JoAnna Short Film

What is "JoAnna" about?

JoAnna is a short fictional drama about loneliness, human connection and healing, following a young artist trying to find true closeness in the digital world. 

Anna moves from Ukraine to London to pursue her dream: to be a writer. One day, she finds her  neighbour, Jo, in their garden and something unusual catches her eye. From this moment on, nothing for Anna will ever be the same again. 

What actually happened in the garden? Will Anna ever be able to write again? Who is Jo who lives upstairs?  

Why our story is important?

In an increasingly digital and disconnected world, everyone is going through something. However, who we become as a result is what really matters. "JoAnna" shows we can choose to find light, both around us and from within, even when things seem completely dark, and that choice is powerful and brave. 

We hope to create a truthful representation about what it feels like to be lonely, to be craving closeness but terrified of taking that risk. 

Join us!

To bring this powerful story to the big screen we need your help! We are two graduating students trying to create something new and interesting as we come into the industry. However, whilst we have tons of ideas, passion and dedication, making a film costs money. Therefore, we would be incredibly grateful for any donations which will make this journey possible.

Who are we?

We are two students graduating from the MA Acting For Screen course at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, currently in pre-production for our new short film “JoAnna”! We can’t wait to bring our vision to life!

https://www.cssd.ac.uk/student-profiles?f%5B0%5D=course%3A50&f%5B1%5D=graduating_year%3A2023&f%5B2%5D=graduating_year%3A2024

Iryna Poplavska - director 

Iryna is the director, co-producer, and one of the actors of “JoAnna”. Iryna is from Ukraine where her acting career was taking off. Straight after getting her BA in Acting, she got the main part in the Ukrainian adaptation of the Columbian popular series “Ugly Betty".

From that moment on, Iryna realized how much she loved filmmaking and started to think about getting a proper screen acting education to boost her skills. The war made Iryna move abroad and start everything from scratch. She got a place at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama on the MA Acting for Screen course which became an amazing opportunity for her to widen her perception of cinematography and her role in it. Iryna is an ambitious and passionate upcoming director who is keen to create her first short film with an outstanding and inspirational message!

Lucy Eddington - writer

Lucy is the writer and co-producer of "JoAnna" and cannot wait to bring the weird and wonderful character of Jo to life! Lucy trained in Theatre: Writing, Directing and Performance at the University of York and threw herself into the creative community around her, working on 13 short films and 15 theatre shows in 3 years, along with 2 performances at the Edinburgh Fringe. As a writer, Lucy specializes in complex relationships, subtext, human connection and comedy, aiming to tell stories which evoke real feelings in audiences, whether that is shock, laughter, tears or empathy. She is passionate about how art can make people feel things they had forgotten how to feel and cannot wait to tell a story which has the potential to hit so many different people. Lucy is a creative, dedicated, writer/actor who truly believes the sky is the limit for Jo and Anna!

Maxwell Cutting - Director of Photography

Growing up in Edinburgh, Scotland, Max has been interested in film for as long as he can remember after binging behind-the-scenes extras on VHS tapes as a child and creating stop-motion shorts in his bedroom. After being forced to drop out of an engineering program due to illness, Max realised life was too short not to do what you loved and set out to become a filmmaker. Max used his time studying Film at the University of St Andrews to explore filmmaking by creating video content for various University clubs, including the UK’s largest student-run fashion show, ‘Don’t Walk.’

After graduation, Max moved into freelancing as a PA in Scotland before the industry shut down when Covid struck. Looking to learn more about his craft, Max enrolled in the MA Filmmaking program at the London Film School, where he fell in love with the craft of cinematography. Since then Max has shot 6 short films as well a music videos across the UK and in India. His work has been screened at festivals across the UK and he currently works in the camera and lighting department across commercials, feature films and HETV alongside his work as a DoP.

“I’m incredibly excited to be working on this short alongside Lucy and Iryna. They have an infectious energy and a beautiful script which has given a lot of space for intimate visual storytelling.”

How will your money help?

All donations will go straight towards the essential production costs that come with developing a short film entirely from scratch. This is anything from finding and supporting a talented crew, sourcing sound and lighting equipment, post-production costs, design elements and much more, all the way down to making sure everyone is well-fed (well-fed crew = happy crew!) and watered on the shooting days. We want to look after our crew with good catering and travel expenses along with making our film look as dynamic and visually interesting as we imagine it to be, with specific props, costumes and a composed score!

To help us reach our goal we have created some exciting rewards! Whilst of course we want people to donate, we also want to bring you along this journey with us. :)