AN Aberystwyth University student has been awarded a one-dollar contract to adapt a Stephen King short story as part of a film project.

Jamie Dearden has been awarded the rights to adapt and produce A Very Tight Place as part of a project with AMP Media and the university’s Theatre, Film and Television Studies Department.

A group of youngsters from south Wales announced recently that they had been awarded a dollar contract to adapt a Stephen King story, and Jamie said he was delighted that a similar contract had been agreed to adapt A Very Tight Place.

The short story, that appears in the Just After Sunset collection of stories, tells the tale of Curtis Johnson, who gets trapped in a portable toilet by a neighbour who he is embroiled in a legal dispute with.

Under the terms of the contract, Jamie and the film team can only use the film, which must be 45 minutes or shorter, for academic reasons with no commercial sale or rental of the film.

Jamie said he had initially taken notice of the story as the title was very similar to a previous film by Aberystwyth-based AMP Media.

He said: “I was drawn to the story simply based on the title.

“A Very Tight Place was so similar to A Thin Place, the first feature AMP Media produced last year.

“After some research, I thought it would make for an interesting project to work on.

“The original story features two main male characters. But I’m thinking of swapping one of the gender roles as a way of looking at the dichotomy of gender/power in a post #MeToo world.

“As per the terms and conditions of the contract I signed with Stephen King, no profit can be made from this film, which is why it’s going to be a student-led production with the support of an established production company, AMP Media, and Greg Bevan of TFTS.”

The film is now likely to go into production between May and June next year with the hope that it could be screened towards the end of October or November next year.

The team will first produce an original short film to help gain experience.

Jamie said: “We are going into production with an original short next month.

“We are using this first short as an opportunity to expand our student team and gain some additional experience utilising practical effects on screen before moving on to the more ambitious Stephen King production.”

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