Private Project

My Condolences To Your Future Lovers

Idealist Vicky is desperate to find a way to convince her whirlwind summer love Stacey, that theirs wasn’t just a holiday romance.

She fights passionately for young love and picture-perfect moments, convinced Stacey is just scared or in the closet.

Inevitably, Stacey has to tear herself from the situation, break Vicky’s heart and leave her wallowing in her rather theatrical sadness.

  • Jessica Dowse
    Director
  • Jessica Dowse
    Writer
  • Andie Richardson
    Producer
  • Alexandra Hannant
    Key Cast
    "Vicky"
  • Megan Walker
    Key Cast
    "Stacey"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, LGBT
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 38 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 6, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital - Arri Alexa
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16.9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Jessica Dowse

Jessica Dowse is a self-taught filmmaker from Yorkshire, England. After an English degree, she did everything that she could to avoid getting a “real” job and eventually… decided she never would!

Starting with shooting documentaries in China, then moving to London to freelance, she’s now spent ten years living the dream. She runs her own production company, The Daily Lunge, where she directs commercial work all around the world.

She has always written and made films for fun but never fully committed to making something seriously. After spending many years trying to get funding, entering competitions and coming 2nd or 3rd with films she really wanted to make, she decided to just go it alone.

So when she turned 32 she put her savings into making her first short film that she really wanted to shout about: My Condolences To Your Future Lovers.

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Director Statement

This film is based on my very first break-up. Cliche, I know… but I wanted my first film to be a conversation and this was the most intense one I could remember!

I decided to do it in one-take to increase that intensity. With both characters confined to the car and trapped inside this awkward moment unable or unwilling to escape, the one-shot nicely mirrors that feeling and doesn’t give the audience the option of escape either.

I was drawn to this conversation because upon revisiting, it revealed to me my immense emotional immaturity. That much of what I had said and done seemed more like a dramatic performance- say the right thing, listen to the right music and then that’s “love”. It felt like such a betrayal to realise the other person was playing a role too…who then heartbreakingly lost her commitment to the part.

The part also is that of a newly out LGBTQI+ woman of course… all I, and now Vicky, thought you needed to do was be brave enough, love enough and all the other problems would fade away. The truth being, of course, vastly more complex… something of which only Stacey seems aware.

I have always been drawn to the role-playing and fantasy that takes part in everyday life, particularly in youth and for me that’s what this film is fundamentally about.

This was self-funded, so I had to call in favours from people I know from the commercial world and managed to bring together an amazing team. Even then, we didn’t really have enough money (do we ever?!) and I had to make a fair few compromises to make sure we could still achieve the emotions we were after. I would love to have gone wider, bigger, higher on the one-shot… but in all honesty, the fact that we managed to get 5 useable takes in one short day of filming, with the English weather massively against us, is a miracle!

My crew were phenomenal, there’s no denying that, but the true troopers were Alex and Megan, my two amazing actresses who didn’t mess up one take. We had done a full day of rehearsal the weekend before so by the time we arrived on set we had worked through everything and were all aligned on what we were aiming for. I specifically picked actresses who had theatre experience because I knew they’d be able to handle the one-take and a high-pressure day…and they did not disappoint, they were perfect!

Anyway, I really hope this terribly painful and formative experience of mine ends up entertaining you!