Total Film chooses Olympics opening ceremony film

Total Film has joined forces with Richard E Grant on a panel of judges to choose British Airways Great Briton in the film category - giving one aspiring filmmaker the chance to make the short film which will feature in the Opening ceremony of London's 2012 games.

Prasanna Puwanarajah, a 30-year-old writer, actor and director (and former NHS doctor) from West London beat hundreds of amateur and professional scriptwriters to make his short, which will be guided by Grant in mentoring sessions and shown on all BA flights from next March.

His win will be announced tomorrow.

Puwanarajah's screenplay is still a work in progress but Grant describes the story of one man's emotional and physical journey to the games as 'Rocky on wheels'. "The hope is that it'll be warm, funny and moving," says Puwanarajah. "I'll try and give the audience a journey with a number of flavours."

"I'm really thrilled about getting to work on it. It's going to be a couple of months of solid graft but I can't wait to see the film for the first time at the opening ceremony."

While being part of Olympic history is no mean feat, Puwanarajah is equally happy to be on the road to making feature films ('I just want to develop as many different stories as I can') and working with Withnail himself.

"I'm a huge Withnail fan and he's a really lovely guy with amazing experience. So I'm looking forward to getting to work with him."

TF will be on set when filming starts but for more info check out www.ba.com/greatbritons

Contributing Editor, Total Film

Jane Crowther is a contributing editor to Total Film magazine, having formerly been the longtime Editor, as well as serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the Film Group here at Future Plc, which covers Total Film, SFX, and numerous TV and women's interest brands. Jane is also the vice-chair of The Critics' Circle and a BAFTA member. You'll find Jane on 12DOVE exploring the biggest movies in the world and living up to her reputation as one of the most authoritative voices on film in the industry. 

Latest in Movies
Doctor Doom in Marvel Comics
The Russo brothers say Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars will draw inspiration from multiple comics – which explains how Doctor Doom might fit into the story
John Wick 4
John Wick 5 is still in the works, but Lionsgate isn't confirming Keanu Reeves' return just yet: "We're all on bated breath waiting to find out"
Cujo
Netflix is making a brand new adaptation of Cujo, the infamous Stephen King book about a killer dog
Drop
New horror movie starring White Lotus and Yellowstone actors gets a great Rotten Tomatoes score as early reactions call it the "perfect date night movie"
The cast of Thunderbolts
Marvel fans are revealing who they'd like to see added to the Thunderbolts lineup, from Moon Knight to a major Hulk villain
The Rise of Skywalker
Despite those retirement reports, Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy is "very involved" in the Rey Star Wars movie, according to Daisy Ridley
Latest in News
Balatro Joker card
After stepping away from Balatro for 3 months, the developer only resumed work "because I was bored but the internet was out so I couldn't play Rocket League"
Shots of Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread in play
RPG board game designer's revelation was searching for a D&D quick start guide to find "You needed to pull together lots of different pieces in order to play"
Doctor Doom in Marvel Comics
The Russo brothers say Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars will draw inspiration from multiple comics – which explains how Doctor Doom might fit into the story
Daredevil: Born Again
Marvel fans think that Daredevil: Born Again episode 3 just referenced Spider-Man's Miles Morales – but a key detail might have already debunked the theory
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Again fans are reeling at episode 3's "brutal" ending: "It made me gasp in shock"
The titular Bayonetta in Bayonetta 2
Devil May Cry and Bayonetta veteran Hideki Kamiya is still leaning on Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami's wisdom at new studio Clovers: "I have always made decisions based on his teachings"