We're still collecting donations
On the 30th January 2025 we'd raised £3,068 with 93 supporters in 14 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
After the passing of her ailing mother, a young woman journeys through her life as it appears throughout their home.
by Finlay Hearton in Edinburgh, United Kingdom
On the 30th January 2025 we'd raised £3,068 with 93 supporters in 14 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
The extra funding will allow us to push Adeline even further to be the best film it can be. Through more ambitious locations, production design, and cast, we'll be able to fully bring Louise and Adeline's connection to life!
Adeline is a graduate short film created in collaboration with Edinburgh Napier University and Screen Academy Scotland. The film follows the relationship between Louise, a young woman, and her ageing mother, Adeline. Living rurally, the two find themselves isolated from the rest of the world, with Adeline relying on her daughter for support.
After a day like any other, Louise wakes to find her mother missing, and their home appears twisted and distorted. Through a series of visions, she begins to realise her Mother has passed, and she is immersed in the memories and life of the person closest to her. After journeying through these visions’ she is consumed by grief.
However, after one last moment with her mother, Louise finds the strength to carry on, living with her memory. Through focusing on the connection between Louise and Adeline, we hope to explore the experience of grief, and how through it we can understand deeper facets of the person we knew so well. Building this complex relationship, informed through real experiences, gathered through interviews, we want to then use the experimental sections later in the film to demonstrate Louise learning about Adeline's life before her.
By supporting us, you'll be helping us to bring our vision to life, allowing us to bring the connection between Adeline and Louise from the script to the screen. All of us have, in some way or another, experienced a loss, and we hope through blurring the lines between reality and fantasy, we'll create a film that people will be able to see their own experiences in.
Filmmaking is an expensive endeavour, and through donating you'll be helping young filmmakers create something we're passionate about. Adeline is an ambitious project, one which aims to bring to life universal experiences through inventive and creative methods. But we can't do that without the funds to support us. Your money will go towards not only feeding and transporting the crew, but securing locations, funding the production design, distributing the film, and paying actors (to name just a few!) Here's a breakdown of the costs involved in production:
(None of the film crew will receive payment. All funds raised go directly to the production of the film)
The primary crew for Adeline is made up of fourth-year students at Edinburgh Napier University from the BA Film (Hons) course. While the total crew count is over twenty, here some of our Head of Departments to tell you a little about why this project matters so much to us:
"Hello! my name is Alfred Maw (he/him) and I am the Director and Co-Writer of Adeline!
Over the last four years studying at Napier, I have developed a passion for bringing characters to life on screen. Long term, I would like to make films that follow empathetic characters in strange situations doing bizarre things, this begins with Adeline. Fostering a deep connection between audience and character is essential to good filmmaking and it is something I aspire to.
To do this I am incredibly lucky to work with the team that I am. Great ideas come from great teamwork, this is the core of what we love about Adeline. This project was developed as a group and has a little piece of all of us in it. The film is our interpretation of a person’s experience of the death of a loved one, the gut-wrenching grief of letting go and the awe-inspiring wonder of learning about the life they lived before you. Adeline’s life and loves are brought to life for her daughter Louise who traverses her life turned inside out in an inexplicable and exhilarating way.
It is thanks to the amazing people I have met and had the privilege to work with throughout my degree, that I am driven to do my best."
"Hello! I’m Finlay (he/him), the producer and co-writer of Adeline.
I’ve been studying at Edinburgh Napier for four years now, focusing on my work as a producer and screenwriter. Over this period, I’ve discovered a real love for emotional stories, especially those that focus on the closest relationships between characters.
Adeline presents a fantastic opportunity to explore a powerful, familiar bond, whilst reflecting on how grief can alter the perception of a person, and who we thought they were. Louise’s journey discovering Adeline’s life beyond her, is something I’m really excited to showcase through the film's script.
I could not be more excited to explore these themes, especially with our wonderful team. Throughout the production, supporting our HoDs as they use their talent to bring our script to life has been my focus, and one I’ll continue."
"Hello, I'm Gus (he/him).
Over the past four years at Napier, I’ve focused on developing my work as a director of photography, gravitating towards character-driven stories. Adeline is an exciting opportunity to visually explore a relationship between two characters.
I hope to bring the audience close to the characters and feel the intimacy of their relationship contrasts with the distance that grief creates when they are apart. There’s lots of potential for emotionally driven visuals in this film as we explore characters unique experiences of grief.
Having previously collaborated with Alfie and Finlay on another project, I’m excited to work alongside them again. Collaboration will be at the heart of this production, and I’m looking forward to working closely with our talented team to tell this beautiful story."
"Hi there :) my name is Jack MacLean (he/him), and I am a very lucky guy who gets to be involved in this very lovely project through my role as Head of Sound.
I was immediately intrigued by the story of Adeline. It has a compelling balance of intimacy, a profound sadness, and intoxicatingly fantastical elements at its heart. These qualities have gripped me as a filmmaker, but equally so as an avid moviegoer. My intrigue for Adeline has only grown as my work has developed under the wise and warm-hearted council of my director Alfred Maw, and my Producer Finlay Hearton. Not to mention the joyous and jolly collaboration with the wider crew!
This film has ample opportunity for sound to convey these narrative themes to an audience. There is no dialogue in the script, which means that sound will play a key role in representing our characters, and the space they inhabit. I would like this space to become a third character in the film through considered choices in sound. This anthropomorphistic approach would allow for the sound to emphasise the difference between reality and fantasy in the film. All things considered, I just can’t wait to make some funky sounds and make this funky film! Stay tuned folks!"
"Hello :) my name is Cara Fidelo (she/they) and I am the production designer for the wonderful film that is Adeline.
During my time at Napier, I have worked as a production designer on a number of shorts, and found myself gravitating towards stories that show connection and honesty. This really is the core of Adeline, and I want my production design to reflect these comforts.
My hope is to build the history of our two characters through their home, showing memories through details and props not explained, rather seen and understood by the audience. This home is where Adeline has lived her whole life and raised Louise, meaning there should be layers to the home that reflect its rich history.
This film is such a beautiful story and I am so ! excited ! to show this through my designs. And I get to work with such a talented crew in the process :)"
"Hello! My name is Robbie Anderson (he/him), and I’m thrilled to be the editor on Adeline!
Adeline is a magical realist film, and features several surreal aspects. This project will be the first time I’ve worked on a film of this genre. I’ve worked closely with each head of department on previous projects, and I’m excited to work with them again and create a film we’re all proud of!
The story is filled with close, intimate moments between Adeline and her daughter Louise. A large part of the film will be built around the strong connection Louise has with her mother, and I aim to establish this in the edit. The pace at the beginning of the film will be gentle and slow, showing the characters spending time together and how much they cherish each other’s company. The shots in this segment of the film will consist of mostly close, intimate shots between the characters, however wider establishing shots will also be utilised to aid worldbuilding.
As Louise navigates the space and moves through different rooms and memories, I will use quick, seamless transitions to show this change in space. I’m aiming for the cuts to be as unnoticeable as possible to help build the surreal and confusing space Louise is travelling through.
I can’t wait to keep working with such a fantastic and talented crew, and I hope you’re as excited to see the finished product as we are to make it!"
From our entire crew, we would like to thank you for taking the time to look over our project! We hope our enthusiasm and passion for the film comes across. If you'd like to stay up to date on the project you can follow our Instagram and Facebook! Both are listed on this very page (right below the header!)
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