In 'Pround To Be British' I tried to shed some limelight on the up and coming directing talent being nurtured in our very own back yard, while also trying highlight the major differences in attitude between us and our American cousins when it comes to making a film.

It has come to my attention that it may have come across as a tad derogatory to our obese stricken relatives from across the pond, but let me assure you, that I am in fact a huge fan of American independent films, writers and directors. (I just cant stand the "I WANNA BLOW SHIT UP" brigade of mindless fuckwits),

'Brick' and 'Clerks' being particular personal favourites of mine, the latter possessing a production story that should serve as great inspiration to any amateur would-be film makers.

Generally speaking there does seem to be a huge divide between what media/film students are taught over here and whatever Mickey Mouse courses they try to pass off as educational, in the great U.S of A.

HOWEVER!! This man seems to be bridging the grand chasm of styles all on his own. Gareth Edwards made his debut in pointless American astronaut documentary 'In the shadow of the moon' as a special effects artist, but lost his directive virginity with 'factory farmed', a doco about the treatment of live stock in this country, commissioned by channel 4.

He is solely responsible for 'MONSTERS' in every possible way, he's the creator, writer, director and most impressively the cameraman and special effects artist.

It manages to make a sci-fi story believable, with relatable, likable characters and as the extras were non-actors, who just happened to be there on the day of filming and persuaded to be in the film, their action had to be improvised. As a result of all this random behaviour, the idea of scripting the film went out of the window. Instead they had a loose paragraph describing the scene with just the main points that had to be hit; how the actors carried this out was left up to them.

All of this add to a realness to the movie that I've never seen in any of it's predecessors. Edwards got them to say what he wanted by talking to them about swine flu, and other natural disasters. said as they they were revealing they're terrible experiences of the disasters they sounded like they were talking about an alien invasion.

MONSTERS is fast becoming a modern classic, filmed in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Texas in just THREE WEEKS!, on a equipment budget of just $15,000 and a production crew of just seven people including a driver, the two lead roles, Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able now McNairy after the couple were married. a Mexican 'translator and fixer', Edwards and two of his close friends Ian Maclagan and Jim Spencer who acted as sound engineer and producer.

With Edwards designing the monsters on his home laptop, using off the shelf Adobe software and Autodesk 3ds Max. to save money,This film was made on less than shoe string, but still delivers in ways that some of the big budget movies have failed quite spectacularly. (2012, Day After Tomorrow, Cloverfield, The Knowing the list is endless)

At a time when "disaster movies" have been made with almost every conceivable scenario exhausted, Gareth has created a film that will redifine a genre, reportedly receiving his inspiration whilst watching fishermen struggling to haul in their catch and imagining that they had snared a monster. He had the idea to make a monster movie set "years after most other monster movies end, when people aren't running and screaming, life is going on, where a giant, dead sea monster is considered completely normal."

Monsters is made with all the flair and glamour of Hollywood, but also has that sense of understatement and beauty that is quintessentially British. If you've suffered the disappointment of any the other movies in this genre I implore you to see this movie it might, just might make it all worth it.

Ridley Scott, Guy Ritchie and Danny Boyle are some of the biggest and best British names within the film making industry.

Their collective efforts have pulled in hundreds of millions at the box office and have an impressive array of trophies and gongs between them from countless film/art festivals in every country and continent on the planet, with the characteristic 'gritty realism' (a term which I loathe, but seems to follow any rubber stamped 'made in briton' film around like a bad fucking smell) getting particular critical acclaim, especially from our American cousins.

Hollywood has it's moments Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" is incredible and Danny Boyle "Slumdog Millionaire" a rags to riches story, the release of which almost co-inside with the start of a global depression, highlighted the dream of every working class man or women in the country. but also have their monumental flops, for instance, taking a national icon like 'Robin Hood' and turning him into bad generic action movie

However there are young British directors, that haven't succumbed to the hypnotic glare of the glitz and glamour from the money men in Hollywood, that are out there making films that are delivering, not only do they showcases the amazing wealth of writing and acting talent we have in this country, but also bring it to life for the audience in a way that reflex how we British, are as people, with style and balls out honestly.

Shane Meadows, Steve McQueen and Marianna Palka, are three such promising and quickly becoming established young British directors. What Steve McQueen does in Hunger, reshapes conventional film language to reach the viewer on a very primal level, meanwhile Marianna Palka's near-the-knuckle comedy Good Dick and Dummy, will redefine the way people write and perform comedy. and what can be said about Shane Meadows that hasn't already been said?! his work with 'This is england' franchise has touch the heart of a generation of movie lovers, transported a nation of cynics and moaners, back decades with a film that highlights just how far this country has come in a relatively short space of time, leaving the rest of the world lagging behind, in terms of racism and social behaviour. but not so far in political agendas. Also done in a way as to not to alienate or patronise viewers, the only way we as a nation know how to deal with any situation with character and dark sense of wit and irony.

Yes, if your a British and in te film making industry you are very much en Vogue and in high demand at the moment, with Hollywood production studios throwing massive budgets and unlimited resources at our directors, They're asked to bring their 'Great British Realism' to the largely oafish American audience. most of which after the sprinkling of Hollywood gold dust fail to come out with any of the realism or understated charm that makes The British Film Industry the best in the world.