THE HAT (2020): Topic Studios Buys Short Film Featuring Jude Law and Son

Topic Studios Buys The Hat Starring Jude and Raff Law

Topic Studios has picked up Darren Strowger‘s short film The Hat, starring Jude Law and his son Raff Law.

The Hat was shot during lockdown and has an original score put together by The Who’s Pete Townshend. The film is the first instance of Jude Law and his son Raff Law — who is starring in the upcoming Twist — acting together on screen.

The six-minute film was shot entirely on an iPhone on location in the U.K. It follows a young man who finds himself into the middle of a barren field. The man is then interrupted by a mysterious assailant who starts chasing him. Plans are now in place to extend the short into a feature-length film.

Strowger is most famous for being the co-founder of British tech firm Excell Group, though he says he has been considering a career in film making for a few years. During lockdown, the he was quarantining with the Laws, who are family friends.

“We pulled this together over a month,” says Strowger, who says he’s taken to directing “quite naturally” and hopes to get more experience in the future. “What’s incredible is that I wouldn’t have been able to enlist Pete [Townsend] or Jude [Law] in normal times, because Pete would be on tour and Jude would be filming ‘Fantastic Beasts,’” says Strowger. “By all of us being there together, I managed to cut and edit the film, and call up Pete and get him involved. It all just came together.”

The film will premiere at the Raindance Film Festival on November 6th, where it has received the nomination for Best U.K. Short. The premiere will be a charitable event for the Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America, which was co-founded by Townshend.

The Hat will be the first short in a planned series for charitable benefit featuring Strowger and other directors. The series comes with a roster of A-list actors and public figures, including Helen Mirren and Cara and Poppy Delevingne. Both Jude Law and Raff Law have donated their acting fees for their roles in The Hat, and any profits that come from streaming revenue will also go directly to those charities.

“I think, during this time, people want to give something back. Actors haven’t really been able to do that to some extent,” said Strowger.

The premiere of The Hat will be accompanied by a live musical performance by Townshend and a Q&A session with the cast and crew.

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