Seeking Perfection Short Film

Aim

We're raising £23,000 to produce and complete 'Seeking Perfection', a thought-provoking short film, and bring it to audiences.

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Logline: A principal ballet dancer finds herself spiralling into the depths of dysphoric mania weeks before the biggest opening night of her career. 

Synopsis: Seeking Perfection follows Lucy as she starts to spiral into the depths of dysphoric mania weeks before the opening night of Silver Stream, a neoclassical ballet that she's worked tirelessly on over the past few years.

Over the course of a few days, Lucy faces her own inner turmoil, as her family, some frantic with worry and others not understanding bipolar disorder, call out her attention-seeking ways.

Lucy navigates the sleepless nights, paranoia, feelings of grandeur, perfectionism, and the high highs and low lows. With the debilitating side effects of a new medicine at the top of her mind, Lucy starts to spiral further out of her control. How can she perform opening night if she's not feeling herself entirely? Both Lucy and her family and friends must face the realities of what Lucy is going through, and find a way to navigate together.

The film, minus one scene, will be shot entirely from Lucy's perspective - with phone calls and text bubbles appearing alongside. And it explores navigating mental health whilst performing at the highest of levels, and looks at themes of vulnerability, compulsiveness, and the complexities of relationships.

Location: The Old Rectory, the historical Grade II listed Georgian manor house that dates back to the 15th century. 

Cast:

Lucy Cartwright: Grace Jabbari 

Grace trained at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts and Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, graduating with a First Class BA, before earning a First Class MA in Dance at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

Film and television credits include Alice Carr in Harvest (Official Selection, Venice Film Festival, 2024) and Stella in Dirty Talk (post-production). As a dancer, her credits include Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), Barbie (2023), Mood (2022), and Last Night in Soho (2021).

Her theatre credits include ten years with Russell Maliphant Company (2015–2025), notably Silent Lines and Maliphant Works 2, for which the company won Best Independent Company, and an ongoing collaboration with choreographer Holly Blakey since 2015, most recently A Wound With Teeth at the Royal Festival Hall. She has also danced for artists including Florence and the Machine, Jessie Ware, and Coldplay.

Grandmother: Siân Phillips 

Sister: Anna Hewitt

Anna trained at YATI following her studies at the University of Exeter.

Theatre credits include Duchess in The Duchess of Malfi (Exeter Cathedral), Hero in Much Ado About Nothing (Sun and Moon Theatre, UK Tour), Hannah in Ideation (Edinburgh Fringe), Olivia in Killing Biff & Chip (Mountview), and Maya in A Million Miles Under Hampstead Heath (The Lion & Unicorn Theatre). Film credits include Polina in The Reckoning, Amalia in The Devil’s Messenger, and Rosacea Fortescue in Angels R Us.

The Team:

Writer/Director: Arabella Hogg

Arabella is a writer, director and producer who studied at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute and UCLA. Arabella works across a wide variety of genres, and her first short, the dark comedy What Will Be, Will Be, starring Matthew Durkan (Toxic Town) and Natasha Patel (Hijack), is currently on the festival circuit, whilst her second short, a romantic comedy starring Bobby Lockwood (Rivals) and Jemima Watling, is in post-production.

Known for her character-led, deeply human storytelling, and passionate about championing unheard voices and stories.

Arabella is in pre-production for Seeking Perfection, a psychological thriller, whilst developing two feature films: Chasing the Fading Light, a dark comedy set in Barmouth, Wales and From Bunks to Birkins, a romantic comedy.

Producer: Georgia Meropoulos

Georgia Meropoulos is a freelance producer with an MA in Arts Management: Creative Producing, working across theatre, dance, live entertainment, and screen. Her producing experience spans managing and producing creative projects from concept to completion, funding strategy, touring logistics, and promoter and partnership outreach, built through work with companies including Impermanence Dance Theatre and Bodies in Action. She is currently helping to produce Seeking Perfection and Chasing the Fading Light with writer/director Arabella Hogg, bringing the same dedication and hands-on approach that has defined her career to date. 

Cinematographer: Mark Iandolo

Mark is a Cinematographer, Filmmaker, and Photographer residing in London. Since moving to the city in 2021, he has acted as Director of Photography on numerous short films, documentaries, dance videos, and travel and lifestyle content. Since 2015, Mark has traveled to four continents, photographed 35 countries, and captured countless moments and stories for an array of clients. His photographs and videos have caught the attention of millions of viewers around the world and have been recognised by The Nature Conservancy, United Nations, PBS, Fujifilm, Fodor’s Travel, and Beautiful Destinations. In 2017, three of his photographs were chosen for the Nature Conservancy’s Top 100 Photos. Mark received an MSc in Filmmaking with a focus in cinematography from the University of Greenwich.

Choreographer: Corina Wursch

Corina is an international choreographer and movement director. She holds a BA (HONS) in Contemporary Dance from Trinity Laban Conservatoire for Music and Dance and a postgraduate Diploma from Royal Academy of Dance. Her credits include La Traviata (BiF 2026), Der Florentiner Hut (Oper Wuppertal 2026), Iphigenia in Tauris (Blackheath Halls Opera 2025), Die Zauberflöte (RAM 2025), L'infedelta Delusà (RCS 2025), Ernani (Buxton international Festival 2024), The Peripherals (S1), Adverts for Costa Coffee and Pressant, shows for the London Fashion week and the London Cabaret Club. 

Composer: Jenny Plant

Jenny is an award-winning British composer, producer, and singer-songwriter known for her distinctive, expressive voice and emotionally driven sound. Blending cinematic, electronic, and ethereal pop influences, she creates music that feels both intimate and expansive, whether writing songs or composing for screen.

Inspired by storytelling, Jenny combines organic instrumentation, electronic textures, and immersive sound design to craft music that supports narrative and emotion. Her work spans film, television, video games, and advertising, with vocal and compositional credits ranging from Disney feature films and BAFTA-nominated video game scores to acclaimed television series and global advert campaigns. A PMA and VGMO Award winner, Jenny is also a proud member of BAFTA Connect.

Music Supervisor: Daniel Caplin

Dan Caplin is a London-based music supervisor working across documentaries, TV and feature films. He spent 4 years at music supervision agency We Are Golden before going freelance, his credits range from major Netflix docu-series, including the BAFTA-nominated Drive to Survive and Emmy-nominated Tour de France: Unchained, to independent feature films such as US drama Mad Bills to Pay and BIFA-award winning Grand Theft Hamlet.

Budget Breakdown:

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 14th September 2026 at 3:02pm