Video: Watch 'Poldark' Actors Short Film 'Ice Dreams'

Ice Dreams is a short film of rivalry and friendship on the Cornish coast in summer, but being shot in Cornwall is not it's only connection with our favourite period drama. Two Poldark actors, Jason Gregg and Rory Wilton, were involved in its production. Jason wrote and directed the film and Rory, who plays Richard Tonkin in Poldark, stars in it.

Jason Gregg: Actor/Writer/Director

Jason, along with his fiancee Mel Hayward who produced the film, said that the film was a pleasure to make and that, with such a local cast and crew, it was all hands on deck. He told Poldarked, 'We were very lucky as we shot the film in one day on our local beach at Porthtowan on what was literally the first dry and sunny day since the really bad storms of early 2014.  Callestick Farm kindly donated their ice cream van for the day and we managed to rope in lots of locals as extras and talented film crew including Cornish based Stephen Oxborrow and John O'Regan.

'Ice Dreams was a "propur" Cornish collaboration of local talent and I feel honoured with the success that it has had globally. To reach the Middle East for the Iran Film Festival just goes to show the power of the universal language of love (and ice cream).' 

The main character in the film is played by Rory Wilton who told us, 'I was asked to appear in Ice Dreams by my good friend Jason a few months before filming was scheduled. We'd known each other through the business for some time, but never had the opportunity to actually work together. He sent through a very simple outline of the screenplay, and what really struck me was the clarity and simplicity of its beautifully told story, I didn't need to think about it twice, I accepted the role and called him straight away.

'One of the things I really loved about the film was its lack of dialogue. Not only does it mean there aren't lines to learn (how much dialogue does Leonardo De Caprio actually have in The Revenant for example), but it presents you with a whole range of different performance challenges as an actor.

Rory Wilton: Photo by Pooch Purtill

'The film is a romantic comedy and therefore calls for subtlety and nuance within the performance - but still requires comic timing and characterisation. We had to play the characters and scenes completely straight and avoid playing for laughs at all cost, otherwise the finished film just wouldn't be funny!

'But saying that, we did have a lot of fun filming, starting with the ice cream van burying itself up to its axles in the sand literally seconds after it arrived on location (but after an awful lot of effort by everyone involved, the van was freed and in its proper position). Some of my favourite memories of filming were the looks of glee on the children's faces every time they got given free ice cream, and the crew teetering on step ladders holding watering cans to create the rain! It was a really beautiful day on Porthtowan beach, but it was actually February or March (I think) so everyone got completely frozen in their beach wear by the wind blowing straight in off the sea! Throughout the day I was attempting to be as frugal with the ice cream as possible, as we thought we'd have to pay for we'd used, but it turned out the suppliers, Callestick Farm, said we could keep everything that was left! So as everyone else, apart from Jason, Mel, her son and I, had gone home - I ended up taking home six HUGE tubs of the stuff (as Jason and Mel didn't like ice cream!?). I was a very popular uncle with my nephews and nieces for some weeks after!!!!

'I'm really proud of Ice Dreams and I'm truly delighted for Jason and Mel that it's got the global recognition it deserves. Its performed incredibly well at film festivals all over the world and I think that's because it's a beautifully crafted, lovely little film that has brought a lot of joy to an awful lot of people. And I'm looking forward to the next one...’

Ice Dreams has already won several awards.

• It won the gold award for Best Technical at the Manchester Short Film Festival 2015.
• It received six nominations at the Watergate Festival 2015 and went on to win in three categories in the comedy/satire section: Best Lead Actress, Rebecca Miller; Best Cinematography; and Best Soundtrack. 
• In 2014 it won Dish of the Day Award at the Porthleven Food & Music Festival.

Going into 2016 it has been selected for the Iran Film Festival.

Ice Dreams is a charming film. Here's wishing it every success from all of us at Poldarked!