Finishing Funds for Brain Injury Documentary

Aim

Finishing funds are required to get this important awareness-raising film to the public.

Pre-production and filming stages were achieved via fantastic support for the crowdfunding campaign we ran previously - we raised £15,000, no mean feat! - it's attached to this fundraiser, so you can take a look at our progress updates there. 

Follow The Patient is a feature-length documentary - a sexy blend of personal recovery stories and science.

We now need finishing funds to get this important awareness-raising film to the public. We are looking for a total of £25,000 for this process, from multiple sources, to go towards the acutely all-important editing process where a story comes alive, marketing and 2026 global film festival entries.

Keep reading for more info!

A more comprehensive pitch document is available on request.

The new stuff!

Our fab trailer was made for us by a talented new filmmaker friend Kim Scarsella, from Brooklyn NY - we met her at London's Raindance Film Festival in June (2025). We are immensely grateful to her for her time given to our project. 

REWARDS :
We have our cool bespoke-designed "Where's your head at?" tee-shirts & aprons available again (featuring our own co-producer's brain scan!); those who have them report many compliments!

We also have new rewards :

• a cubism-inspired original painting by Québécois artist and musician Frederic Peloquin. He has an interesting and interactive process - he came over to the UK from Europe just to do this work for us. We met him & his partner in London several months ago, bonded, and he was keen to contribute something to this project. That's pretty awesome.
  https://youtu.be/UuX764sH18w?si=geWNhhHMeAfxLItT
• we have high quality giclée prints of this painting available in sizes A3 and A2. We will also do some pretty stunning frame free acrylic glass panels which really make the vibrant colours of this painting ping - almost like having the original painting! We will list these in sizes A2 and A1. 
• We will list the original work up for grabs also - it's 100x80cm so needs a worthy wall.
• we have the opportunity for those with deeper pockets to appear as "Executive Producer", with your company logo or individual name appearing in the film credits. Think how cool that will look on your resume!  

BACKGROUND

Co-Producer Ben Clench suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury in 2010. The difficulties he faced in acceptance from wider society were a significant problem in his recovery. He also faced severe personal challenges in his own development. As a therapeutic tool he went on to write a book about the troubles he faced in resuming life; despite (unusual) discouragement he did a second Masters degree, and a highly successful Tedx talk in 2019. 

There was nothing that spoke to societal understanding of the prevalence of this chronic condition.

This led to a serendipitous meeting between Ben and Producer Sini at a speaking event in March 2022, after which they decided to begin plotting and planning on the viability of making an awareness-creating documentary.

STORY

One person in the UK has a brain injury every 90 seconds, this is a ridiculously high number, it’s not common knowledge; an unseen issue occurring in society.

A brain injured person might not look any different to the next person; it’s not something necessarily obvious from passing someone in the street or meeting them for the first time.

Those with a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) could be the ones you might think are drunk, or not acting in a way you think people should act; angry, ‘too friendly’, outspoken. However, each person has a personal story that is unique.

Brain injuries are like snowflakes and fingerprints. NO two are the same.

Brain Injury might be severe, or less so. But a brain injury is permanent, and 'recovery' is a life-long process. Some survivors thrive, whilst others don't.

We have met with other survivors around the country who’ve shared frank and honest accounts of their recovery process, and shared how they have negotiated life since their injury. Have they resumed their original trajectory, or have they taken a hairpin turn? Or have they not done so well, and why?

The brain is not entirely understood by doctors through brain scans. An individual’s outcome just can’t be judged by such means alone. We’ve spoken to experts specialising in brain trauma - scientists and medics from Imperial College and Great Ormond Street London, who explain the mechanisms of the brain, give their input on what they do know, and how behaviours are affected.

We have visited both traditional and unique rehabilitation centres, and they vary greatly.

We’ve learned that the sooner a survivor gets into rehab, the better their outcome, but the offerings are not the same for everyone and socio-economic factors come into play.

Brain injury and criminality is another important aspect we have covered, with academic and forensic psychology experts in youth offending and the prison service who talk in terms of the vulnerabilities of young survivors and negative outcomes arising out of lack of support; on to the high number of adults involved in the criminal justice system in the UK, and the revolving door of the system comprised of a large number of brain injury survivors. With immense overcrowding in prisons and the number of those with brain injury being 45-60%, this could be mitigated with the right treatment.

