Sent to Coventry

In this two page storyboard commission, the memory expert and cognitive psychologist Robert Nash asked WITH TV to fictionalise the evening he met his husband, and to consider how accurate their memories of that evening might be. 

 

In the imaginary WITH TV film Sent to Coventry (set in 2006) twenty different versions of the lead character Robbie Nash have twenty different experiences of the same night, over a series of short vignettes. In all the short stories each ‘Robbie’ decides to go clubbing at short notice after receiving a text message from a friend, and in every version Robbie always ends up meeting his future husband at the nightclub. However, as the film progresses each retelling becomes more eventful, making their chance meeting less and less likely.

 

In this extract from the film’s fictional storyboard the sixth version of ‘Robbie’ is waiting for a bus, when his phone goes off in his pocket. Just as he’s about to read the message it’s snatched from his hand by two thieves on a moped. We then see Robbie chase down the assailants and deal with them. As he reads the all-important message, he slowly realises that the chase has coincidentally taken him to the door of the nightclub…

 

Robert said: “The process of working with Al Hopwood throughout the commission was brilliant. After our initial discussion he built an idea around this important night in my life, and I really love the results. I am a scientist who researches memory, and WITH TV deals in such a fun and compelling way with the subject of how our precious memories change and evolve over time.”