The story behind the 'risky' film shot in a Glasgow shop unit

Director Ciaran Lyons is making his feature debut with the blackly comic psychological thriller Tummy Monster which will have its first screening on Saturday, March 2.

The film, which was shot over five days last year, centres around the character Tales, a brilliant but egotistical tattoo artist who gets dragged into a bizarre game with an international popstar when a selfie request doesn’t go as planned.

Orlando Norman and Lorn Macdonald in Tummy Monster (Image: GFF)

Actor Lorn Macdonald, who plays Albion Finch in Netflix's Bridgerton, stars as Tales.

He says he was attracted to the role after reading the script because he thought it was something that was "either going to be truly terrible or something really interesting".

"I don’t think many people are going to be like ‘have you seen that film that’s just like all these other films’," Lorn says.

"It lives in its own little world which I was really excited by.

"But that’s also really risky because I think this film asks quite a lot of its audience.

"I had just done nine months on Bridgerton and it couldn’t have been further from it."

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While Lorn says Tales may be somewhat of an "idiot" due to his actions, which risks ruining his life, he says he also ‘respects’ his drive.

He said: "The vulnerability that it takes to ask [for the selfie] is actually quite a human side.

"When he exposes that vulnerability and then is shot down that kind of clicks something in him which means the endurance test it turns into becomes way more than about the selfie – it’s about proving something to himself, to the world."

Ciaran added: "The person who shows up is perfectly designed to press his buttons.

"Because he’s not at peace with himself, he can’t really be comfortable around this person who’s really successful."

Orlando Norman, Lorn Macdonald and Michael Akinsilure in Tummy Monster (Image: GFF)

The "risky" concept for the film came about after Ciaran heard a story about a person who tried to get an autograph from a celebrity.

"I wanted to do something that was very low budget, very performance driven and I then heard this story about this person who tried to get an autograph from a very particular famous person," he explains.

"The story didn’t go past the point of the person saying no and when this guy was telling me there was zero empathy for the famous person.

"And I was thinking how do you make a story that takes a person from having no empathy for the famous person on a journey so they actually understand what brought the person to that point."

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While the story originally had Tales asking for an autograph, it was Lorn who suggested he should ask for a selfie, with Ciaran saying the process of making the film was "very collaborative".

So, what is it Ciaran hopes the audience takes away from Tummy Monster?

"It would be a good thing if people laugh," he says.

"But there’s a payoff to the whole thing because you don’t really know where it’s going.

"I love stories where you have this moment of revelation."

Tummy Monster will screen at GFF on Saturday, March 2, Sunday, March 3, and Thursday, March 7.