkable career, his passion for telling powerful human stories, and why his latest short film, Fist and Chips, has taken more than twelve years to reach the screen.
A Story That Refused To Be Forgotten
Some scripts are written and filmed within months.
Others spend years waiting for the right moment.
For Keith Large, Fist and Chips has been a labour of love since 2012.
Originally written as a radio play called Fish and Chips, the story became the flagship production on a major domestic abuse against men website for three years.
Although there was early interest in adapting it into a film, the project never came together.
Many writers would have moved on.
Keith never did.
He always believed the story deserved to be told.
Over the years the script remained close to him until finally the opportunity arrived to bring it to life on screen.
Today, more than twelve years after first putting pen to paper, cameras have finally started rolling.
A Different Way Of Looking At Domestic Abuse
Without revealing the ending, Keith explained that Fist and Chips approaches domestic abuse from a perspective that is rarely explored.
Rather than focusing on one gender, the film highlights that domestic abuse affects both men and women.
Keith believes every victim deserves to be heard and that conversations around abuse should include everyone affected.
The film is not intended to divide opinion.
Instead, it aims to encourage understanding, compassion and conversation about an issue that continues to affect families across the country.
Completing A Powerful Trilogy
Fist and Chips is the final chapter in what Keith describes as a trilogy of films examining different forms of abuse.
His first film was inspired by a true story involving abuse within the entertainment industry.
To protect identities he moved the setting from acting into the music industry while keeping the heart of the story intact.
Remarkably, Keith completed the screenplay just before the Harvey Weinstein allegations emerged.
As the Me Too movement gathered momentum, the film found an audience willing to engage with its message.
Keith remains a passionate supporter of the movement and believes it encouraged important conversations that should never be forgotten.
His second film, The Silent Treatment, explored coercive control through silence.
Working alongside director Stephen Lansfield, Keith made the unusual decision to remove almost all dialogue, allowing silence itself to become one of the film’s strongest storytelling devices.
Now, with Fist and Chips, Keith says the trilogy is complete.
Hollywood Recognition
Keith’s journey as an independent filmmaker has taken him far beyond the United Kingdom.
His productions have been screened at film festivals across the world and have earned international recognition, including awards in Hollywood.
At the beginning of 2020 Keith travelled to Hollywood to collect an award for one of his films, something many independent filmmakers only dream of achieving.
Then, like so many others, the pandemic brought everything to a standstill. Production stopped.
Rather than allowing that difficult period to define him, he returned to doing what he loves most, telling stories.
One small project that Keith described as “just a bit of fun” went on to become one of his biggest successes.
The production won around thirty awards and attracted coverage from BBC Midlands Today, Channel 5 News and BBC WM.
Looking back, Keith laughed as he admitted it received more publicity in a week than some of his work had achieved over many years.
The Story Always Comes First -
One thing became very clear during our conversation.
Keith is fascinated by people. Whether he is making a comedy, a documentary or a drama, he looks for the human story.
He spoke passionately about making a documentary featuring an elderly boxer who was told he would never walk properly again after a devastating accident.
Doctors believed his career was over.
Instead, the boxer travelled overseas for treatment, recovered and returned to the ring.
For Keith, it was never really about boxing. It was about determination. It was about refusing to accept defeat.
It was about ordinary people showing extraordinary resilience.
That same passion for human stories runs through all of his work.
A Chance Meeting Changed Everything
Although Fist and Chips had existed for years, the breakthrough finally came at the CineWire Film Festival in Fleetwood.
Film makers attending the awards evening were invited to pitch ideas for future productions.
Keith pitched Fist and Chips once again.
Afterwards he was approached by director Fred, who immediately saw the potential in the project.
The two exchanged contact details and began adapting the original radio play into a cinematic short film.
The radio version relied heavily on dialogue and was largely set inside a car.
For the screen, the script was completely reworked into a much more visual production while preserving the original message that Keith had written all those years ago.
An Impressive Cast
Despite running for only around seven to ten minutes, Fist and Chips features an experienced cast.
Among them is Kulvinder Ghir, well known for his appearances in Goodness Gracious Me, Bend It Like Beckham, Still Open All Hours, Blinded by the Light and Rita, Sue and Bob Too.
Keith only met Kulvinder at a London film festival earlier this year but immediately knew he would be perfect for the role.
The film also stars Rita, who previously appeared in Keith’s award winning film The Silent Treatment.
Keith first met Rita following a chance encounter after a cancelled flight left him with several unexpected hours in Birmingham.
What began as a random meeting developed into a friendship during the Covid lockdowns, when Keith regularly helped Rita’s young son with reading lessons over FaceTime.
Years later, that friendship has led to another film together.
Why Formby?
The production came to Formby through director Fred, whose father now lives locally.
After searching for suitable locations, the team chose Three Tuns Lane, with much of the filming taking place outside the much loved James’ Fish Bar.
Keith was full of praise for the owners and staff, describing them as welcoming, supportive and incredibly cooperative throughout filming.
Independent productions often rely on local businesses opening their doors to help make filming possible.
Keith said the support shown by James’ Fish Bar played an important part in bringing the project to life.
For Formby, it means one of the town’s best known landmarks will now become part of a film that audiences across the world may eventually see.
The Secret To Success
Perhaps the most revealing part of our conversation came when Keith spoke about what he looks for in the people around him.
His answer was simple.
Enthusiasm.
“What I look for more than anything is enthusiasm.
“I want somebody who wants to be there.
“I honestly believe enthusiasm will take you most of the way towards being successful.”
It is a philosophy that seems to define Keith himself.
Independent film making is not easy.
He openly spoke about projects that never happened, opportunities that disappeared, and doors that were closed in his face.
But each setback simply became another reason to keep going.
That determination has taken him from independent productions to Hollywood recognition and now to the streets of Formby.
Looking Ahead
Once editing is complete, Fist and Chips will begin its journey around the international film festival circuit.
Keith hopes it will secure screenings across Europe, including a festival in Madrid following previous success in Barcelona.
Whatever happens next, Formby will always be part of the film’s story.
For a few days this week, cameras rolled outside James’ Fish Bar as an award winning film maker finally brought to life a project that had been waiting more than twelve years for its moment.
It is a film with an important message.
It is a story about people.
It is a story about resilience.
And after spending time with Keith Large, one thing is certain.
Awards may have taken him to Hollywood, but it is the people he meets, the stories he hears and the lives he hopes to change that continue to inspire every project he makes.
Everyone at Formby Bubble wishes Keith, the cast and the entire production team every success as Fist and Chips begins its journey from the streets of Formby to audiences around the world.
.jpg)
Comments