Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) stars in Award-Winning Rally Short Film | Group B

Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) stars as a rally racer making a comeback after a long and troubled absence.

GROUP B
Directed by Nick Rowland
A National Film and Television School Production

"Having debuted his BAFTA-nominated short SLAP on S/W back in 2014, NFTS graduate Nick Rowland returns to the site with "Group B", a tense and gripping 25-minute film which immerses its audience in the dangerous world of competitive rally driving. Starring Richard Madden (best known for his role as ‘Robb Stark’ in HBO series Game Of Thrones) and Michael Smiley, Rowland draws from personal experience to create a truly visceral and cinematic exploration of grief, survivors guilt, and what it takes to move on. "Group B" is much more than a tribute to the golden era of rallying, it’s a deeply human story about an individual who has to face his demons.

“You don’t need to care about cars or have knowledge of engines to connect with this story”, Rowland explains as we discuss the inspiration behind his film, and he’s right! Despite some truly impressive driving scenes, Group B isn’t really a film about racing. The adrenaline-inducing moments come from a much scarier aspect of the motorsport: waiting at the starting line. For Madden’s character, Shane Hunter, participating in another race could spell disaster for both him and his new co-driver (Smiley) if he can’t get in the right headspace, and it’s in this situation that Rowland’s filmmaking truly shines.

A film with very little dialogue, especially from the story’s protagonist, Group B manages to capture an intense inner turmoil as Shane decides to return to rallying after an accident left his previous co-driver dead. With the exchanges between characters always skirting around the issue, the film forces you to read between the lines and realize the true gravity of the situation. Driven by a potent performance by Madden, Group B is a tense rollercoaster of a film which amplifies the audience’s anxiety as you dread the thought of another accident.

When it came to capturing the sport on camera, Rowland drew from his own experience so that the viewer could see and feel what his character was experiencing behind the wheel. “I used to compete as a rally driver before I turned to filmmaking”, explains Rowland. “Rally driving is a sport that I love, and I was excited at the idea of introducing people to it through the film, but the story is not really about motorsport or driving. It’s a universal story about guilt, grief, and allowing yourself to move on from tragedy and regret”.

Group B was a Royal Television Society Award Winner in 2016 and picked up nominations for a Student Academy Award and the AFI Fest Grand Jury Prize. Since leaving the NFTS, Rowland has directed several TV shows and directed his debut feature "Calm with Horses". The film, which premiered at TIFF and screened at the 2019 edition of the BFI London Film Festival, was picked up for distribution and is now available to buy or rent on YouTube (in America it was released under the new title "The Shadow of Violence"). The filmmaker is currently developing a crime drama feature that takes place within the same world of competitive rally driving as Group B – we can’t wait to see it!" - S/W Curator, Chelsea Lupkin

CAST
Shane Hunter Richard Madden
Martin Kelly Michael Smiley
Sullivan Dominic Wolf
Richard Matthew Jure
James Stephen Bent
Marcus Andrei Alén
Psychologist Alexandre Campbell
Young Marshall Walter Sweetman Jr.
Senior Marshall Ian Clare
Physiotherapist Wayne Peters

CREW
Director & Co-writer Nick Rowland
Co-writer Joe Murtagh
Producer Alexandra Breede
Cinematographer Sverre Sørdal
Production Designer Laura Mickiewicz
Editor Paco Sweetman
Sound Designer Matis Rei
Composer Terence James Dunn
Sound Recordist Nik Stojkov
Colourist & Online Editor Sara Buxton
VFX Supervisor Filipe Guerrero
Production Manager Tom While
Stunt Driver David Higgins
MG 6R4 Engineer Dave Boucher

Reproduced on this channel with the permission of the filmmakers.

[ObsoleteGamercom]

"The car goes faster than I can think." - the best description of Group B

[shootinbruin]

The sound is the unsung hero here. Little details like the muffling when Shane puts his helmet on at 8:44 and the static as the comms are plugged in immersed me almost completely into the scene.

Even the parts where Shane's thoughts wandered to the accident with his former co-driver have a tangible dreamlike feel to them for me because of the sound. The mixer is a true artist

[gtrevo]

This film deserved a full length version. Imagine the adrenaline rush and intense emotion in 90 or 120 mins.

[ywhkvzg]

I need 20 hours of this. Richard is going to win an oscar one day, mark my words

[salahuddinkhan]

These 6R4s were awesome cars. As the head of Marketing at Computervision (the company whose colors and logo are all over these cars) in the UK in 1986, I had the privilege of taking a ride with lead driver Tony Pond in an airfield not far from Bath in the UK. There's no other driving or riding experience like it. I have never experienced the kind of G-forces in any other vehicle that I did then in the tight turns. Pond, expertly floored the gas pedal to the very last fraction second and deftly applied the brakes as he made the often square turns. Each time I was convinced we would crash but far from it. I got a new respect for race driving from that one event.

