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.
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Paul Romero MéndezDirectorHacia el Oeste, Alexis Ffrench - At Last, Innocence,
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Arturo M. AntolínDirectorHard as Indie, Black Eight
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Arturo M. AntolínWriterBlack Eight, Hacia el Oeste
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Kerry-Ann Calleja McGregorWriterBelonging
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Arturo M. AntolínProducerHard as Indie
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Paul Romero MéndezProducerTom Grennan - Run in the Rain, Little Mix: Woman Like Me ft. Nicki Minaj (Vertical Video), Calling Home, Hacia el Oeste
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Ania MarsonKey Cast"Ruth"Nicholas and Alexandra, Killing Eve, Alienist, Emma, The Abdication, Howl
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Leslie AshKey Cast"Jennifer"Quadrophenia, Men Behaving Badly,
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David SterneKey Cast"Kenneth"The Wolfman, Vikings, A Knights Tale, Never Let Me Go, The Boat That Rocked
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Alex BoormanKey Cast"Young Kenneth"
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Catherine BanksKey Cast"Young Jennifer"
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Levon GharibianKey Cast"Randy (TV Host)"
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Kerry-Ann Calleja McGregorKey Cast"Kate (TV contestant #2)"
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Nicola Jane FrancisKey Cast"Hannah (TV contestant #1)"
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Paul Romero MéndezStory
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Arturo M. AntolínStory
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Kerry-Ann Calleja McGregorStory
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Alex Jones NashProduction DesignThe Intent 2, Ghost
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Christian LloydMusicHard as Indie, Hacia el Oeste, Black Eight
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Nick BridgeSound Design
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Tom WattsCinematographyThe Intent 2, The 12
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Amy-Jo BryantExecutive Producer
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Milan KrsljaninExecutive Producer
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Kristofer Norvik1st Assistant Director
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Orlando RichesGaffer
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Arturo M. AntolínEditor
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Nick BridgeSound Recordist
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SC GraphicsVFX
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Candice MegganHair and Make-Up
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Kristofer NorvikProduction Manager
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Gabriela GowerCostume Design
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Dominic JacksonCamera Operator
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William J. Wallace1st AC
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Charlie Knight2nd AC
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Michal Jan SalagaSparks
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Lauren ArnaudSparks
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Kenny ParishTrainee Spark
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Sam HayesAssistant Art Director
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Kerry-Ann Calleja McGregorArt Assistant & Set Dressers
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Olivia Traverso-MaddenArt Assistant & Set Dressers
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Jaime AsensioDIT
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Nick BridgeDubbing Mixer
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Alex BerryColour Grading
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Christopher AndreouBTS Photography
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Jaime AsensioBTS Photography
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Kate PriestmanBTS Video
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Nicola Jane FrancisPoster Artwork & Design
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ARRI RentalCamera and Lenses
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Living Lights and Pinewood MBS LightingLighting
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Tiffen FiltersFilters
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Olivia Traverso-MaddenLocation Scout
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Lauhren JonesLocation Manager
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Project Type:Short
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Runtime:13 minutes 16 seconds
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Completion Date:January 23, 2020
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Country of Origin:United Kingdom
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Country of Filming:United Kingdom
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:2.39
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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.
'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.