Experiencing Interruptions?

Mearcstapa

Trapped within the contentedness of suburbia, Sean is haunted by visions from his past and finds himself slowly becoming ‘Mearcstapan’, akin to the border-walkers found in the epic of 'Beowulf'.

  • Michael Kearney
    Director
    Dawn, Old Friends, Good Vibrations
  • Michael Kearney
    Writer
    Dawn, Old Friends, Good Vibrations
  • Scot Greenan
    Key Cast
    "Sean"
    Trainspotting 2(2017), Robin Hood (2018) and Mary Queen of Scots(2018)
  • Lewis Macdougall
    Key Cast
    "Mark"
    Pan (2015), 'A Monster Calls (2016)
  • Ebba Mård Andersson
    Key Cast
    "The Woman"
    'Sweet Charity'
  • Laura Cairns
    Key Cast
    "Gillian (Mother)"
    Black Mirror(2011), The Crown(2016), The End of the F***ing World(2017)
  • Alasdair Ferguson
    Key Cast
    "Ian (Father)"
  • Megan McRitchie
    Producer
    Echappe(2023)
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes
  • Production Budget:
    500 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    BlackMagic Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:66:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Director Biography - Michael Kearney

A recent graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Michael is a filmmaker based in Glasgow with a focus on story, working across various genres and mediums, crafting unique and compelling visual work. Recently recognised with a nomination from the Royal Television Society for his work, Michael’s work has featured on the BBC as well as STV and has picked up awards and screenings worldwide.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Mearcstapa is an experimental short film that incorporates slow cinema, abstract visuals, and visual effects in order to study a character who feels lost, like they do not belong in this world.

Mearcstapa, or 'border-walker,’ has come to be synonymous with me as someone or something perhaps part-human and part-else. This idea of something not quite ‘human’ being torn between two worlds, ours and theirs, and welcomed in neither, forced to walk between.

When we experience certain events that affect our mental being, it can sometimes feel like we aren’t present in our everyday lives, and sometimes it can seem like we have drifted off to somewhere else. As we move through life, our emotional state and wellbeing fluctuate naturally. I’d like to think of the lower end of this spectrum, the darker and perhaps more depressive state, as being in the same realm as the Mearcstapa. Anyone could slip into this state, and often loved ones, friends, and family can pull us out. Sometimes we must look inward and help ourselves. It can be hard to do so, however, and the longer we idle here and occupy that place, the more our mind moves away from us, and the more we too become ‘border walker’s’...the more Mearcstapan we become.

If we think of the Mearcstapa as the idea of losing ourselves in this world and allowing another, darker one to seep into us, then one might appear changed or uncanny to those around them or even to themselves. As Sean struggles to look forward in life and imagine a future in his current state, his feeling lost and without purpose in life is represented by his slowly becoming devoid of facial features.