The Peaches

Meet a very beautiful, very clever girl who adores peaches in Michael Gill's BFI-funded fantasy short.

If Edward Lear had been alive in the 60s, he may well have made The Peaches, Britain's short film entry at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. A very beautiful, very clever girl (played by future Adam Adamant Lives! star Juliet Harmer) adores peaches, but when she falls in love the world's supply starts to wither... Harmer could hardly have wished for a more eulogistic debut than this impeccable slice of nonsense. Peter Ustinov’s wonderfully dry narration is the only dialogue.

Director Michael Gill, best known for documentary series Civilisation (1969) made this short with funding from the BFI's Experimental Film Fund. It was written by his then-wife, actress Yvonne Gilan; look out for a cameo from their young son - aka A.A. Gill.