Director Launches Crowdfunding for Her Emotional Short Film on Miscarriage
Jo Southwell, an award-winning local film director is crowdfunding for her latest short film, ECHO.
ECHO is a powerful short film that looks at the world of mental health and its causes in losing a loved-one through miscarriage. Both Alice and Tom have been traumatised by their loss but it is Alice who is living between reality and an imagined world in ECHO. Alice has been struggling to accept the loss of her child. Despite being in a loving relationship, the maternal bond has never healed. Her mind flits between the present and a lucid memory of her daughter, a memory she has formed from her own vivid imagination.
Jo’s passion for human led, emotionally driven stories lay the foundations of her work. She has worked as a shadow director on Killing Eve and Trigger Point and she is now moving into continuing drama, most recently on Doctors for the BBC. This year she has been made a full BAFTA member.
Jo said, “As a Director I am driven by emotionally grounded films and characters. Life inspires me and so, by telling a story of loss, I hope to create an energised film that will create conversation, evoke emotion and enhance understanding. This film has the opportunity to engage, start conversation, move and also join the community of women in a very relatable story.”
Some of the film will be shot underwater in the U-Stage at Pinewood Studios where the underwater scenes of James Bond and Harry Potter have been filmed. Jo said, “Water offers the opportunity to create an imagined world. A world that represents Alice’s mind and the journey she is going through.”
The character ECHO will be created using a VFX mechanic called partial stimulation. Jo comments, “Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m a massive sci-fi fan and dream about being a Director on a Star Wars film or equivalent. I’ve never had the opportunity to use this technology so it’s very exciting.”
The Kickstarter target is for $8,500 of which just over $3,000 has been raised. Jo explains, “It’s really tough to make an indie film so any support you can give to fulfil our dreams is always much appreciated.”
If you would like to help Jo go to KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN
As part of the Kickstarter campaign Jo is running a competition for the chance to be part of the team to work on the film. Are you budding filmmaker? Do you love films? Ever wondered how films are made? All you need to do is donate £5 and complete the form https://forms.gle/xaZpUTgTTF5qYWs99 saying why you would like to be involved. Deadline for entries is 24 June.
