Carrot Cake
Set against the backdrop of the Peak District, a birdwatcher navigates the first days following an early-onset dementia diagnosis. At her birdwatching spot, she forms an unexpected bond with a troubled young girl, a story that explores memory, identity, and the beauty of fleeting moments.
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Olive PaschaDirector
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Olive PaschaWriter
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Jessica PearceProducer
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Olive PaschaProducer
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Niamh CusackKey Cast"T"The Virtues (2019), Vita & Virginia (2018), Mrs Wilson (2018),The Secret (2016), The Children (2015)Love/Hate (2013), Heartbeat (1992-2010)
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Nia TowleKey Cast"Robyn"Persuasion (2022), The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2024),
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Olivia JerdinKey Cast"Carrot Cake"Ladhood (2022)
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Drama, Fantasy
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Runtime:18 minutes 31 seconds
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Completion Date:January 6, 2025
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Production Budget:18,000 GBP
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Country of Origin:United Kingdom
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Country of Filming:United Kingdom
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
Olive Pascha is a writer/director working across film and theatre. Since 2015, she has directed theatre and facilitated community projects in the UK, Russia, and India, with a focus on developing new work. In 2020, she made her first film, the short documentary Evie, which was selected for London Super Shorts, World London Film Festival, and Brussels Independent Film Festival. She also completed an advanced cinematography course at Cinestudio, Paris, in 2022.
Carrot Cake is her debut narrative short, starring Niamh Cusack. Olive funded much of the film through a 750km solo cycle from London to Scotland. She is drawn to the complexities and beauties of human life and aims to create work that acts as windows into diverse realities.
Carrot Cake was conceived during a trip to Lebanon in 2022. While participating in a director’s residency in Beirut, I had the opportunity to visit Hammana, where a birdwatcher named Chadi Saad guided us through the mountains. Chadi took us to his birdwatching spot, a place that felt deeply personal. In that moment, I truly understood the joy that birdwatching brings; an experience of peace and connection. Until then, I had never fully appreciated birdwatching, but it made me reflect on my grandma Shirley, who loved birds. When she could no longer leave her home, she would watch them from her chair by the window. I believe she found solace in watching birds because they brought her peace.
After meeting Chadi, I knew I wanted to write a film centred around a birdwatcher. I realised birdwatching is more than a pastime; it’s an identity and a connection to a species that embodies independence, freedom, and community. One year later, Carrot Cake evolved into a film about T, a 62-year-old birdwatcher grappling with an early-onset dementia diagnosis. She forms an unexpected bond with a troubled young girl at her birdwatching spot, forcing her to confront her elusive past.
Set over just a few days, the film captures the beauty of small, poignant moments in the face of a life-changing diagnosis. T’s love for birds is rooted in their sense of freedom. In the film, she remarks that the best part of watching birds is the moment they fly away. Birds live with contradictory desires - the need to leave and the need to nest. Isn’t that just like us? We all navigate between the desire for independence and the need for connection.
T embodies these contradictions: she’s intuitive, passionate, and fiercely loyal, yet she pushes away those who show her sympathy. She craves to be held and heard but doesn’t know how to ask for it. As she begins to come to terms with her diagnosis, she also starts to reconcile with her inner child - a figure that has haunted her throughout her life.
Birdwatching is T’s anchor, an escape, and a reflection of herself. Birds symbolise the complexities of the human condition in extraordinary ways. This film is about finding peace with ourselves in the face of the unimaginable.