Snowfalls in the Summer
A working class family's decade spanning story of love, loss, and memory, taking place solely within the family home.
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Ajuàn Isaac-GeorgeDirector
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Ajuàn Isaac-GeorgeWriter
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Alessia LendrumProducer
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Heather AgyepongKey Cast"Young Anita "
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Maureen HibbertKey Cast"Anita"
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Craig KarpelKey Cast"Isaac"
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Fionn MaloneKey Cast"Young Isaac "
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Dean FaganKey Cast"George"
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Alex JarrettKey Cast"Marcia"
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Jacob AdefoworaKey Cast"Pre-Teen George "
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Shai CordingtonKey Cast"Pre-Teen Marcia "
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Lucian MoabKey Cast"Young George "
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Chloe AngiamaKey Cast"Young Marcia "
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Project Type:Short
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Runtime:14 minutes 24 seconds
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Completion Date:March 15, 2023
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Country of Origin:United Kingdom
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Country of Filming:United Kingdom
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Shooting Format:Digital / Film
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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
Ajuan has directed short films that have played at BIFA and BAFTA qualifying festivals internationally and in the UK. His most recent short, Snowfalls in the Summer, was funded through the BFI Network.
With a background in documentaries, he also has Producer credits for BBC, Netflix, and National Geographic.
Ajuán’s filmmaking often explores our relationship with memory and family, through the simultaneous expression of the harsh reality and beautiful nature of life, the struggle and the simple rituals that make us truly human.
No matter the assignment, for Ajuan, it always starts with the characters. Who are they? Where does their humanity lie? What can they tell us about ourselves?
I wanted to create Snow Falls in the Summer as a universal story that celebrates the power of family.
Recently after my Dad was taken to the ICU in critical condition, right before he was incubated for what would be over five months, unbeknownst to my Mum, I listened to their last telephone conversation. Through tears, but still laughing, my Mum said “I don’t know why you’re trying to race me to the finish line. We’re supposed to go out together”.
I thought about her words for weeks. I thought about what it must be like to spend every day with someone for over forty years and to almost have it snatched away. Although I never told my Mum that I heard this conversation, as the weeks passed, we spoke about the memories she and my Dad had created over the years, how it seemed no time had passed but it had been decades. Many of these memories happened within the confines of our family home. I thought it funny how one small building had taken on an almost metaphysical presence in my family’s memories. If my Dad were to die, nearly everything that I knew of him, his unrealised dreams, his sense of humour, his flaws, had all been learned in this one house.
My family’s story was not an uncommon one. For Working-Class families, the family home is an integral part of the family unit, hosting birthdays, funeral wakes, witnessing fights and tears of joy. I wrote Snow Falls in the Summer to explore this trinity of people, places, and memories, so interwoven with each other that you can often feel the physical weight.
Snowfalls in the Summer lifts the lid on the personal struggles fought by those who may not be living on the bread line but are forced to continuously dig deep to survive. This is the type of film I have always craved to make. Upon reflection, the truth is that up until now, I have not been mature enough