Written and directed by Ciaran Lyons, Tummy Monster premiered this week at Glasgow Film Festival. Having been filmed in Scotland, Tummy Monster played fantastically to the hometown crowd and looks set to take the festival circuit by storm.
Tummy Monster stars Lorn Macdonald as Tales, a tattooist going through a rough spot of his own devising. Then, one night his luck begins to change when he is requested by a very special client. The world famous musician Tummy, played by Orlando Norman, is in need of new ink and Tales is happy to oblige, even if it is the middle of the night. What begins as a rather cordial relationship, quickly sours when Tales makes a request for a selfie. Tummy refuses and, with the help of his minder (Michael Akinsilure), sets in motion a night of chaos for the hapless tattooist.
A film which explores male pride and society’s obsession with celebrities, Tummy Monster offers the viewer plenty of food for thought. It charts the downfall of Tales in a manner that is both intense and somewhat hilarious. Shot across just five days, Tummy Monster is an impressive piece of independent film. It is a bold debut feature for Lyons that demonstrates an abundance of talent both in front of, and behind, the camera.
Mere hours before the premiere at Glasgow Film Festival, THN jumped on a Zoom call with the trio of Ciaran Lyons, Lorn Macdonald and Michael Akinsilure to discuss the film in more detail. We discussed the pitfalls of fame, how both living and working together affected Macdonald and Orlando Norman making a film on a restrictive amount of days, and whether Tummy might be the devil in disguise. The interview can be enjoyed in its entirety in the video below:
Tummy Monster screened at Glasgow Film Festival 2024.
