Their story, in their words…
I wrote, filmed and directed a short film for my Mark Evison project. It was an incredible experience I learnt so much from and will never forget. I had set out to make a short film at the beginning of sixth form with no real plan when I found out about The Mark Evison Foundation. I thought it would be an amazing way to achieve my goal. I wanted to spread joy and raise awareness about mental health, anxiety, and growing up a woman of colour and I was able to do that through this.
The process of getting my idea approved taught me valuable lessons about being able to effectively communicate your wants and needs and find a compromise. Additionally, this was the start of me gaining problem solving skills through doing this project. I needed a script, a cast, a crew, cameras, places to film, costumes and so much more which presented many challenges for me. Though I was able to overcome them it was not easy and I am incredibly grateful to MEF for giving me the opportunity to challenge myself. I was able to, with the funding from MEF and help from those around me, write, film and direct the short film ‘Happy Birthday’ starring an all student cast and crew in 4 months.
I was even able to host a premiere event for it too. It was so amazing to share what we had created and see the fruits of our labour. The event included an interview section where one of the actresses involved and I answered audience questions about the film. One person asked what I would do differently and my response was “everything”. I learnt so much from start to finish, not only about film and production, but also leadership and trusting myself to deliver and in the end I am a more confident and determined person who is able to say I made a movie. To conclude, I am immensely proud of myself for being able to complete this project and will always be grateful for the lessons I learnt and the people that helped me along the way.
