Goodbye Honey Henderson - Short Film

Aim

We are fundraising for an emotionally intimate short film following a Scottish pro burlesque performer confronting grief and reclamation.

This project is match funded by Creative Scotland meaning all contributions up to £250 per individual will be doubled.

During her final show, a renowned burlesque performer spirals through grief, love, and self-destruction after her father’s death, until one last performance becomes her cathartic release.

This film is inspired by the real lived experience of internationally renowned Scottish Burlesque Performer, Missy Malone. It is written by Scottish writers and proudly showcases Scottish voices. We will be filming in Scotland and it will be brought to the screen by an amazing group of Scottish creatives across every department.

"Goodbye Honey Henderson" is a contained, emotionally-driven drama unfolding over a single night in a working cabaret club.

Kirsty, a renowned burlesque performer, arrives for the final show of her farewell tour, closing the chapter on her life as Honey Henderson. Backstage, the dressing room hums with energy: performers celebrate her legacy, a chosen family bound by ritual, chaos, and care. But beneath the surface, Kirsty carries the unresolved weight of her father’s death.

As the night unfolds, the club becomes a psychological arena. Kirsty’s carefully constructed persona begins to fracture as intrusive memories of her father’s decline surface. It's raw, disorienting, and inescapable. On stage, the performance reaches its climax. Kirsty stops performing as Honey Henderson and instead channels everything she has suppressed - grief, rage, love - into a final act of release. The persona falls away. What remains is Kirsty: exposed, but no longer hiding.

In the aftermath, she reconnects with Scully, a married musician with whom she shared an intense, self-destructive relationship during her father’s final days. Their encounter reveals the truth of that time: a desperate grasp for escape, and the cost of it. What remains between them is not passion, but recognition.

Surrounded by the noise and momentum of life continuing around her, she begins to settle into herself, no longer defined by grief, or by the identity she created to contain it. A final vision of her father, no longer traumatic but gentle, marks a shift: not closure, but acceptance.

She leaves Honey Henderson behind for good. There is no resolution - only a choice: to face what comes next without armour, and to begin again on her own terms.

What: A visually rich, emotionally intimate Narrative Short Film

Where: Scotland, UK. Set inside a vibrant Scottish cabaret club.

When: Production 2026 | Festival run 2027

Budget Goal: £17,480 

Genre: Drama

Audience: Festival audiences, women 25+, LGBTQ+ audiences, fans of character led British drama. Lovers of independent cinema and online viewers. And anyone who has experienced loss or reinvention.

Themes: Grief, Reinvention, Female Agency, Identity, Performance vs Reality, Chosen Family, Reclamation

Team: BabyDog Pictures | New Lore Productions | Dynamic Entertainment Media | Written by David Elliot and Kim Chapman | Inspired by the memoirs of Missy Malone.

Rewards: Exclusive Film Merch and Memorabilia, Film Preview Link, Premier Invite, In Person Offers With the Creative Team, Business Sponsorship Offers, Exec Producer Credit

More Info: Follow the journey from development through festival release and help us bring this intimate, visually rich story to screen. 

Co-Writer/Actor - Kim Chapman

Kim Chapman is a multi-faceted Artist hailing from working class family in Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland.

She attended West Lothian Youth Theatre throughout her teens and credits it for introducing her to the otherwise inaccessible (to her) arts, offering her many important opportunities and instilling self believe as a young actor. She has consistently worked as an Actor since then within Theatre, Film and TV. Most recently including recurring roles in Irvine Welsh’s Crime S1&S2 (ITV) and Nightsleeper (BBC).

Kim did not follow a standard trajectory when it comes to her creative career but feels enriched by the experiences this unconventional route has afforded her. Kim studied at ECA (Edinburgh College of Art) and earned a BA Hons Arts Degree in 2007. 

Kim is also perhaps better known as an Internationally Renowned Burlesque Artiste of over 20 years, under her Cabaret Stage Name “Missy Malone”. Working in this performance arena has been her bread and butter for most of her life but also her greatest love. Very recently retired (in Dec 2025) her memoirs from this period of her life have inspired this film and its setting.

