The trailer for the brand new short film that I wrote called "Ms Green and Other Lovely Beasts", made with Ali Causon of Oakhill Productions and directed by Lucy Joan Barnes, has just landed.
Check it out HERE.
Elnora Green and Parker Flynn make their living preserving the legacies of famous pets. Publicly adored, privately imperfect, these animals mirror Elnora’s own concealed compulsions. Confiding in a dark imagined guide and Dziga, her ever-cheerful pug companion, she begins a careful seduction of Parker - one that promises love, revelation, and something far more disturbing.
The cast includes Lauren Koster as Elnora Green, Rohan Singh as Parker Flynn, and features Mark Keegan and Clark Alexander.
The film will soon embark on its journey through the festival circuit with more news to come. Enjoy!
After its successful festival run, our short film, ‘For Want Of A Nail’ was released in February 2020. Behind the scenes, Director Lucy Barnes, Writer Nick Thomson and Producer Ali Causon, were already developing the idea of progressing the film to a series and started pitching the idea… Then the pandemic hit.Like many, it was a massive setback for us. With the world in chaos and no one really knowing how or when to move forward… we kept our creative minds busy. The 3 of us continued working on the series.... Almost a year and a half later, we are in a strong position to move to the next stage of production and get the green light.Now feels like the right time to tell you a bit more about the proposed series, to raise awareness for the subject matter. To give the OCD community a voice and a more honest representation of a misunderstood mental health condition.
Thanks for your support. - Ali Causon [Producer Oakhill Productions]
TV and films ongoing struggle to depict and represent OCD authentically is a subject that matters to me greatly. I've written about it extensively in the past, most recently for The Guardian. It's a subject I'm sure The OCD Chronicles will return to down the line.
But I'm always keen to get creative voices from The OCD Chronicles on this podcast. If we can see ourselves authentically in the media we consume, then we're one step closer to OCD not being so misunderstood. Filmmaker and sufferer Nick Thomson is the latest creative to attempt to capture the condition - his short film For Want of a Nail is available to watch now. We have an enjoyable conversation on this episode.
You can find more of James McMahon's interviews with creative people who have OCD here and find out more about him here.
A little while ago, we spoke to writer Nick about what inspired him to write the film; here's what he said:
"The simple answer is my own experiences with OCD, but it was because I recognised that my various compulsions and routines were affecting me more and more – becoming more elaborate, requiring more attempts to get them ‘perfect’, and generally causing me more and more frustration. I’d been aware of my OCD for several years but, probably like most people do when they suspect something is ‘wrong’ with them, I dodged the issue for a long time. People with OCD tend to be quite embarrassed by the condition, especially as so much of it is internal – rolling around inside your head – so I kept it to myself and, naturally, it began to spiral. So, for me, writing “For Want Of A Nail” was a cathartic experience.
It was partly an expression of my own OCD and partly a warning to myself. around about the same time, I had seen a few of these ‘quizzes’ on social media – ‘How OCD Are You?’ type junk (oftentimes just pictures of messy rooms with a ‘how uncomfortable does this make you feel?’ one-to-ten scale underneath). I saw that not only were the quizzes themselves drowning in utter ignorance of what OCD is, but I saw that people taking the quizzes were either coming away with the completely wrong idea about the condition, or were actually convinced they had it – some going as far as boasting about it like it was something ‘cool’ to differentiate themselves on Facebook or Twitter. Trust me, an idiotic social media quiz won’t tell you that you’ve got OCD, having OCD will tell you that you’ve got OCD – and everyone who has OCD wishes they didn’t have it."There were two core intensions for me when writing this film: 1) for the audience to come away with a better understanding of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and 2) for the audience to have also enjoyed the story, the characters, and the style of the film - to have been informed and entertained at the same time.
Oakhill Productions to release the critically acclaimed, award winning short film For Want Of A Nail in conjunction with OCD ACTION as part of the ‘Week Of Action’ campaign.We have said from the start, that we want our film to have purpose when it's released. Not for us as filmmakers to have a moment of appreciation but to really make a difference, highlight and raise awareness... so it is with great pleasure that I get to announce the Worldwide, Online Release Date of #FWOAN is happening on the 21st February 2020!!Keep your eyes open on our own and OCD Action's social media pages from the 17th of Feb for more info, behind the scenes interviews, our further visions for the future development... and of course the OFFICIAL RELEASE!!!
What appeals to you about the character of Marty?
I really like the challenge of being able to play a character with OCD. I like how much Marty jokes and makes light of his OCD, yet the film has some dark and heavy themes so it's nice to find the light within that.What has your most challenging role been so far?Marty looks to be my most challenging role thus far, which is really exciting. But before this, it would have to be Trigorin in The Seagull by Anton Chekhov.
What appeals to you about the character of Sally?I felt a lot of empathy for Sally. She clearly has a huge heart and genuinely loves Marty but she's just had enough. She seems like a very strong character so I'm excited to explore her strength, but even more excited to explore her vulnerability. The internal war between holding on for the sake of love, and letting go for the sake of, well almost for the sake of her sanity is something that drew me to her.
What appeals to you about the character of Mindy?I like that she's tough on the outside, but inside is hurting deeply. She's someone who has endured a lot in life and has always had to be the 'strong' one. I like that I get to portray someone so complex.
Posts
All Comments