[Milestonemonger]

Cannot get enough of Richard Madden. He is the whole package

[yawningkitty]

Wow, this is a fantastic short film, I could have easily sat through another hour and a half of this.
This gave me goosebumps, I remember the group B cars and they were monsters and the men that drove them were giants. When Madden says 'the car goes faster than I can think' he absolutely hit the nail on the head, those cars were insanely fast, it wasn't so much as grabbing a bull by the horns, it was grab a missle by the guide fins and pray.

[yomegayo]

I'm not done watching it and I had to pause to write this.. I'm 19 minutes in and i've been in the edge of my seat, fighting the urge to bite my nails. This is a masterpiece, I would love for this to become a full movie or a tv show.

[oregonfelder]

I join everyone in wanting a Group B feature length film, but this short did exactly what it was meant to. It touched on every aspect of what Group B was. Any thing extra would just be fluff; anything less would create an incomplete story. The creators of this film deserved their awards because to take the greatest generation of rally racing and distill all that emotion, glory, courage, and chaos into less than half-hour takes genius. Good show mates.

[Maulerslay]

Amazing short film. Reminds me of me and my brother doing rallying.

Sure, we didn't do group B, nor did he die on the track.
But rallying was his passion, and it was his life.

Now, he is rallying in the heavens. Sad I cant be there to give him pace notes, but I will one day.

( Also thank you, everyone, for the almost 700 likes, I had no idea when I posted the comment that so many would give me a thumbs up and give your condolences. Thank you so much!)

[hashrulsubzero]

I remember days when this short film came out, some of rally fans hated on it (including someone who manages a popular rally compilation YouTube channel). They hated because they were expecting to see action racing scenes like Rush, all of those people failed to understand the message/point of this film.

Me as a rally driver can understands what this driver have been through and I like this short film.

[Bluefire]

I'd give my right leg for a feature film on Group B, something like Ford v Ferrari. That has the potential to be incredible.

Edit: Yes, I know about 2 Win coming out this year. Won't get my hopes up too high but it has potential.

[lmat]

After Ari Vatanens near fatal accident in Argentina in 85, he said he was depressed for months after wards. Only when he went to spectate on the 1000 lakes rally did the darkness start leaving him. Rallying almost killed him but also saved him. I feel this film e captures that catharsis perfectly.

[moonsword]

Holy rolling thunder, this film is growly and gritty and stunningly beautiful! Nick Rowland and his team did a magnificently artistic job of capturing the realism and emotion of one man's struggle to find his courage again. I'd love to see a behind-the-scenes video of how this was made. Thanks for sharing it...Cheers!

[GameReviewsXX]

Man, this film hit me really hard. My dad was a rally driver and he was in an accident that killed his co-driver and best friend in 1993 so this was painfully relatable. Had to just sit in silence for a few minutes even after the credits had finished. My dad unfortunately would also be killed on a rally stage (though not during an event) 10 years later but I still have a passion for the sport and this film was absolutely fantastic, albeit a little hard to watch

[Mushyguy]

If anyone ever was in some sort of race whether by vehicle, foot, or any means, the moment before the race was truly the most intense. It was when you had the most adrenaline building up, all the doubts, the true moments of decision making in a race. Good film.

[The-Sea-Dragon-]

I stand at the rally car paddock and Goodwood and just look at the sleeping giants that are Group B rally cars.
My wife never really got it until she saw this film.

Those cars are a paradigm of everything that is noble, flawed, inspiring and misgided about our harnessing of technology in the same way that the Apollo missions were.

Thank you for making this film.

Everyone who has watched this who doesn't know the names Atillio Bettiga, Henri Toivenen, Sergio Cresta, Jean-Michel Argentini or Lars Eric-Torph now understands.

[nunessilva]

You got me at Group B Rally...
I've had the privilege of living the group B days as a young spectator in Portugal and man, it was absolutely mad.... daredevil type shit. drivers and spectators...
But in those days we were basically expecting all that madness... we wanted it, we frigging loved and were counting on it... Part of the show I guess.
I saw a guy loose his fingertips.. no shit... he just wanted to touch the car I suppose
Today... well.. I can see why so many people ended up loosing their lives, why it had to end and why (after all we're here) we still love it.
Insane was the word... all round insanity

[mrclarky]

I wish people would appreciate short films for what they are, instead of saying "I could watch another X hours of this" or "wish this could be a full film".

It is a full film, a short film has its own beauty and pacing, it takes just as much skill to tell a story in 20 minutes as it does for 2 hours, perhaps more.

[carswithluke]

The best short film I have watched in a very long time, watching it for the 3rd time in one day.