These Things Aren't Mine - Film

Aim

These Things Aren't Mine is an original new film told through dance, theatre and circus - and we're raising money for creation & production.

OVERVIEW

We’re raising money to complete production on These Things Aren’t Mine, an ambitious new performance film combining physical theatre, circus and dance. Directed by Barney White

WHATS THE STORY? About These Things Aren't Mine

Synposis

Ash is a circus artist living a quiet and content life in Valencia, when one day a mundane encounter triggers a series of increasingly unnerving events. 

As more and more cracks begin to appear in everyday life, and the line between reality and dream erodes, she is left with a choice - to run, or turn and dive deeper into discovering the cause. A fictional story based on real events, These Things Aren’t Mine is a dynamic visual journey through the body, mind and time - a story of discovery, acceptance and hope.

Written in collaboration with former gymnast turned circus artist Gabbie Cook, These Things Aren’t Mine is a visceral, abstract and emotive exploration into the psyche of an ex-child athlete living with PTSD and hyper vigilance.

MOOD BOARD and VISUAL INSPIRATION

Influences

• Satoshi Kon - Perfect Blue / Paprika / Good Morning
• Bessel Van Der Kolk - The Body Keeps the Score
• Alex Garland - DEVS / Annihilation / Men
• David Lynch - Twin Peaks: The Return / Inland Empire

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The Story Behind The Film
(by Gabbie Cook)

The title These Things Aren’t Mine came about because, as far as my memory stretches, I have lived with a tension in my body which was created by someone else.

I woke up one day during lockdown in 2020 and opened  Facebook to see that the British Gymnastics team had started to publicly speak about the abuse below the surface. Feeling empowered to speak out, I made an official complaint about what I had suffered as a child, and they proceeded to handle it terribly. The same day, a news story hit with reports of abuse within a boarding school in Scotland, where young girls were being trained in dance. 

I have had issues breathing since I was a young teen, and experiencing all this in one morning was suffocating. I figured I had two options; sit with it and try to be calm, or exert as much physical stress on my body as possible to let the adrenaline ease that feeling of drowning. So I decided to go on a rage run to the Clifton observatory tower.  Just to be clear - I hate running, but I sprinted as fast as I could uphill for 30 minutes.

When I got to the top I published a rant on my Instagram - I felt the need to scream about it just to see if anyone would listen. And they did. I had news outlets in my inbox the next day asking for interviews, and a legal team contacted me who were fighting the cause with a group claim.

These Things Aren’t Mine is a very necessary opportunity to honour my experience, turning something traumatic into something creative; allowing me to publicly take hold of the narrative and tell it how I experienced it. We need to make this film because I wish someone had made it when I was little. It is ultimately a hopeful narrative about recovery, and a call for accountability from those at the top of the hierarchy.

CREATIVE STATEMENT

The ambition for These Things Aren’t Mine is to explore the impacts that abuse in childhood elite training environments can have on adult life; the invasions of physical and emotional space, imbalances of power that ripple through day to day life in both personal and professional environments, where victims often feel powerless to tell their stories and with little support available if they do.

Presented through abstract, poetic imagery, the film explores the day to day effects of living with trauma; to give voice, physicality and visibility to these experiences, and the process of how healing begins. 

Stories like this need to be told, and by presenting it through an artistic medium we hope it will forge an understanding that builds empathy and enables people to share their stories - to know that they are not alone.

WHATS THE MONEY FOR?

Where We're At

So far we've undertaken around research and development exploring the concepts behind the film and finding the right visual language to communicate them. During an initial session, we played with some approaches to capturing movement on camera, producing a short test shoot / teaser trailer (which you can see above), and are now in the final stages of finalizing script and storyboard.

What We Need and How We'll Spend The Money

We've currently raised £2,500 through a commission from Bristol Circus City and need your help to raise a further £5,500 to complete the budget and bring this project to life. Your critical support will help us to fully realize These Things Aren't Mine to the high quality it deserves - this means more time with our artists creating the film's physical and visual language, time with our composer to create the all-important score, costume design, and post-production. 

Production Timeline

• June 2023: Final preparation, creative planning and rehearsals
• July - Early August 2023: Shoot period
• Mid August - September 2023: Post-production and delivery
• October 2023: Premier Screening - Circus City Bristol (UK)
• October 2023 Onwards: Submission to festivals

WHO WE ARE

Barney White | Writer & Director

Barney is a filmmaker, photographer and performer based in London. Trained in theatre, dance and acrobatics, his work is focused on visual storytelling and how we can use art to reflect on and communicate shared stories of how we exist in the world. 

Driven by a passion for both performance and cinema, Barney creates original artist film that explores stories of human experience through the meeting of bodies, light and space.

As co-founder and Creative Director of acrobatic theatre company Acrojou, Barney has spent the last 17 years creating, performing and touring original work across the UK and internationally, including at The V&A, Royal Opera House and The National Kaohsiung Centre for the Arts (Taiwan). Through this work he developed a passion for physical storytelling and artistic collaboration - working with circus artists, dancers, actors, musicians and visual artists. 

Gabbie Cook  |  Co-Creator and Lead Performer

Gabbie is a dance and circus artist specialised in contemporary dance, acrobatics and Chinese pole; working as a performer, teacher and movement director. She started artistic gymnastics at a young age and competed to an elite level before going on to train at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, graduating in 2014. 

Alongside performances, Gabbie has been the movement director for Hikapee Theatre and Strong Lady Productions, later this year she will be choreographing for new work by Ellie Dubois.

Throughout her career she has worked for a variety of Dance, Circus and Physical Theatre companies including Acrojou, Becky Namgauds, Tom Dale Company, Region Teatern, Superfan and Anatomica. Most recently, she has been working with various companies in Spain including, DelsAltres (Valencia) and Zero en Conducta (Barcelona), Highly Sprung, and Capicua an all-female collective based in Catalunya. 

Pauline Nakirya  |  Producer

Mostly known for being an actor and occasional writer, my producer journey started out in theatre, working with and coordinating a young people’s theatre group at TARA ARTS. I also adapted folklore and books into stage plays and wrote and performed in a one-woman show. Over the years, I have developed a bug for film and TV, and joined Komola Collective as an Associate Producer – I was Line Producer on their Indie film – ‘Barir Naam Shahana’, about a divorced woman who faces being outcast from her community because of it, which is working its way through some international festivals, and also co-produced ‘I Am Light – short film’, about what it means to be black British, which was inspired by a post written by Belinda Fenty after the George Floyd murder.

I am motivated by stories that tackle taboo topics affecting human nature, and this passion led me to "These things Ain't Mine," because such stories need to be heard.

REWARDS

To say thank you for your much needed support, we've got some great rewards on offer. Any amount contributed, great or small, makes a massive difference - we're truly grateful for your support and can't wait to share These Things Aren't Mine with you!

This project successfully funded on 31st May 2023