The Confession (2010 film)

The Confession
Directed by	Tanel Toom
Written by	Caroline Bruckner Tanel Toom
Produced by	Emily Williams
Starring	Lewis Howlett Joe Eales
Cinematography	Davide Cinzi
Edited by	Marianne Kuopanportti
Music by	Paul Lambert
Production company	National Film and Television School
Release date	12 June 2010 (2010-06-12)
Running time	26 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Confession is a 2010 British melodramatic short film directed by Tanel Toom.

Sam can't think of any sins to tell the priest at his first confession. He worries that he won't be a real Catholic if the priest doesn't absolve him of some misdeed. Jacob, Sam's friend, devises a solution in the form of a prank, but the result is tragic.

Plot

Sam, an eight-year-old attending a Catholic school, and his trouble making friend Jacob prepare for their first confession. Their class is given a list of sins that children can confess. These include “bullying” and “swearing” among others. Sam pores over the list but is unable to come up with a sin he has done. Sam asks Jacob what he will confess. Jacob states that he would mention not listening to his mom and locking his sister in the closet. Sam feels like he will not be a true Catholic if he cannot be absolved, so he turns to Jacob to suggest a sin Sam could commit and then confess to.

Jacob and Sam decide to steal Farmer Collins’ Scarecrow and leave in middle of the road for him to find while he is driving his tractor to town, committing the sin of “stealing.” The plan backfires when Famer Collins pulls off the main road before he sees the stolen scarecrow. At the moment the tractor pulls off the road, another car speeds down the twisted and deserted street and, believing the scarecrow to be a dead body, swerves to avoid it and crashes into a tree. Sam walks up to the car and sees a woman and a little girl alive, but severely dazed and bleeding from the head. The car bursts into flames. Sam and Jacob flee the scene with the scarecrow. As they are running through the woods they hear the car explode. Sam and Jacob push the scarecrow off a cliff by the tree they play by every day. Jacob makes Sam swear never to tell anyone because “it was an accident.” Sam is full of guilt. That night he dreams the dead woman, the farmer and his father all know. He is haunted by what he has done.

In school the next day Sam runs out of his class into the bathroom, unable to deal with what he has done. Jacob runs after him and tells him that no one knows that he has to keep it together. Jacob tells Sam to meet him at the tree where they hid the scarecrow after dinner.

During dinner that night Sam’s father mentions that Collins’ scarecrow was missing, leading guilt striven Sam to believe that his father knows what he has done. After dinner he meets Jacob by the tree. Sam wants to tell someone what has happened. Jacob states that if he does Jacob will deny everything because it was Sam’s fault. The two boys start pushing each other, while Sam yells over and over again “it’s not my fault, it’s not my fault.” During the fight Sam accidentally pushes Jacob into the same cliff they dumped the scarecrow the day before. Jacob dies instantly.

The next day Sam goes to church early in the morning in his robes to have his first confession. While the Priest states that confession does start until later, Sam insists that he confess his sins now. The Priest, seeing that something is clearly troubling Sam, agrees.

Sam states “Bless me father for I have sinned, this is my first confession.” The Priest gently asks Sam to name his sins. With tears streaming down his face Sam, unable to say all he has done, confesses not listening to his mum and locking his sister in the closet, the same sins his now deceased friend Jacob was going to confess. The Priest declares Sam’s sins to be absolved. Sam, still very much troubled by his actions quietly leaves the confessional.

Cast

• Lewis Howlett as Sam

An 8-year-old, Catholic schoolboy, Sam is a good kid with a conscience who prefers to follow the rules. However, his friend Jacob often leads him astray.

• Joe Eales as Jacob

Sam's friend and classmate, Jacob questions conventions. He has a mischievous streak, and ultimately, he lacks a conscience.

• James Simmons as the priest
• Gemma Atkins as the teacher
• Aran Bell as Sam's father

Awards, nominations, and honors

Year	Ceremony	Award	Result	Category
2011	Academy Awards	Oscar	Nominated	Short Film (Live Action)
2011	MPSE Golden Reels Awards	Verna Fields Award	Nominated	Best Sound Editing in a Student Film
2010	Student Academy Awards	Student Oscar	Won	Honorary Foreign Film

External links

• The Confession excerpt hosted at Oscars.org
• The Confession at IMDb
• Watch the full film. Requires password.