For the book, see Sredni Vashtar

Sredni Vashtar

Sredni Vashtar is a short story written by Saki between 1900 and 1914 and initially published in his book The Chronicles of Clovis. It has been adapted for opera, film, radio and television....

Sredni Vashtar is a 30-minute film, released in 1981, and written, produced and directed by Andrew Birkin. It is based on the short story written by Hector Hugh Munro. It is about a little boy, Conradin, who worships a ferret

Ferret

The ferret is a domesticated mammal of the type Mustela putorius furo. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur...

 and prays for deliverance from his overbearing guardian, Aunt Augusta. It won the BAFTA award for Best Short Film

British Academy Film Awards

The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . It is the British counterpart of the Oscars. As of 2008, it has taken place in the Royal Opera House, having taken over from the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square...

, and was nominated for an Academy Award Oscar.

Plot

The film is set in middle class

Middle class

The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....

 Edwardian England. Conradin, an orphan

Orphan

An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...

, lives with his legal guardian

Legal guardian

A legal guardian is a person who has the legal authority to care for the personal and property interests of another person, called a ward. Usually, a person has the status of guardian because the ward is incapable of caring for his or her own interests due to infancy, incapacity, or disability...

 and aunt, Augusta. She is a sadistic figure who oppresses and controls him, on the pretext that he might die because of a genetic blood disorder

Genetic disorder

A genetic disorder is an illness caused by abnormalities in genes or chromosomes, especially a condition that is present from before birth. Most genetic disorders are quite rare and affect one person in every several thousands or millions....

. His only companions are a Houdan

Houdan

Houdan is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-Geography:Houdan is west of Paris in the Yvelines département. It is linked by SNCF Alençon and Paris .-History:...

 hen called Henrietta, which he adores, and a ferret named Sredni Vashtar, which he keeps hidden in a shed at the back of the garden.

Conradin reads history books about Actaken Cults, although his aunt has forbidden him to learn history. He imagines that the ferret is a bloodthirsty god, Shredni Vastar. Inspired by his reading, he makes offerings of bloody entrails and red berries to the ferret. One day, his aunt discovers Conradin's Houdan hen and takes it away. Very distressed, Conradin begs his god Shredni Vashatar to grant him one prayer.

Shortly afterwards, his aunt finds the key to the shed where the ferret lives. She goes to the shed, while Conradin waits in the house. The ferret appears in the garden with blood on its muzzle. Distressed cries from members of the household are heard. Conradin makes himself something to eat and sits in his aunt's place, at the head of the table.

The film differs from the original story in a few respects. Conradin's cousin, in the original, Mrs De Ropp, becomes his Aunt Augusta. Also a tutor, who teaches Conradin Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, is introduced.

General

Director: Andrew Birkin

Writers: Hector Hugh Munro (story) and Andrew Birkin (writer)

Release Date: September 1981 (UK) more

Genre: Short | Fantasy

Awards: Nominated for an Oscar. Won BAFTA

Cast:

• Sacha Puttnam - Conradin (as Alexander Puttnam)
• Judy Campbell
  Judy Campbell
  Judy Campbell was an English light comedy actress and occasional playwright, Noël Coward's muse. Her daughter is the actor and singer Jane Birkin, her son the screenwriter and director Andrew Birkin, and among her grandchildren are the actresses Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon, the poet Anno...
  
   - Aunt Augusta
• Lila Kaye - Mrs. Woolridge
• Patty Hannock - Effie
• Gorden Kaye
  Gorden Kaye
  Gorden Kaye is a BAFTA-nominated English comic actor, best known for playing René Artois in the British TV comedy Allo 'Allo!.-Early life:...
  
   - Ogden
• Vernon Dobtcheff
  Vernon Dobtcheff
  Vernon Dobtcheff is a French and British actor.Dobtcheff was born in Nîmes, France, to a family of Russian descent. He attended Ascham Preparatory School in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, in the 1940s, where he won the Acting Cup...
  
  - Dr. Russell
• Alan Corduna - Mortimer
• Shona Morris - Vera