Private Project

My Sunshine

When three siblings are reunited at their mother's vigil, Judy confronts her brothers’ expectations.

  • Roy Bryson
    Director
  • Roy Bryson
    Writer
  • Maria Wideman
    Writer
  • John Stuart
    Producer
    Dirty Water
  • Roy Bryson
    Producer
  • Karen Bartke
    Key Cast
    "Judy"
    Scot Squad
  • Andrew McGeachie
    Key Cast
    "James"
  • Grant McDonald
    Key Cast
    "Jesse"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 35 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 7, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 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 - The University of the West of Scotland
Director Biography - Roy Bryson

Writer/Director Roy Bryson is an emerging filmmaker from Glasgow. Throughout his MA Filmmaking degree at the University of the West of Scotland, Roy gained invaluable experience in various roles within the industry, making his directorial debut with the short portrait documentary, 'Wallflower', in 2020. Drawing inspiration equally from his neurodivergent experiences growing up in a working class scheme in Glasgow and his undergrad degree in philosophy, Roy enjoys layering his stories with philosophical conflicts and mythological allusions.

Roy created 'My Sunshine' together with co-writer Maria Wideman, a neurodivergent aspiring screenwriter originally from Helsinki, Finland. Maria has lived in Glasgow since 2013. Her special interests include neurodiversity, trauma, Jungian psychology, and the representation of unique experiences on screen.

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Director Statement

Set within a traditional Catholic home in Glasgow, 'My Sunshine' explores personal/female empowerment in relation to dysfunctional patriarchal family dynamics. We meet three siblings at their mother’s home vigil, where mild-mannered middle child Judy (Karen Bartke) comes to realise that her brothers James (Andrew McGeachie) and Jesse (Grant McDonald) expect her to slip seamlessly into the role of their late self-sacrificing mother. Heartened by her discovery of spirited mementos from her mother’s youth, Judy finally stands up to her brothers.

'My Sunshine' was inspired by my own experiences growing up within a dysfunctional Catholic family of ten siblings. It was a home where the women worked themselves to the bone unquestioningly while the men ran amok. Time and time again, I witnessed my mother and older sister set aside any chances they had at living their own lives in order to clean up the mess in the wake of my brothers' self-destruction. I always hoped the day would come when they would say enough is enough and break this unhealthy bond; this has not yet come to pass, and probably never will.

So, in a way, 'My Sunshine' is like getting to live out a form of fantasy: to show that walking away from oppressive relationships is a possibility. My hope is that if even one person were to watch the film and take away this empowering message, I will view 'My Sunshine' as an overwhelming success.