Watch: Babak Ganjei is a Freelance Artist in ‘Freelancer’ Comedy Short

by Alex Billington
December 28, 2023
Source: YouTube

“Free from the rat race. Free from the trappings of structure and stability, a mortgage, the respect of your parents. You chose this life, you chose freedom, you chose… you.” Ahhh yes, the glory of being a freelancer. Or is it pain? Nowadays, a good bit of both, though leaning much more towards the latter. Freelancer is a hilarious 8-minute short film that debuted earlier in the year – worth a watch. It’s directed by a filmmaking duo known as “Rosco 5” in London; written by and stars the 42-year-old British-Iranian actor / comedian Babak Ganjei – “who acts like a 25-year-old indie freelancer.” He has to navigate single parenting, working under his own steam and the onset of middle age, and this is a guide to that “lifestyle.” This is intended to be a pitch for a sitcom, but it also works perfectly as an under-10-minute short film that very precisely skewers the modern freelancer experience with a big helping of irony. “You’ve done the work, you have to get paid.”

Freelancer Comedy Short

Thanks to Short of the Week for the tip on this. Intro from YouTube: “A glimpse into the world of a freelance artist (Babak Ganjei) juggling the compulsion of self-expression and the desperate need to not eat beans 12 days in a row.” Freelancer is a short film directed by the filmmaking duo known as “Rosco 5” (aka Gideon Beresford and Behnam Teheri) based in London, UK – they “bring their outlandish and cutting-edge humour to all of their projects.” More info on the pair can be found on the website Blink Productions. The screenplay is written by Babak Ganjei. It’s produced by Alex Cartlidge; executive produced by James Stevenson Bretton & Charlie Perkins. With cinematography by Luke Harper, music composed by Nicky Green. Made by Blink Industries Studio. “Give it a watch for lots of handy tips on how to survive the scary worlds of freelancing, parenting and bow ties.” For more info on the film, visit SOTW. To watch more shorts, click here. Thoughts?