Co-Writer's Statement

I was deeply humbled and re-energized when David (Director / Co-Writer) expressed an interest in telling a story inspired directly by my own lived experience working as a Grieving Showgirl and all that comes with that confronting Juxtaposition. We had worked closely together on Irvine Welsh’s Crime S2 at the height of my own personal loss, and I trusted him and his creative vision fully.

I opened my heart fully, shared my story with all its uncomfortable truths, and I am very proud of the story we have gone on to create together. It is a simple authentic human story dealing with Love, Loss and reinvention, set against perhaps an unexpected (but very real) backdrop. It has also reinforced that many people connect and resonate with the subjects we explore and find healing in seeing similar stories told. Creating the story has been a truly cathartic experience for me and I hope that we can share that catharsis with our audiences.

Co-Writer/Director - David Elliot

David Elliot is an award-winning Scottish Actor turned Writer and Director, with a career spanning over two decades. He won the BAFTA Scotland Best Film Actor award while also creating original work for stage and screen as a writer/director.

David wrote and directed the stage play HANGOVER, “a breathtakingly realistic and resonant piece of writing…  surely destined for great things in the future.”- The Scotsman. 

His last short film, PROMENADE, was released on Amazon Prime and featured  on Discover Film’s “world’s best shorts”. It was nominated for Best Short Film at Tweet Fest and longlisted for a Scottish BAFTA in the Best Short Film category. 

David was a finalist in the BBC Writers Room Interconnected program, and also a finalist in the BBC Writers Room TV  Drama program. He participated in the BIFA 2021/2022 Springboard program and reached Stage 2 of Netflix Breakout in 2022. He currently has two feature films in development, continuing to explore stories of human connection, resilience, and  transformation with a distinctive cinematic voice.

Director's Statement

The inspiration for Goodbye Honey Henderson came from working with Kim  Chapman, my co-creator. We first connected on Irvine Welsh’s Crime, and I  became fascinated by her past work on the burlesque circuit. A world I’d never truly witnessed, even though my wife had also worked in it previously. 

At the time we worked together, Kim was concluding her final burlesque tour to focus on acting. She certainly hadn't lost her passion for performing, but it felt the right time to close that chapter. Her father had very recently died, and that grief reshaped her perspective;  suddenly, leaving something familiar didn’t feel risky anymore. Her openness about brutal, messy loss, while still working as a performer and “putting on a face,” really struck me. 

We all experience grief, and our actions in its wake come simply from being human. This story explores that humanity, the bonds of working performers, and the beauty of burlesque. A world of chaos, love, and loss. It’s about grief, change, identity and the courage to move forward. 

Cinematographer - David Liddell

David is an impassioned Cinematographer with over a decades worth of professional experience across a range of projects including feature films, high end tv dramas, commercials and music promos, having gained an MA in Cinematography via the National Film and Television School under the tutelage of Brian Tufano BSC and Sean Bobbitt BSC.  

Recent TV projects include ‘SummerWater’ for Channel 4 (2025). ‘Shetland’ Series 9 and 10 for BBC (2024 & 2025), ‘Band of Spies’ (2024) ‘Irvine Welsh 's Crime’ Series 1 and 2 For ITV (2022 & 2023).  

He shot ‘Tummy Monster' a 2024 Scottish dark comic psychological horror film directed by Ciaran Lyons. It was nominated for Best Film at the 2025 British Academy Scotland Awards.

David's Statement

I was drawn to ‘Goodbye Honey Henderson’ having worked with both David and Kim previously and know how brilliantly talented they are and how committed and passionate they are about film and performance. 

But I was left captivated by the powerful and raw honesty of the story, the potency of the imagery and the immense opportunity to combine an expressive piece of dance film that is embedded inside a deeply personal and affecting narrative.

Producers - New Lore Productions

New Lore is a Glasgow based independent production duo, formed by Jay Newton and Dylan Blore. We are dedicated to running productions with kindness and integrity, creating environments that are enjoyable and collaborative. 

