Peekaboo

An eerie horror story, Peekaboo explores a mother's reaction to drowning her own baby. Brooke retreats into her own mind, a decrepit nursery room, unwilling to face the reality of what she has done.

Child abuse in New Zealand is disturbingly high. Filicide, the act of a parent killing his or her own baby, is far too common. This film seeks to raise the topic of postnatal depression. Having encountered postnatal depression amongst my friends, I believe this topic needs to be discussed more. They relayed the shame and guilt they experienced when they didn't feel the love they expected to for their baby, and explained how they felt like an "unnatural" mother.

However, postnatal depression isn't natural. It's a clinical illness, not a character weakness. The community needs to be provided with more education on how common this illness is, so it can offer support, instead of judgment. By raising awareness amongst society as we have with depression, and lessening the stigma attached for sufferers, I would hope more parents will reach out for help when they need it.

This story does not provide any solutions. It just explores a mother's guilt and inability to face up to what she has done. Making this film helps to reintroduce the topic. It serves the story up as a horror and tries to convey feelings of revulsion to the audience.

I enjoy broaching dark or unusual subjects in my filmmaking. My earlier pieces of work encompass the darker aspects of human existence such as; young bag-snatchers who steal a bag with a baby in it, a supernatural thriller music video about a woman whose child won't be born unless she gives up alcohol, a drama about a woman who gets revenge on the person who attacked her. I enjoy aiming for subtlety and quirkiness in my storytelling. I hope to leave enough puzzle pieces so the audience can put together the whole picture themselves.

I am inspired by films such as "Broken Night" directed by Guillemo Arriega, where the ending is deliberately left unclear and open to the audience's interpretation. To me, "Broken Night" is a film based on a metaphor for a mother's guilt. Guilt has also been woven throughout Peekaboo, and I hope the audience will feel affected enough at the end of the film to take the time to discuss their theories around the story and Brooke's actions.

In making Peekaboo, I hope to build on what I have learned and tell the story of a woman who would rather crawl back to a childlike state, then accept and be accountable for her own actions.

Lillian Beets, NZ