Love not Love

Aim

This film aims to tell the story of what can happen when queer people endure homophobia from those that are meant to love and protect them.

Love not Love serves as a representation of a queer experience. One where our protagonist, Bex, is thrust into a world where she isn’t celebrated or even accepted at a basic human level. We follow her and her girlfriend, Lucy’s, painful journey through suicide attempts that land Bex in prison. The on-duty prison chaplain is a familiar face who has other plans for Bex that do not include releasing her. Love not Love is a tragic love story focusing the mental deterioration that can occur when queer people have no support navigating a world that isn’t designed for them.

There are four key rooms which all hold a visual style representative of what is happening in the location. The Kitchen, The Bedroom, The Bathroom & The Cell.

When we are in the kitchen it is christmas time so we will see some colourful christmas lights in the background of some shots. Christmas used to be Lucy’s favourite time of year. The nostalgia and warm memories juxtapose what is set to happen within this supposedly ‘safe’ space. To add to this, warm orange and yellow lighting will create a homely feel to the scene. If Lucy isn’t safe here, where is she? The majority of the film is set at night, the darkness outside the windows isolating the family home, representing societal bubbles that form in outskirt towns.  

We spend the majority of the film in ‘The Cell’ with Bex and Carol. Ultimately a metaphor for how Bex feels when faced with the views of people who inherently believe she should be denied love. We will use cooler lighting; recognisable for a cold, bleak emotional state as well as creating an unnerving atmosphere. The set is being custom built to create a slightly obscure world; similar to the one we know but imagery amplified.

The bedroom scenes will be filmed in natural light. This is when we get to see Bex and Lucy together, alive. The lighting state is to represent the natural nature of their relationship.

Arguably the most harrowing scene takes place as one singular shot in the bathroom. Stripped back lighting will echo the cold, impersonal bathroom apparatus.

This film acts as a visual representation of what it can feel like to experience homophobia. The themes of the film may seem like ‘worst case scenario’ but LGBTQ+ suicide rates are considerably higher, on top of this, the visual metaphors do represent an internal pain that collects after years of different levels of predjudice  from societal to personal realms. It will be an important watch, a really hard watch; but an important one. It’s easy to think homophobia is a thing of the past and, in the right circles, thankfully, it is going that way but unfortunately there is a long way to go in so many other communities. The films title ‘Love not Love’ is to say ‘love’ can be a verb- it’s an active word which you have to chose to do. It shouldn’t be wrapped in judgement.

This is an extremely sensitive story that requires a lot of attention to detail. Stunt coordinators, intimacy coordinators, beautiful locations, set builds and getting the perfect actors mean that we need a considerable budget. We don’t only need your donations. Spreading the word, sharing stories etc helps more than you know! We appreciate the current times are really difficult for everyone so sharing with friends and family and social media is also a HUGE help!

WRITER/DIRECTOR

Hello! I'm Georgia, the writer/director of Love Not Love.  This film is really close to my heart, and as you can imagine having written it; very personal. I feel incredibly lucky to have such a talented and passionate team, who you will meet below, on board to bring the film to life. I think we should all share our stories because it creates space wherein conversations can turn tides or build bridges. As humans sometimes it’s hard to know what other peoples experiences are when you’re caught up in a fast paced existence. I hope that in sharing this story and putting these images on the screen, people who have felt in similar ways won’t feel so alone. 

PRODUCER

Hi I’m Is and I’m the producer for Love Not Love. I produce and support mental health and queer productions , this film fitting those themes. As a queer human myself who has lost friends to suicide I understand the importance of speaking of and seeing all things human to normalise those feelings. I know this film needs making and I hope that with enough attention on this film we can raise these issues in the minds of more people 

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Hi, I'm Daisy and I’m so excited to be working on this project with such an amazing crew. The story is emotional, but its message is so important and I’m glad to be one of the people telling it. Being engaged with this film as its DoP means I have the opportunity to bring the world to life from script to screen. Through use of visuals, I want to truly immerse our audience into the world of the characters. Both camera and lighting will aid in capturing the powerful emotions explored throughout the film, and whilst kept natural as to not distract from our story, they will be effective in creating an engaging narrative!

FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Hey I’m Benny the 1st AD for Love Not Love! On the film my primary goal is to ensure the safety of my amazing cast & crew  and to make sure, where possible, the film is being shot on schedule. I get the privilege to dip my hands into all sorts of different departments ensuring they have what they need and when they need it. 

I think Love Not Love is an incredibly important film to a wide range of audiences, whether that be those who can relate to their own personal difficulties with their sexuality or those looking to understand how some people feel. Above all, Love Not Love acts as a physical metaphor for the negative impact discrimination has on a human being.

PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Hi! I’m Jalissa the Production Designer for Georgia Bishop’s ‘Love Not Love’.

When it comes to production design, I have an interest in almost every aspect of production and wanted to work on this project because of the opportunity to production design both a location and set build. One key component which drew me to this film was creating a world like ours with subtle dystopian elements thus having the creative freedom to delve into world building through props and set dressing. Through working on this project, I will explore the whole process from concept to production, expanding my knowledge from previous projects.

EDITOR

 Hi everyone! My name is Klaudia, and I am the editor of ‘Love Not Love’.

I’m super excited to edit this film, and to be involved in this project.

It is a huge responsibility to work on a film with such a deep and important topic.

My goal as an editor is to make sure audiences can feel the characters emotions and to easily engage with them, and what they are going through.

GAFFER 

Hello. My name is Francesca and I am the gaffer for Love, Not Love. I’ll be working in tandem with the Director and DOP and to help bring the script to life through the lighting. As our DOP noted, the story is one we want to have an emotional impact. The lighting will subtly reflect the emotional states our characters go through by focusing on colour, contrast and tone. I’m excited to be working on a project with a subject matter close to my heart and with a such a talented crew.

FIRST ASSISTANT CAMERA

Hi, I'm Amy, the 1st AC for Love Not Love! Growing up, I was rarely exposed to queer film and television, especially lesbian representation, until much later in life. The first LGBTQ+ film I watched and connected with was 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire', which still sticks with me to this day. Having a passion for film as well as pride in my sexuality, it is important to me that we share stories like these to spread awareness to both young people discovering themselves, and those who haven't experienced the difficulties of identifying as queer. I am super grateful to share involvement in this film and can't wait to watch it come to life!

This project successfully funded on 7th December 2023