Private Project

Highly Inflammable

After music, boys and politics put a strain on their friendship, an old punk must decide whether or not it is worth reconnecting with her childhood best friend after 40 years.

  • Cheryl White
    Director
    A Lighthouse in Breaking Waves
  • Cheryl White
    Writer
    A Lighthouse in Breaking Waves
  • Cheryl White
    Producer
  • Sandra Jagodzińska
    Producer
  • Rachel McCarron
    Key Cast
    "Jen"
  • Maddi Jabir
    Key Cast
    "Jenny"
  • Niamh O'Brien
    Key Cast
    "Sophia"
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Coming of Age
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 30 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Shooting Format:
    Black Magik 6k
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Cheryl White

Cheryl White is a multi-award winning writer/director whose films have screened around the world. Her part-animated film, A Lighthouse in Breaking Waves, starring Jill Baker, won the Fan Award 2018 at the White Whale festival (USA), and Best Sussex Short 2017 at the Crossing the Screen festival (UK).

Another animated short Before Babel won Best Film and Most Innovative Film at the WOW Festival (2014), plus Best Sussex and Kent short at the inaugural Rye International Film Festival (2015). It was also shortlisted as part of the International Women in Film and Television Short Case. Her Loss Series of films have won numerous awards including Best Film (audience vote) Hastings Rocks International Film Festival 2022, and Best Film, Edge of the City Film Festival 2012.

Cheryl was a recipient of Arts Council funding for her full length play Highly Inflammable which ran as part of the Hastings Fringe Festival 2017. The play was adapted for the screen in 2022 and is currently in post-production. She is also co-directing a feature documentary about a 92 year old rebel and his coffin, working on a YouTube series and writing a series of audio plays inspired by the Clash’s London Calling album. These can be heard on podbean/lostinthesupermarket and Spotify.

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Director Statement

The film was initially a play. I was commissioned by the Arts Council to write it and it performed to a sell-out audience Hastings in 2017. After coming out of lockdown I wanted to do something local and manageable, and to bring a team of creatives together, so I decided to adapt Highly Inflammable for the screen. I didn’t want to wait for permission to do it so it was mostly funded through my production company with some extra funding from the Oppenheim-John Downes Trust. It has a punk storyline so the DIY ethos suited it well.

The story was inspired by the Brexit referendum. I got to thinking about why one half of the country felt one way, and the other half felt differently. Where did the division come from and could it ever be resolved? I wanted to explore what makes people who had previously got on, even loved each other, become so bitter towards each other. I thought a good way of telling it would be through the story of two friends. The 70s were as turbulent as now so the story resonates across the decades, and of course the punk aesthetic feeds into that.

I was extraordinarily lucky to work with such a passionate and talented team. Most of the cast and crew hadn’t worked on a feature film before but they brought skills from tv, theatre, music and design to create a believable and authentic world. They worked tirelessly, and all deserve so much more than the limited budget that we had. The finished film is a testament to their dedication, belief and skills.