Although we filmed this documentary in the UK, the prevalence of brain injury has global parallels, and the story is universal.

Brain Injury is a chronic condition. It has left some people with an invisible disability; a hidden and unknown aspect within society – affecting 1 in 10 people in the UK, it’s more prevalent in the population than anyone realises, with no charity advertising campaigns on TV or on the backs of buses.

We want this documentary to change that.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

We are two-thirds of the way through making this documentary: we researched it, we've filmed it, now we need to wrap it up in a pretty bow, and sell it; get it brilliantly edited, marketed, into the 2026 global film festival run, and hopefully picked up for distribution.

The editing phase involves acute expertise in helping to craft a compelling story. It's also costly. We have an excellent editor and edit assistant on board. Your support will go towards this and above expenses.

Back in late 2022 we were told by a production company who were potentially interested, that 'There's too much going on in the disability space atm'...
Is there, though? 

The wonderful survivors in our documentary deserve to have their voices heard; they are a reflection of broader society. Where is their film?

This is the phase that you come in.
Help us make this a reality.

WHO'S INVOLVED

Ben Clench - co-Producer.
Ben suffered a TBI in 2010 whilst working abroad in International Development. After his injury, the difficulties he faced in acceptance from wider society were a significant problem in his recovery. The TBI also posed severe challenges to his personal development. He has since gone on to write a book about the troubles he faced in resuming life, complete a second Master’s degree, and do a highly successful Tedx Brighton talk in 2018. This is Ben’s first foray into film.


Sini Manner - Producer.
Sini has a mixed media background, having produced & presented radio in alternative and commercial formats, worked in event production, and has done various roles in film over the years from production/art department/unit runner, AD, to production coordinator & manager. She has worked in radio advertising and music promotion. A keen commercial awareness has come from working in both creative & commercial capacities across broad media. She has also had the misfortune to work in corporate environments. Sini is a long-time photographer and works with sound regularly; has produced/filmed short films, and news & entertainment pieces for local television. This is her first solo feature film. A whizz at multitasking, to keep within tight budget, she has also operated both camera & sound for this project.



Oli Harris - Composer.
Oliver Harris is a composer and music producer based in London, UK. He brings an intimate, experimental and immersive approach to his scoring projects and releases his own music under the name OHMSAN.

During his studies, Oli did an Erasmus placement in Bologna with Marco Biscarini, the protégé of the one & only Ennio Morricone. Oli worked with him during the spring of 2020, splitting time between his studio in Bologna and attending his lectures at Conservatorio Di Rovigo. 

Nick Saunders - Editor.
Nick Saunders is a seasoned Film, Commercials and TV editor. Brands have included Comfort, Sunsilk, Gillette, Dove, Sky, VW, Channel 4, Converse, Always, Olay, Braun, Aston Martin, Google, and Calvin Klein.
Many short form credits include work for BFI & Creative England, & longform TV credits such as The Pity of War for ITV, starring John Hurt; a Discovery+ miniseries, The Little Blue Pill That Changed The World, on the invention and cultural impact of Viagra; and Catwalk to Creation, on our addiction to fast fashion, launched at The UN in New York & nominated for a Global Sustainability Film Award.
Nick edited his first feature film, Satu Year of The Rabbit, nominated for the Raindance Discovery Award for Best Debut Feature Film 2024, & also longlisted for the BIFA Maverick Award 2024, plus other global festival nominations.
Nick also edits podcasts for Royal Ascot, and Vogue contributing editor Bay Garnett.



Isaak Johansson - Edit Assistant.
Isaak has worked for established production companies on large TV productions as a runner, logger and edit assistant. His academic background is in marine conservation and environmental sustainability.




Mark Tierney - Executive Producer.
Mark is a DGA (Director's Guild of America) documentary-maker based in LA.
He is contributing expert knowledge, together with equipment for filming, and is also involved in post-production elements. Mark is on board to help us get all the pieces of the puzzle glued together to culminate in the best story.



Your Name Here - Executive Producer.
One of our rewards!

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 31st December 2026 at 8:17pm