New National Youth Film Academy Product has provided £400 of match funding
Branching out
London, Greater London, United Kingdom
Aim
We aim to spread awareness and promote the importance of a silenced issue that effects half of our population and still goes unnoticed.
We are a team of filmmakers who feel passionately about the exploration of mental health, especially in men. Our project explores this important social issue that has been pushed under the rug for so long.
We were inspired by a poem that our lead actor wrote, and decided to use it as a basis for the film. Jaykwarn's poem is clearly intertwined within nature imagery, especially trees, which we felt was an important metaphor for the co-dependency of society. Our cinematographer, Rachel, was inspired by nature in her vision:
"Visually, the symbol of the tree repeats itself to anchor both Jake's self perception, and how he is perceived by others - as strong, supportive and unyielding. Throughout the narrative Jake and the audience learn that this is not a possible way to live, shown by the slow desaturation of colour throughout the three acts. The three acts themselves will have slightly altered colour palettes to highlight they are separate stories. Colour, nuance and close ups focusing on micro expressions will keep the drama fresh, sophisticated and understated."
JAKE
The story’s Anchor Character. Jake is someone who is secretly struggling with his mental health, constantly haunted by his father’s harsh and negative thoughts and words. Throughout the course of the story, Jake is used over and over and always used to offload other character’s problems, but is never asked how he is.
CALEB AND LANDON
Caleb is the half-brother of Jake and younger brother of Lexi. Landon is Caleb’s boyfriend. They use Jake as a means to be out publicly together, as they are both scared to reveal their relationship for fear of ridicule.
LEXI AND TYLER
Lexi is the twin sister of Caleb and married to Tyler. A big part of her life is to eventually be a mother and have a family of her own, given how she was raised with her father. She vowed to never be like him. With the news of possibly not being able to have kids, this is way too much for Lexi and Tyler to handle and, in turn, it makes them really lose themselves and everything that is important.
DEAN AND HAILEY
Dean is Jake’s best friend and Hailey is another mutual friend of theirs. Neither Dean or Hailey know what their friend is going through and are focused on Dean and his recovery from relapsing on his alcohol addiction.
We intend to give back to mental health charities at every step of the filmmaking process to make sure, while providing representation for this important issue, we are also taking action to help solve this underacknowledged issue. Some of the key ways we plan to help are:
- Crowd funder rewards that give portions to charity
- All props and costume sourced locally from mental health charity shops
- Communications with mental health charities to partner with and spread awareness
- Refreshments for cast and crew on set so we can be looking after our bodies and minds in the stressful shooting process
- Camera, lighting and sound equipment to allow the visual deterioration of mental heath be portrayed as accurately as possible
This project successfully funded on 6th July 2022