Private Project

Philadelphia Carman - Every Life Matters

Philadelphia Carman is a gothic essay documentary set in a Victorian cemetery in the UK, where the filmmaker grew up. The cemetery becomes an evocative presence, guiding her through memory and imagination into the unknown life of Philadelphia Carman, a jobbing cook who died in 1851.

Part mystery and part meditation, the film unfolds through archival fragments, voice, and imagery gathered over four decades, probing an uncanny bond between filmmaker and subject. What begins as the search for a lost life becomes a gentle dialogue across time, where history, imagination, and place entwine in the cycles of life, death, and remembrance.

  • Jeanne Veronique - Leonie Pope
    Director
    Le Temps Des Vendangeurs
  • Jeanne Veronique Pope
    Writer
  • Jeanne V Pope
    Producer
    Le Temps Des Vendangeurs
  • Violette Pope
    Key Cast
    "Vivi"
  • Carina Rose
    Key Cast
    "Shadow Dancer"
  • Emma Vidler
    Key Cast
  • Caroline Auckland
    Key Cast
  • Alison Bailey
    Key Cast
  • Philadelphia Carman
    Key Cast
  • Jeanne Pope
    Key Cast
  • Jeanne Pope
    Editing
    Le Temps Des Vendangeurs
  • Jeanne Pope
    Direction
    Le Temps Des Vendangeurs
  • Jeanne Pope
    Montage
    Le Temps Des Vendangeurs
  • Jeanne Pope
    Camera
    Le Temps Des Vendangeurs
  • Andrei Seniuic
    Drone
  • Cenna - (Cam Evans)
    Sound design and mix
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental
  • Genres:
    gothic essay film
  • Runtime:
    33 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 17, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    3,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16.9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Heritage Open Day - England - TRINITY THEATRE
    Tunbridge Wells
    United Kingdom
    September 17, 2025
    Premiere
  • FOLKESTONE FILM FESTIVAL
    FOLKESTONE
    United Kingdom
    November 4, 2025
    HONORABLE MENTION
  • Esoteric Film Festival.
    Moscow
    Russian Federation
    February 7, 2026
    Selection
  • Grand Laurel International Film Festival
    Firenze
    Italy
    March 7, 2026
    Italian Premiere
    Award Winner
Director Biography - Jeanne Veronique - Leonie Pope

Jeanne Pope is an award winning, independent documentary filmmaker, writer, and educator. Her films, including Philadelphia Carman (2025), Waiting for My Brain (2024), Le Temps de Vendengeurs 2023. The Sea Hut (2019), Chez Lise (2013), Dust: A Sculptor’s Journey, (2011) Born In Iran (2011), Birth of the Smoked Meat (2006), and Where’s Stanley, (2005) explore over looked lives.

Her work has screened internationally at HOTDOCS, Montréal World Film Festival, ImagéSanté, QIFF (China), Cinemaude (France), LA Shorts, and Cannes, earning prizes in Canada, Belgium, China, and the UK.

Beyond filmmaking, Jeanne teaches ESL and documentary production, alongside working with people in drug rehabilitation, refugees, and marginalised communities, using storytelling as a tool for healing and transformation.

Born in the UK, she lived in Montreal for many years and maintains strong ties to China where she worked in a film school, and France, where she has her home, bringing a global perspective to her films and teaching.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Woodbury Park Cemetery has always been part of my life. As a child, it was both my playground and my refuge. Today, as a committee member of the Friends of Woodbury Park Cemetery, I help to care for it so that it remains loved, protected, and alive in the public imagination.

Among its many stories, one grave seemed to call out to me. Whenever I stood by Philadelphia’s resting place, I felt a strange and persistent presence — something I could not explain.

Without knowing why, I began filming her more than thirty years ago. For a long time, there were no answers, only questions, and a deep pull I could not name. The turning point came when my granddaughter asked me who she was. That simple, innocent question became the moment I began searching in earnest.

Little by little, Philadelphia’s life started to reveal itself. In time, I understood what it was she had been asking me to hear.

I feel both honoured and relieved to have uncovered her story, and I remain in awe of the subtle, mysterious way she reached out to me. In the end, the only way I could make this film was through lyrical storytelling, deep sensitivity, and a close listening to the quiet wonder of the cemetery itself.