Dylan has worked as an actor on stage and screen for a number of years, with credits spanning high end television and film. He made his writing and directorial debut with New Lore’s first short Handle With Care. The film has gone onto great success on festival circuits. 

Jay has a wealth of experience on both sides of the screen, featuring is an actor across multiple series. He won an Iris award for Best Performance for Short Circuit's Sleazy Tiger. Jay also has a robust background in post production, working with Blazing Griffin and Savalas Post. 

Executive Producers - BabyDog Pictures

BabyDog Pictures is a film and television production company developing bold, distinctive stories with strong audience and international appeal.Founded by writer-director Gabriel Robertson, the company is driven by a commitment to original voices and cinematic storytelling across genre, drama and character-led work. Gabriel is a multi-award-winning writer-director whose work spans feature film, television and interactive media, with projects developed and produced internationally.

The company’s production slate is led by Lauren Lamarr, an award-winning producer with experience across film and television. She has worked within Producing teams on Where Do We Go From Here?, Anna and the Apocalypse, California Schemin’, Glenrothan and Govan Fair Queen, alongside a wide range of development work supporting emerging and established talent.

Head of Development Helen Sim-Robertson leads on story and slate development across the company’s projects, working closely with writers and directors to shape ideas from concept through to production.BabyDog Pictures is a hands-on, creatively driven company, built around close collaboration with writers and directors. The team champions distinctive voices with strong commercial appeal, supporting both emerging and established talent across multiple markets.Current projects include the feature film Americana from writer-director Gabriel Robertson, and a feature adaptation of Chris Brookmyre’s novel Pandaemonium, alongside short films including Goodbye Honey Henderson from Scottish BAFTA award-winning actor David Elliot, co-written by and starring Kim Chapman, and an untitled comedy short from writer and comedian Jack Brookmyre.

Visual Moodboard:

Goodbye Honey Henderson will be cinematic, glossy, and intimate. The film will feel beautifully composed, with a dark, brooding and sensual tone that captures both the glamour and the rawness of the burlesque world. The camera will observe this world from the inside, not as an outsider looking in. The soundscape will carry us from backstage chaos to quiet moments of reflection, always rooted in authenticity. At its core, this film is about performance; both on stage and in life. The visual style, music and design will all exist to serve the truth of the characters and the emotion in their performances.

Film production is an expensive process, with most of our budget going toward production itself—covering everything from equipment and locations to cast, crew, design departments and catering.

Pre-production and distribution also require funding. This stage focuses on planning, permits, insurance, and hiring key creatives.

Post-production is another major cost, involving essentials like editing, sound design, and colour grade. While distribution includes creating our deliverables like our DCP, designing a poster and submitting to film festivals. 

Altogether, these costs can quickly add up, which is why we’re seeking your support. Your help will enable a team of ambitious Scottish storytellers to share an honest, universal human story about navigating grief and reclamation. 

NB: Should we make beyond our target, we'll be able to dedicate more resources to more cast & crew prep time, additional shoot days, originally composed music, additional post production and marketing to elevate the overall project.

Why we need your help?

As a core team of emerging filmmakers, we see Goodbye Honey Henderson as an ambitious project which would be a major step forward in our careers. But reaching this point hasn’t been easy, especially within Scotland’s challenging funding landscape. Key support systems for the Arts have faced major disruption in recent years, making funding more competitive and less reliable and accessible. Which brings us to where we are now.

This project is match funded by Creative Scotland meaning all donations up to £250 per individual will be doubled. Creative Scotland are at the beating heart of the Scottish creative community and we are so grateful for their generous support in bringing this project to life.

CROWDFUNDER CAMPAIGN ARTWORK AND PHOTO CREDITS:

• Cat J Design - www.catjdesign.com
• Loraine Ross - www.lorainerossweddings.co.uk
• Yellowbelly - www.yellowbellyphoto.com
• Maria Clara Mallet - www.mcmphotoproject.com 
• CBR Photography - www.cherrybombrock.com
• iWillburnArt – instagram.com/iwillburnart

We're extremely grateful and thankful for all donations made. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to refund or decline any donation that we feel does not align with our values or ethos of the project. 

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made