You're Gonna Wake Up One Morning

I caught this at the Portobello Film festival and it went on to do well at a number of festivals, including the Rhode Island Oscar qualifier.

If you know Brighton, it's really satisfying watching this tale of teenage discovery played out on the famous seaside backdrop.

As new punks meet old punks - meets drugs and some dodgy party goers - two young people work out who they really are.

Peel away the Gothic clothes and facial piercings, designer baseball caps and preppy shirts and are all kids the same underneath?

There's the added twist of a mix up with a couple of mystery hardmen, but it's the relationship between the two supposedly incompatible kids that holds your interest.

The two leads (Cary Crankson and Julie Mayhew) are really engaging and easy to identify with - plus it's great to see a cameo from music legend Don Letts.

The soundtrack and music references will also please muso geeks!

Definitely worth a look.

Hey all. This is a strong and charismatic, well-crafted film. There are unpredictable elements that make it a fun trip, and it has a superb ending. I enjoyed taking the ride into the unknown with these characters--the actors did them justice--totally believable. I would wager I am nothing like these people, and yet somehow I could identify and empathize with their morality and loyalties. Point Blank: It's just plain cool, innovative, energized and FUN. And it makes you think a bit. Bonus. We accepted this film and gave the Best Short Video Award in our festival. It beat out 500 films to get in, and over a dozen for the award. See it. Open your minds. --Z

I organise one of the most successful monthly film screenings in the UK and we've shown several of Mark Jay's films over the years, all of which were fine examples of imaginative, well-crafted film-making on a budget.

'You're Gonna Wake Up One Morning' was the first of Mark's films we screened and was so popular with our audience that we had to show it again a few months later. Although made on a shoe-string budget, it has the look of something much more expensive and uses exterior locations particularly well. The film is well-plotted with interesting characters and a great performance from the actor playing a local drug-dealer. Mark obviously has a good ear for dialogue and a sure hand with actors.

Personally, I enjoyed the film a great deal and was impressed by its pace, editing and overall feel. Great soundtrack, too!

Richard Harris, Final Cut