Shy book lover Jane is unexpectedly tasked with having to save her beloved library from closure.
A Councillor announces a library will be closed due to funding cuts and each will pitch to save theirs. As library manager Alice is called away, Jane has no choice but to deliver the pitch herself...
All alone in the library, Jane is unsure where to turn...until help arrives in an unlikely form.
‘Between The Lines’ is an upbeat, fun and slightly bonkers musical comedy short film. Unashamedly positive, we feel this film is the perfect tonic after a difficult two years which will leave you with a smile on your face!
This is a hugely ambitious project with a wide variety of exciting locations, stunning sets and costumes and a host of talented South West based actors and crew, all getting on board and lending us their time and high tech equipment. The response from all involved has been heartwarming to see. A real sense of camaraderie has grown through just being part of something so upbeat and bonkers. We hope it will provide a fantastic platform to showcase our fabulous cast and crew's work, so any support you can give the project would be much appreciated!
The origins of ‘Between The Lines’ lie in short musical film ‘Counsellors’, which was made as part of Exeter Phoenix’s 48hr film challenge in 2019. Director Dom Lee and composer Grace Hancock were part of the team which ended up winning the challenge. Keen to work together again on another project, we started discussing ideas alongside teammates Camilla Joyce and Elisabeth Burnette.

We knew we wanted to make something with a positive message which also had a lot of heart. The idea of a shy lead character trying to find her voice tied in well with setting the film in the quiet environment of a library. This decision in turn opened up a new avenue to explore - funding cuts to much needed local services.
The final piece was the decision to have well known book characters come to life who give Jane the advice she needs in an attempt to deliver the pitch.
Filming is well underway with principal photography expected to be completed by the end of November.
Dom Lee - Writer/Director
Dom is a Devon based award-winning filmmaker. Previous short films include ‘Fort Box’, which involved 250 people building a cardboard fort from over 3000 boxes and ‘Rocketshed’ which double Oscar-winning cinematographer Sir Roger Deakins described as ‘A great and clever idea’.
Grace Hancock - Composer/Lyricist
Grace trained as a popular music performer at university from 2010-2013. Having spent a lot of time on stage as a vocalist/keys player, in 2016 she branched out into composing. For the past 5 years she has worked as a composer/lyricist for a variety of productions in the Devon/Dorset area, including children's theatre and a couple of award-winning short films.
Jeff Sleeman - Producer
Jeff is a freelance actor, writer, facilitator and life coach based in East Devon. He has produced a number of short films, written two short plays and performed in these as well as live comedy events both in the UK and as far afield as New Zealand…
Minna Gibbs-Nicholls - Costume/Production Designer
Minna is a Film and Theatre Designer and Art Director based in South Devon. She has Designed a variety of different projects including feature films 'Killing Lionel' and 'Card Dead' directed by Tim Thorne and 'Cessation' by Dom Lee as well as the likes of ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ for The Inn Theatre company.
Rebecca Melvin Phillips - Choreographer
Rebecca (Bex) Melvin Phillips is a Devon-based filmmaker and choreographer. Through [EK!] Productions, Bex creates dance films, music video, animations and narrative shorts that combine her skills and passions of choreography, filmmaking and design.
Adam Sweetman - Cinematographer
Adam is a Cinematographer who’s other recent credits include Benjamin Akira Tallamy’s Arts Council funded videogame ‘Cradlemoor’. He’s also a co-founder of The Prop Factory which makes props, signs and furniture from recycled materials.
Money from your kind donations will go towards covering the costs of hiring locations, recording studios and our fantastic props and costumes. It’ll also help with the submission fee costs for film festivals, enabling us to get our film seen by audiences around the world and showcasing our incredible cast and crews talents.
We’re investing our own money into the project, but any contributions will really help us create the best possible version of the film we can and deliver a memorable cinematic experience which we believe will uplift all who see it.
EVERYBODY'S WELCOME AT THE LIBRARY!
PHOTO CREDITS
Julian Kemp, Minna Gibbs-Nicholls, Grace Hancock, Jim Elton, Alex Stewart
BETWEEN THE LINES LOGO by Luana Picard-Boni