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Ruth

Ruth, an elderly lady with dementia, becomes lost within her own home. As she tries to find answers she ends up losing herself further, confusing reality with memories from her past.

Shot in a single 12 minute take, the film puts the audience in Ruth's shoes, making them feel first hand the daily confusion brought on by someone suffering from dementia.

  • Paul Romero Méndez
    Director
    Hacia el Oeste, Alexis Ffrench - At Last, Innocence,
  • Arturo M. Antolín
    Director
    Hard as Indie, Black Eight
  • Arturo M. Antolín
    Writer
    Black Eight, Hacia el Oeste
  • Kerry-Ann Calleja McGregor
    Writer
    Belonging
  • Arturo M. Antolín
    Producer
    Hard as Indie
  • Paul Romero Méndez
    Producer
    Tom Grennan - Run in the Rain, Little Mix: Woman Like Me ft. Nicki Minaj (Vertical Video), Calling Home, Hacia el Oeste
  • Ania Marson
    Key Cast
    "Ruth"
    Nicholas and Alexandra, Killing Eve, Alienist, Emma, The Abdication, Howl
  • Leslie Ash
    Key Cast
    "Jennifer"
    Quadrophenia, Men Behaving Badly,
  • David Sterne
    Key Cast
    "Kenneth"
    The Wolfman, Vikings, A Knights Tale, Never Let Me Go, The Boat That Rocked
  • Alex Boorman
    Key Cast
    "Young Kenneth"
  • Catherine Banks
    Key Cast
    "Young Jennifer"
  • Levon Gharibian
    Key Cast
    "Randy (TV Host)"
  • Kerry-Ann Calleja McGregor
    Key Cast
    "Kate (TV contestant #2)"
  • Nicola Jane Francis
    Key Cast
    "Hannah (TV contestant #1)"
  • Paul Romero Méndez
    Story
  • Arturo M. Antolín
    Story
  • Kerry-Ann Calleja McGregor
    Story
  • Alex Jones Nash
    Production Design
    The Intent 2, Ghost
  • Christian Lloyd
    Music
    Hard as Indie, Hacia el Oeste, Black Eight
  • Nick Bridge
    Sound Design
  • Tom Watts
    Cinematography
    The Intent 2, The 12
  • Amy-Jo Bryant
    Executive Producer
  • Milan Krsljanin
    Executive Producer
  • Kristofer Norvik
    1st Assistant Director
  • Orlando Riches
    Gaffer
  • Arturo M. Antolín
    Editor
  • Nick Bridge
    Sound Recordist
  • SC Graphics
    VFX
  • Candice Meggan
    Hair and Make-Up
  • Kristofer Norvik
    Production Manager
  • Gabriela Gower
    Costume Design
  • Dominic Jackson
    Camera Operator
  • William J. Wallace
    1st AC
  • Charlie Knight
    2nd AC
  • Michal Jan Salaga
    Sparks
  • Lauren Arnaud
    Sparks
  • Kenny Parish
    Trainee Spark
  • Sam Hayes
    Assistant Art Director
  • Kerry-Ann Calleja McGregor
    Art Assistant & Set Dressers
  • Olivia Traverso-Madden
    Art Assistant & Set Dressers
  • Jaime Asensio
    DIT
  • Nick Bridge
    Dubbing Mixer
  • Alex Berry
    Colour Grading
  • Christopher Andreou
    BTS Photography
  • Jaime Asensio
    BTS Photography
  • Kate Priestman
    BTS Video
  • Nicola Jane Francis
    Poster Artwork & Design
  • ARRI Rental
    Camera and Lenses
  • Living Lights and Pinewood MBS Lighting
    Lighting
  • Tiffen Filters
    Filters
  • Olivia Traverso-Madden
    Location Scout
  • Lauhren Jones
    Location Manager
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 16 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 23, 2020
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Paul Romero Méndez, Arturo M. Antolín

Paul Romero Méndez
Paul is an experienced London based director/producer who forms part of BAFTA Crew 2021 and Directors UK.

He freelances regularly for Sony Music UK and has created over 30 music videosand promos for artists like Little Mix, Alexis Ffrench, George Ezra and Tom Grennan to name a few.

Outside of the music industry he has produced and directed various festival qualifying short film dramas, as well as directed commercials for Philips and two Sony Professional Europe showcased commercials for The Distillery (Hilton) in London, which were used to publicise the Sony Venice camera in 2019.

Arturo M. Antolín
Arturo is a London based writer/director and editor who has formed part of BAFTA Crew since 2017, as well as a member of Directors UK.

He has created various festival qualifying narrative short films as well as the feature documentary Hard as Indie which was released in 2018 to critical acclaim. In October 2020, he was selected as a finalist of the ‘Sir Peter Ustinov Scriptwriting Award’ with his TV script Grasping at the Shadow. The annual international competition for non- American novice writers under the age of 30 is organised by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation (International Emmy).

In post-production, Arturo has edited multiple feature and short films, both scripted and documentary. Across the last few years, Arturo has worked alongside multiawarded directors such as Mat Whitecross, Michael Winterbottom and Tom Dumican on projects including The Trip to Spain and Supersonic.

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Director Statement

'Ruth' is a short film that tells the story of an elderly woman suffering from dementia who becomes lost within her own home. As she tries to find answers, she ends up losing herself further, confusing reality with memories of her past self.

The film is executive produced by Directors UK and ARRI, as part of their annual “TRINITY Challenge” a challenge in which they collaborate with filmmakers to create a short film shot completely in one take.

From the beginning, our main goal was for the audience to feel, even for a brief moment, what it must be like to be in Ruth’s shoes. At the same time we wanted them to see what it’s like for her family, who have the herculean task of looking after a dementia patient and have to make the tough and sometimes heartbreaking choices to keep them safe.

In order to achieve that, we designed the story to work as one continuous shot that roams throughout one location, a small two-level semi-detached house, while we follow our protagonist as she tries to come to grips with what’s going on in her own home.

The concept of the short worked hand in hand with the style that we used when filming. We wanted to make a film that could put the audience in the position of a person suffering from dementia, so they could experience the fear and uncertainty first hand. We wanted to get across to the audience the sense of disorientation, isolation and uncertainty that can come with dementia, how a person can potentially become lost and lose years of their life in what appears to be an instant.

For us the idea of making the film in a single take wasn’t just a “cool choice” but a narrative necessity. Only that way could we make the film have the effect that we intended, and we hope the final film achieves that for the audience.

We thought it was important to tell this story. The fear of losing control of one’s mind and potentially forgetting loved ones and fond memories is something that feels like it’s straight out of a horror film, but it’s actually something that a lot of people are having to deal with against their will. Hopefully this film can help raise awareness and discussion for the people suffering with dementia, their families and carers.