Experiencing Interruptions?

Chamomile

To cope with her mother’s disregard, a woman dreams up an alternative reality where she personifies her emotions through her stuffed animals in a twisted tea party.

  • Filippo Bernardini
    Director
  • Aoife Fee
    Writer
  • Ronnie Bond
    Producer
  • Georgina Scott
    Key Cast
    "Charlotte "
  • Adelaide Ouvry
    Key Cast
    "Young Charlotte "
  • Ally Murphy
    Key Cast
    "Angelica "
  • Sara Beshiri
    Director of photography
  • Jude Crook
    Production designer
  • Ismail Wasfi
    First assistant director
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Fantasy, Drama
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    October 3, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    1,500 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - London Film Academy
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Distribution Information
  • London Film Academy
    Distributor
    Country: United Kingdom
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Filippo Bernardini

Filippo Bernardini is a young filmmaker based in London. After a brief background in psychology, Filippo chose the London Film Academy to pursue his passion for cinema. Filippo has always been fascinated by the world behind the camera, shaping new characters and their world has always been his favourite part of the directing process.

Filippo is at the beginning of his filmmaking career, and he is still defining his directing style which is currently vastly influenced by directors such as Tim Burton, West Anderson and Guillermo del Toro. Filippo is often inspired by realistic scenarios, which he then adapts for cinematic purposes. Building awkward situations and making the viewers uncomfortable is one of the main goals of his directing style.

‘Chamomile’ is his first ever short film as a director and he is delighted to have had the opportunity to work alongside the writer and the entire crew to create a unique movie, that reflects what Filippo would want on his filmography going forward.

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Director Statement

When I first read the script, I found it extremely interesting how this story deals with sensitive topics, such us loneliness, childhood trauma and dissociative identity disorder in a simple but extremely effective way. In fact, Chamomile communicates to the audience a powerful message only through a plain vocabulary and symbolic images and colours.

After analysing the story, I felt immediately close to Charlotte and my directing goal was to bring the viewer as close as possible to Charlotte and her trauma in the shortest way possible. In collaboration with the cinematographer, we decided to convey this feeling by using long focal length and positioning the camera closer to the subject.

Another aspect I wanted to focus on was the difference between the personalities. Working with the actor who played Charlotte, we tried to incorporate the animalistic aspects of each stuffed animal into the performance to define and reinforce each character. Moreover, different framing, camera angles and
lenses were used to distinguish each of the characters, highlighting the stark difference between them.

Chamomile was mainly influenced by two film directors, Tim Burton and Wes Anderson. In fact, the director of photography, the production designer and myself worked alongside to create a strong contrast between a moody and dark present (Tim Burton) and a bright and warm past (Wes Anderson).

This short film was my first experience as a director, and it will always remain special to me. I have learnt so much during the entire process, from how to coordinate the different departments, during pre- and post-production, to how to speak to actors on set. It was a unique experience.