UK YouTube smash 'A Debt Memory', with James Bolam and Romy Sutton, moves into feature development

Exclusive: It's not just the short genres that are taking off on YouTube. In the UK, a short film about the Royal Air Force, starring BAFTA nominee James Bolam (Men of Chance) and up-and-coming British actor Romy Sutton (Ludwig, Mutiny), was a hit and is moving into film. A Memory Owed follows a […]

Exclusive: It's not just short genres that are booming on YouTube. In the UK, a short film about the Royal Air Force, starring BAFTA nominee James Bolam (Possible Men) and up-and-coming British actor Romy Sutton (Ludwig, Mutiny), was a hit and is moving into film.

A Memory Owed follows a WWII veteran on a visit to the RAF Museum in London. The film includes flashbacks to his time in the war and a parallel story about his young carer struggling to make ends meet. You can watch it below.

Released late last year, the short film by writer-director Martin Hemingway-Mosley has surpassed 600,000 views on YouTube, maintains a 99% popularity rating and has a huge following across social platforms. Stephen Fry praised the film as "impressive and moving". Produced by Zoe Lewin. RELATED NEWS: YouTube puts AI tags on songs that use tech for singing or composition Age of YouTube: Meet the creators making waves in Europe

The creative team is currently developing the treatment and preparing to engage with potential partners on a longer version. It has already attracted an unsolicited contribution from a viewer who wanted to finance its initial development and the interest of at least one distributor. There have been no official talks with the cast's representatives yet, but they both support a longer version of the project. Watch on Deadline

"The response to A Memory Owed has been overwhelming," Hemingway-Moseley said. Developing this feature will allow us to honor those experiences and explore the legacy of Bomber Command on a larger canvas, both at the time of its operations and its impact 81 years later. While the short was a love letter to the museum where it was filmed (Lincolnshire Air Heritage Centre), the feature is intended as a love letter to Bomber County as a whole. Watch the short then imagine it with a road trip."

The short has also attracted interest from trainers, veterans' organizations (the RAF Charitable Trust) and community groups, many of whom have requested screenings and talks.

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