# Nightwalking

Nightwalking (also known as Night Walking) is a 2008 British comedy horror short film directed by Daniel Cormack, starring Raquel Cassidy and Lloyd Woolf.
In 2010, Nightwalking was selected for preservation by the British Film Institute's National Archive and was archived by the British Universities Film and Video Council as part of their Television and Radio Index for Learning and Teaching (TRILT). In 2012, the film was acquired by the British Library's Moving Image Collection.

## Plot

Returning from a night out, Martha (Raquel Cassidy) hears footsteps behind her and becomes convinced she's being followed as she walks down a dark path on her way home. She ponders various strategies such as pretending to do up her shoes in order to let her follower overtake her or simply running away, but dismisses each idea as endangering her even more. Eventually she screws up her courage to turn around and confront the man behind her, but when she does so she sees nothing except a mobile phone glowing on the ground as it calls somebody. James (Lloyd Woolf), her follower, has actually been going out of his way to avoid the impression he is following her or is a threat, but every time he does so it somehow backfires. He tries speeding up to overtake her, but this only makes Martha walk faster. He ponders taking a different route, but there are no turnings off the path they are walking down. Eventually he decides to make a "loud non-threatening phone call" to his mum, reasoning that: "I bet rapists never call their mums." However, as he is distracted with finding her number in his phone, he fails to notice a manhole in the ground and falls head over heels into it, his phone flying to the ground near Martha's feet.

## Release

Nightwalking was originally released online as part of the inaugural Virgin Media Shorts Competition in 2008. It quickly became the most viewed film attracting over 12,300 views and hundreds of comments. The judges initially shortlisted the film for the Grand Prize. However, when the film came to be classified by the British Board of Film Classification it was given a 12a certificate, thus disqualifying it from the competition, which required that the 12 shortlisted films were certified as a PG or U.

### Festivals

| Edition | Festival | Programme Title | Venue | Date | Time | Country | Première Status |
| 8th | X'08 International Disability Film Festival | Director's Showcase: Daniel Cormack | BFI Southbank, Studio | 15 February 2008 (2008-02-15) | 15:50 | UK | World |
| 2nd | Shooting People Split Focus at the BFI | Split Focus: Daniel Cormack / Kara Miller | BFI Southbank, Studio | 10 March 2008 (2008-03-10) | 18:00 | UK | |
| 1st | Wimbledon Shorts Film Festival | Wimbledon Shorts Film Competition | Polka Theatre, Main Theatre | 7 June 2008 (2008-06-07) | 18:30 | UK | |
| 7th | Shot by the Sea: Hastings Film Festival | Festival Launch Prior to Persepolis Prior to Persepolis | Electric Palace Cinema | 25 August 2008 (2008-08-25) 28 August 2008 (2008-08-28) 29 August 2008 (2008-08-29) | 20:00 20:00 20:00 | UK | |
| 2nd | Canary Wharf Film Festival | Short Film UK | Museum in Docklands East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf Cineworld West India Quay, Screen 7 Cineworld West India Quay, Screen 7 | 28 August 2008 (2008-08-28) 29 August 2008 (2008-08-29) 30 August 2008 (2008-08-30) 31 August 2008 (2008-08-31) | 14:45 20:15 14:40 18:25 | UK | |
| 7th | Cornwall Film Festival | Another Country International Short Film Award | Dewhelens Festival, Looe Lewannick Village Hall Wesleyan Chapel St Mary's Isles of Scilly The Aggie Film Club Wooda Farm, Carckington Haven Downderry Film Kitchen Tate St Ives Bude Castle Princess Pavilion, Theatre, Falmouth | 2 September 2008 (2008-09-02) 5 September 2008 (2008-09-05) 7 September 2008 (2008-09-07) 23 September 2008 (2008-09-23) 25 September 2008 (2008-09-25) 26 September 2008 (2008-09-26) 26 September 2008 (2008-09-26) 14 October 2008 (2008-10-14) 8 November 2008 (2008-11-08) | 19:00 19:30 14:00 19:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 19:30 13:00 | UK | |
| 13th | Portobello Film Festival | London Filmmakers Convention - Day 2 | Paradise Bar, Private Dining Room | 3 September 2008 (2008-09-03) | 18:00 | UK | |
| 3rd | Compass of Mystery Festival | Five Minutes of Mystery | Mivart Street Studios Studio 1 | 4 October 2008 (2008-10-04) | 16:00 | UK | |
| 1st | Hello Digital Film Festival | Prior to the feature presentation of 28 Days Later | Electric Cinema, Birmingham | 28 September 2008 (2008-09-28) | 17:00 | UK | |
| 9th | Filmstock International Film Festival | Short Film Weekend 02 | The Hat Factory, Screen One The Hat Factory, Basement | 7 November 2008 (2008-11-07) 8 November 2008 (2008-11-08) | 21:00 10:10 | UK | |
| 12th | CAN Leicester Film Festival | Day 2 | Phoenix Arts Centre Cinema | 8 November 2009 (2009-11-08) | 19:00 | UK | |
| 6th | The End of the Pier International Film Festival | Comedy Drama Shorts | Regis Centre, Alexandra Theatre | 1 May 2009 (2009-05-01) | 18:00 | UK | |
| 9th | Nickel Independent Film Festival | Shorts | Memorial University of Newfoundland, INCO Innovation Centre | 26 June 2009 (2009-06-26) | 19:30 | Canada | Canadian |
| 3rd | Limelight Film & Arts Awards | Best Comedy category | Troxy, Main Auditorium | 8 July 2010 (2010-07-08) | 18:30 | UK | |
| 4th | Rob Knox Film Festival | Festival | New Generation Church Erith Rowing Club Cineworld Bexleyheath | 31 May 2011 (2011-05-31) 5 June 2011 (2011-06-05) 8 June 2011 (2011-06-08) | 19:00 10:00 18:00 | UK | |
| 2nd | Twickenham Alive Film Festival | Festival | Live Room, Twickenham Stadium Edmund Kean Theatre, Richmond Upon Thames College | 26 April 2013 (2013-04-26) 1 May 2013 (2013-05-01) | 19:00 16:00 | UK | |

### Broadcast

In 2010, Nightwalking was broadcast on Channel 4 as part of "a series of short original films produced by a variety of talented writers and directors"; the first time in over 8 years that Channel 4 had acquired and broadcast independent short films.

## Reception
### Accolades

Nightwalking has a rating of 6.8 out of 10 from IMDb's top 1,000 voters.
| Rank | Award | Awarding Body | Nominee | Year |
| Winner | Best Merton Filmmaker Award | Wimbledon Shorts Film Competition | Daniel Cormack | 2008 |
| Nominated | Short Film UK Award | Canary Wharf Film Festival | Daniel Cormack | 2008 |
| Nominated | Another Country International Short Film Award | Cornwall Film Festival | Daniel Cormack | 2008 |
| Nominated | Five Minutes of Mystery - Best Film Award | Compass of Mystery Film Festival | Daniel Cormack | 2008 |
| Nominated | Golden Monkey Award | CAN Leicester Film Festival | Daniel Cormack | 2008 |
| Nominated | Best Comedy Award | Limelight Film & Arts Awards | Daniel Cormack | 2010 |
| Special Mention | National Drama Award | Twickenham Alive Film Festival | Daniel Cormack | 2013 |
| Shortlisted (Disqualified) | Virgin Media Shorts Award | Virgin Media | Daniel Cormack | 2008 |