Smudged Smile
Zoe, a seemingly joyful teenager struggles with depression, trying to maintain the happy image that everyone knows and loves.
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Ella GreenwoodDirectorSelf-Charm, Faulty Roots
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Hannah WestallWriter
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Oriane PickProducerI AM, KOTTI
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Mia McKenna-BruceKey Cast"Zoe "Bree in Get Even, Marilka in The Witcher
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Priya BlackburnKey Cast"Lucy"Kashmira Bulsara in Bohemian Rhapsody, Meera in Get Even, Teenage Naomi in I Hate Suzie
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Elliot LeveyKey Cast"John"Michael Townsend/Pete Golding in Holby City, Leon Greene in Peaky Blinders
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Anna ActonKey Cast"Laura "Lydia McCann in Brassic, Emma Summerhayes in EastEnders
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Gaby AmblerComposer
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Xenia PatriciaCinematographerAfter a Room
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Emmalie El FadliEditor
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Giorgia Lee JosephProduction Design
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Frankie FearisCasting
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Olivia HulmeCostume Design
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Morgane LatraceMake up
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Michalianna TheofanopoulouSound designer
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:dramedy
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Runtime:19 minutes 23 seconds
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Completion Date:May 20, 2021
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Production Budget:20,859 GBP
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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:2.35
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Chicago International Children's Film FestivalChicago
United States
Official Selection -
Children's Film Festival SeattleSeattle
United States
Official Selection -
Providence Children's film festivalProvidence
United States
Official selection
Ella Greenwood is an actor and Filmmaker. Aged 18, she wrote, directed & produced her first film 'Faulty Roots' which was selected for multiple festivals including BAFTA qualifying Bolton International Film Festival and Tallgrass Film Festival in the U.S. Her animation 'Dreary Days' premiered at Enimation Film Festival. She is now in development of her first feature film, which is an adaptation of 'Faulty Roots', as announced by Film Stories Magazine and featured by Deadline, Yahoo, Huffington Post, and more. She is also working on her next film 'Self-Charm', which was recently featured by Variety after announcing that Rocks (Netflix) breakout star and BAFTA nominated Bukky Bakray would be taking on the lead role.
With Smudged Smile, I wanted to show that you can be happy when things go wrong and sad when they go right. Mental Health doesn’t discriminate, and you can’t control who it affects or when it affects them. I have experience with depression, and first started struggling as a young teen. It was completely out of the blue. No event or situation had caused it, and I certainly couldn’t control it, which is why with Smudged Smile I wanted to show that people can have depression, without a major event needing to take place to make them ‘sad’. I wanted to show that it can feel like it’s taking away who you are, as our lead character Zoe goes from being able to handle anything, to not being able to handle much at all. She has a loving family and friends around her, does well in school, has her 16th birthday party to look forward too, but she still starts struggling with her mental health despite all of this. I worked with the incredible writer Hannah Westall who brought such a wonderful perspective on teenage depression to life, along with the amazing Mia Mckenna-Bruce who portrayed Zoe perfectly. I want the film to show that mental health isn’t always dependent on external circumstances, that you’re never alone in what you’re going through and that it’s okay for you to have those highs and lows.