Two childhood friends search for the fabled Golden Squacco Heron, the reward to a treasure hunt unsolved for 29 years. This playful homage to the films of Peter Greenaway is beautifully shot in rural Medway.
Screening with The Draughtsman’s Contract.
19:30, Friday 20 March 2026
Screen 4, The Ashford Cinema
Shown with The Draughtsman’s Contract
Credits
Director(s)
Edward Smyth
Writer(s)
Edward Smyth
Composer
Adam Paroussos
Illustrator
Amber May Power
Principle Cast
Tatiana Delaunay
Adam Paroussos
Meet The Artist
Edward Smyth is a British filmmaker, curious to explore the most beautiful and peculiar things in life.
His work has been commissioned by the BBC and the Institute of Contemporary Arts, with funding from Arts Council England, and his films have screened at major British venues, including BFI Southbank, Barbican Centre, Whitechapel Gallery, ICA & Curzon Soho; with seven selected for BAFTA-recognised festivals, including Edinburgh International Film Festival, Cambridge Film Festival and London Short Film Festival.
Romantic and poetic, playful and humorous, his work subverts traditional ideas of what a film can be, by exploring and empowering neurodivergent perspectives on screen. He pursues a formally innovative, image-based cinema, inspired more by fine art than text.
In 2026, he’s developing his first feature, which explores games, play, and the intersections between creativity and neurodiversity, expanding on ‘The Golden Squacco Heron’.
Alumnus of BFI NETWORK x BAFTA Crew.
