Always on
This project successfully funded on 19th January 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
Anchor - Short Film
Londres, Grand Londres, Royaume-Uni
Aim
We are raising the remaining budget of £2,000 for our new short film 'Anchor', a romantic/psychological drama filming in January 2026.
We are thrilled to be launching the crowdfunder for our new short film ‘Anchor’, shooting in January & March 2026! We are pleased to announce that we already have our 2 lead actors attached, most of the crew + the equipment hire sorted.
We now need YOUR help to make this film a reality and raise the remaining budget of £2,000 which will go towards location hire, paying the cast/crew, filming permits, catering, insurance and post-production costs.
We really appreciate your help - please donate whatever you can, every pound gets us closer to our goal! :)
We understand that not everyone can donate, so a share/repost would be equally as helpful. Thank you!
The Film
“Mia meets Callum and is instantly bound by love and a heart too open but when his destructive grief begins to pull her down like a tide, she is forced to make a difficult choice.”
1. Director's Statement:
Anchor follows the intensity of first love between Mia, a deeply empathetic person, and Callum, who is mourning the recent loss of his mother. Callum’s all-consuming grief is seen through Mia’s eyes, capturing both her view of his struggles and the ripple effect that his grief has on her.
Grief is a universal topic that has been explored in films before but not as often through the eyes of someone else. In this film, Mia must navigate the delicate balance between loving someone, and preserving herself. The intent is to convey grief and human struggles second-hand, while expressing a beautiful and passionate young romance between two people that simply cannot sustain a healthy relationship. With darkly intimate scenes between Mia and Callum exploring their new relationship, combined with the sounds of crashing waves and the metaphorical concept of Callum’s emotional weight bringing Mia down, I want the film to be a tender and naive, yet gritty, representation of love and loss. This story draws on personal experience through the dichotomy between romantic idealism and a harsh reality; and that caring deeply can come at a cost.
My hope is that this story stands as an introspective drama, encapsulating the audience into the conflicted psyche of a young woman in a traumatic relationship with someone she so desperately wants to care for - revealing the painful truth that sometimes we must choose ourselves.
2. Director’s Biography
Orla Harrison is a 23 year-old emerging screenwriter and director based in London, whose award-winning debut short film 'Skin' was praised for its emotional depth and clear vision. Orla is continuing to build on this distinctive style with ‘Anchor’, a romantic, psychological drama that conveys the emotional burden of loving someone who is grieving. A recent graduate from MET Film School, Orla has been developing a growing slate of original screenplays on top of ‘Anchor’, ranging from post-apocalyptic black comedy to character-driven drama, perfecting her portfolio of written works and treating every story as an opportunity to refine her voice and discover her creative niche as a writer-director.
3. Our Vision
The heart-wrenching moments of raw, young love in ‘Normal People’, the bleak and gritty reality conveyed in ‘Blue Valentine’, and the fractured, intimate reflection of a character’s psyche in ‘The Outrun’ are all comparable elements with my intended vision for this film. The tone will depict a contrast between the brighter more hopeful moments at the beginning as the couple explore their new-found love, with the darker more turbulent moments as the themes of grief and addiction become more prominent. The film will gradually drain of colour starting with a warmer palette to reflect the excitement of a new relationship, then adopt more muted tones as the story deepens and the warmth gives way to the encroaching darkness of grief and addiction.
4. The Team So Far!
Writer & Director: Orla Harrison
Producers: Matilda Slotte & Lara Kuppel
Director of Photography: Ryan Francis-Hume
1st Assistant Camera: Harvey Walsh
Boom Operator & Sound Designer: Federico Rocco
Cast
Mariella Mazzilli as Mia
Billy Downes as Callum
Abel Weston as Archie
Julia Florimo as Julia
5. Where Your Support Goes
Your support, no matter how big or small, will be hugely appreciated!
The £2,000 that we’re fundraising will be going towards:
- Location hire for a key scene in the film
- Filming Permit for the beach scene
- Expenses for the Cast & Crew
- Contingency Fees
- Post-Production (hiring an editor, colour grader and a composer)
- Festival submission fees
We have secured the biggest expenses (cast/crew, kit, the main filming location) and are therefore very close to making this short a reality!
Our filming schedule is a 4-day shoot in mid-January 2026 in London and a weekend in Brighton & Hove in March.
Thank you in advance for your support! If you can’t donate then please do share the crowdfunder forward :)
-Orla, Matilda & Lara
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made