The Stranger I Love - TV Series

by Theresa Godly in Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom

Total raised £410

£50,000 target 76 days left
0% 12 supporters
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 27th April 2025 at 5:38pm

We aim to make the pilot episode of a six-part propulsive thriller about parental alienation & sell the series to a large streaming platform

by Theresa Godly in Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom

Introduction:  My name is Theresa Godly, I am a screenwriter, film producer and sometimes an actor. During lockdown in 2020 I started writing 'The Stranger I Love' short film based on my own lived experience of PARENTAL ALIENATION.  In 2023 after successfully raising the money through crowdfunding and private funders, I brought a fabulous cast and crew together and we made the film.  As well as writing and producing it I also played the lead role.  The film has been selected for many international film festivals and won awards across the world which is great.  It has also served as a vehicle for media activity such as the Telegraph Newspaper's podcast, 'The Daily T' - I worked with the wonderful Camilla Tominey who saw the film and was so moved she wanted to know more about PA.  We recorded the podcast in November 2024 and it launched on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify on January 3rd.  A second episode on the subject is being planned too, which I was instrumental in.  I have also done newspaper and online interviews and there is more planned.  It is now time to launch into phase two and build on this success by making a TV series to be streamed into households across the world.  

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What inspired this film and TV series:  I was inspired and motivated to write this story after being alienated from my beloved eleven-year-old son by his father in 2019. It hit me like a truck - one minute I was kissing my son goodbye as he went on holiday with his dad, three weeks later I was faced with a child I didn't recognise; One who said very hurtful things to me, words filled with hatred, words I’d never heard him use ever before which were completely out of character.  I realised that this, coupled with his dad's refusal to help or bring my son home was suspicious, so I turned to social media and the internet where I soon discovered I was being alienated from my son, and it was unlikely to improve by itself.  If I wanted to ever see him again, I had to wipe my tears and fight. Over two years in family court and dealing with a corrupt child services system taught me that those with the power to rectify these situations are totally inept, and that the laws surrounding parental alienation and coercion of a child MUST change. I have connected with hundreds of other alienated parents & grandparents all across the world over the years, many have become good friends. The suffering is abhorrent wherever you go, as is the failure of the family courts and governments, who turn their backs to the devastating effects on young people, not to mention the mental health crisis among parents needlessly living without their children, many resorting to suicide because the pain is just too much to bear.

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Why now?  It has become clear to me that production companies and other writers, with the best will in the world do NOT understand how to make shows about this subject matter.  How can they unless they have lived through parental alienation themselves?  You cannot simply read a book or articles online and profess to know how a parent or child feels having been torn from one another.  I am a filmmaker who wants to make films and TV on my own terms and ensure the authenticity of the story which reflects the lived experiences of millions of families.  The only way I can do this is to raise the money to produce the first episode myself.  Once I have the first episode under my belt and distributed online via OLYN, audiences will come, they will watch and they will support.  This then acts as a huge incentive to streaming platforms like Netflix/ Apple/ Disney/ Amazon as well as networks such as BBC/ Channel 4/ ITV who have the risk lessened by a successful first episode being made for them, where they can see for themselves the power of such a story and the potential for a long-running series which inevitable equals REVENUE!!

It is also great kudos for a network or streaming platform to have a 'first'  - this is an original story and nobody has ever written a whole series dedicated to the subject of parental alienation, from the child and parent's POV (point of view) which delves into the pathology behind this psychological abuse and demonstrates the huge failings of family courts and child services and how that can devastate families irreparably.

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Why do we need your help?  Quite simply, we need money to be able to go into pre-production, in the same way that we did with the film.  Without donations it will be impossible to make a pilot, and without donations we could not have made such a brilliant film so I have faith that we have enough support out there to do this and do it phenomenally.

Funds are needed for hiring a casting director to approach a few famous names to the project and to attract an experienced director.  The director is a big decider in which actors you can then attract.  We also need to hire an experienced line producer to handle the budgets and make sure we get the most out of what we raise.  Locations/ camera equipment/ lighting equipment/ catering/ wardrobe are all costs.  Crew consisting of experts and those from under privileged backgrounds to shadow them are vital to this project. Crew spans across the camera department/ sound/ lighting/hair & make up/ costume/ production assistants/ 1st/2nd/3rd assistant directors/ script supervisor/ stunt coordinator to name a few.

We also need teams in post-production; Editor/ colour grading/ VFX/ sound design/ music composition/ titles/ music licensing etc.

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And finally....

Thank you for reading this. We are excited to step up pressure on those able to make changes in the law - governments.  In the UK, we have seen first-hand how television beamed into people's homes can do this, with the success of ITV's 'Mr Bates Vs the Post Office' which told the story of hundreds of innocent post office workers being wrongly accused of theft, fined and in some cases, imprisoned. Only after the TV series aired did the government investigate properly and properly recompense and pardon all those victims.

A TV series has far more longevity and can go into much deeper detail about parental alienation, details that need to be seen and heard, details which will shock people and in many cases serve as a warning for their own families.  The short film serves as a great proof of concept for a TV series and will give people more of an insight into the lives of alienated families and the huge injustices involved when fighting for our children.  Parental Alienation is a global social issue and needs to be seen on TV's and screens in homes across the world, not just the UK.  The sales value of such a series is huge and an interesting prospect for streaming platforms.

Aside from all the above - we want to entertain audiences with great drama, interesting stories and unforgettable characters who resonate with us all.  Shows we want to watch over and over again.

I hope you can support us with donating anything you can afford, and also sharing the link far and wide via social media, email and even whatsapp. Every pound/ dollar/ euro/ counts, without all the money needed we cannot make this episode and distribute it.  It is a lot of work, but I have never let that stop me before and I'm not about to let it stop me now!  Help us give parental alienation a voice and to see much-needed changes in family law so that children don't have to grow up without a loving parent in their lives, and families are not torn apart. The mental health effects on children losing one half of their identity is far-reaching and often irreversible. Help us stop this cycle now!

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Executive Producer Credit

You will receive a full Executive producer credit on episode one and access to the set when we are filming, and confidential updates on development stages as we go along. Also VIP tickets to a private screening once the episode is completed and prior to public distribution. You will also receive a percentage (tbc) of sales once we are distributed and if the series is sold to a third party streaming platform or television network.

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