Private Project

Always There

Having just found out his parents had a miscarriage after years of trying to give him a sibling, twelve-year -old Alan is trying to deal with a flood of conflicting emotions on his own. Distraught but unwilling to burden his parents further, he struggles to work through his feelings of grief, guilt and loss; once he confides in another boy, Damien, he is finally able to move forward with a renewed sense of hope.
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  • Athena Russell
    Director
    "Almost Actors", "The Ex-You Can't Escape"
  • Apis Teicher
    Writer
    "Lee's Choice", "Book Box", "Sock Paradox"
  • Apis Teicher
    Producer
    "Lee's Choice", "Book Box", Sock Paradox"
  • Monica Raynolds
    Producer
    "The Candy Girl", "Albert"
  • Aiden Cumming-Teicher
    Key Cast
    Beyond the Sun, Book Box, Lou, The Glove, Lee's Choice, The Chorus, Home
  • David Raynolds
    Key Cast
    Albert, The Candy Girl, Wayward Pines, The Young and Prodigious TS Spivet
  • Lettie Costea
    Cinematographer
    Albert, The Candy Girl, Date-O-Phobe, The Battle, Home, Artemis
  • Lettie Costea
    Editor
    Albert, The Candy Girl, Date-O-Phobe, The Battle, Home, Artemis
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    sci-fi, Drama, fantasy, family
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 38 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 10, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    600 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Barcelona Planet Film Festival
    Barcelona
  • 300 Seconds Short Film festival 2017
  • Selby International Short Film Awards
    Selby
    United Kingdom
  • Los Angeles Cinefest
    Los Angeles
    United States
    Finalist
  • Texas Ultimate Shorts

    United States
    Finalist
  • ROMA CINEMA DOC
    Rome
    Italy
    Finalist
  • AltFF Alternative Film Festival
Director Biography - Athena Russell

Athena Russell is a director, producer and actress, known for Almost Actors (2015), Tea Time with T & A (2016) and The Ex You Can't Escape (2016). Having grown up in Victoria, BC, Athena began acting at a young age. She starred in countless productions throughout her many years in school. She fell in love with performing and did everything necessary to ensure she was the best — enrolled in dancing and singing lessons as a child and continued taking them well into her teens. She moved to Vancouver, after completing the Theatre Acting program at the Canadian College of the Performing Arts in Victoria, and enrolled in Vancouver Acting School’s Full-Time Acting for Film/Television Intensive Program. Since graduating in 2012 she has been auditioning and booking regularly, nabbing recurring roles on a few network series, and creating work for herself. When she’s not auditioning, she’s teaching child actors at LeBlanc School of Acting.

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Director Statement

With 'Always There' we wanted to explore difficult subjects. The issue of infertility and miscarriages is actually so common, but few people discuss it. Rarely is the topic addressed through the lens of the would be siblings; kids can be so resilient, but also so perceptive- dealing with grief and other complex emotions on their own as to not burden their parents. With this short film we hope to start some conversations.