Watch: Alan Shelley's winning short film with Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey was in Johannesburg recently to attend the premiere of A Spirit of a Denture, a short film written and directed by South African filmmaker Alan Shelley.

The film came about after Shelley entered the international Jameson First Shot competition, run by Trigger Street Productions, which looked for the best script from South Africa, USA and Russia. A winner from each country was chosen and was given the opportunity to film their script in Los Angeles, with Kevin Spacey as the lead actor.

Alan Shelley, a 26-year-old from Cape Town, beat off competition from over 700 other entries with his script.

A Spirit of a Denture, a 9-minute film, tells the story of a dentist Dr Bob Midling (played by Spacey) who gets a visit from a pirate who wants a painful tooth extracted, but is afraid of needles.

At the premiere of his film, Shelley said: "I can’t quite believe I’m attending the premiere of my own short film – it’s completely surreal. I’m so honoured to have been chosen to represent South Africa in the competition and I only hope that people enjoy my film. I’m also completely indebted to Kevin Spacey and [President of Trigger Street Productions] Dana Brunetti for being so generous with their time and enthusiasm on this project – it really has been an incredible opportunity."

Watch Alan Shelley’s winning A Spirit of a Denture here:



For more info on the competition and the winners from Russia and the USA, check out the Jameson First Shot YouTube page.