Private Project

Across The Sea

A boy steals a phone from a young mother on a bus in London. After browsing the contents of her phone, he becomes curious and begins to follow her. But what are his intentions and where will this obsession lead? Kelly Robinson's début explores the private worlds of mothers and children.

  • Kelly Robinson
    Director
  • Kelly Robinson
    Writer
  • Matthew Mulot
    Producer
  • Mathew Baynton
    Producer
    The Falling, You Instead, Hereafter
  • Sinead Matthews
    Key Cast
    Mr Turner, Pride & Prejudice, Happy Go Lucky, Vera Drake
  • Kieron Bimpson
    Key Cast
    Heart of Nowhere
  • David Rom (Director Of Photography)
    Key Crew
    Borrowed Time, Humans, The Wrong Mans
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 36 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 6, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    19,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Arri Alexa Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Foyle Film Festival
    Derry
    November 21, 2015
    World Premiere
  • The London Short Film Festival
    London
    January 8, 2016
    UK Premiere
  • Womens' Independent Film Festival
    Los Angeles, United States
    December 13, 2015
    US Premiere
    Best Director
  • Roma Cinemadoc
    Roma
    November 29, 2015
    Best International Short
  • Aspen Shortsfest
    Aspen
    April 5, 2016
  • London Independent Film Festival
    London
    April 14, 2016
Director Biography - Kelly Robinson

Kelly Robinson has a background in Film History, having published work mainly on the silent era. Her passion for bringing attention to cinema's forgotten women also led her to programme silent films for the Birds Eye View film festival. Finally, she has written and directed her first short, Across The Sea, and the influence of silent cinema is evident. The film is told visually, with barely a word of dialogue, calling to mind Roger Ebert's assertion that movies are 'like a machine that generates empathy'.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

When I had my first baby I was thrown into a completely different reality. I felt different and people behaved differently towards me. Yet these feelings struck me as somehow familiar; a sense of alienation, of being judged and compartmentalised by other people. Walking through the park one day I saw a group of teenagers killing time and I felt a sudden affinity. Cast out into a no man's land outside of work and leisure, almost invisible to the rest of the world. Yes, these were my comrades.
Across the Sea is about a brief but significant moment of connection between two people, a boy and a mother. A small encounter that changes them both. He discovers that, like him, she is a thinking, feeling individual just trying to get through the day; feeling isolated, alone, either ignored or a nuisance. He realises his is not the only story and in return he shows her that she is not invisible.