Sol

Paper Owl Films is thrilled to present ‘Sol’, an absorbing, important film about one little boys’ grief journey. ‘Sol’ shows that we can deal with difficult subjects for young audiences, in a powerful way through the medium of content creation.

‘Sol’ was greenlit at the end of 2019, as a film designed to help children with grief. We could never have known the poignant relevance it would have for audiences when it would air on the Winter Solstice 2020.

Sol is an ambitious film in both its broadcast and its subject matter. The existing challenges that the team faced were heightened by the events of 2020.

‘Sol’ is a collaboration between the Celtic broadcasters of Ireland, Wales and Scotland: TG4, S4C and BBC Alba, with funding from NI Screen’s ILBF and Screen fund, the BFI’s YACF and our distributor Aardman Animations. Not only did we succeed in our ambition with 3 indigenous languages, a difficult subject matter, hugely ambitious creative and a surprise lockdown pipeline, we successfully pitched to the broadcasters of the UK and ended up with a pan broadcaster event for the winter solstice. CiTV, ITV Hub, All4, My5 all broadcast the film on the 21st December 2020 to mark a moment of light on the longest night of the year.

Sol was a unique production created in unique circumstances with a diverse crew, with dedicated traineeships and mentorship opportunities for talent stepping up into new roles. One of the biggest challenges of the production was moving the entire pipleline to a remote working set-up. Managing this in the middle of a pandemic meant that we had to demonstrate the highest standards of production, management, technical capacity and creative contribution.

• 1 x 28 minute film
• 13 months
• 4 languages
• 3 key commissioning broadcasters
• A simulcast with CiTV, ITV Hub, All4, My5 on the Winter Solstice.
• 60+ Cast and Crew
• 5 Trainees
• Over 3500 crew days
• Over 11,000 hours design time
• 7,000 hours of animation time
• Over 250 compositing days
• 1 magnificent original score.

In a landscape of disruption, cancellation and uncertainty, 3 broadcasters became 7 and Sol received huge praise for its beauty and power on the longest night of the year. It was a unique year and a unique broadcast and subsequently a unique broadcast event!

In the wake of 2020, grief has been all too pertinent an issue for children all over the world. If they have not experienced grief directly, they are certainly experiencing the worry of it as the pandemic threatens their families, their way of life and their grandparents most of all. ‘Sol’ is a unique film, created in a year like no other to represent and support the children living through it. ‘Sol’ facilitates difficult conversations amongst teachers, parents and children about how to manage feelings after the death of a loved one, bringing comfort to families and encouraging them to remember the light.

As we leave 2020 behind us and start to move forward into a new world post-pandemic, many children will be carrying with them the pain of loss. But they will also carry with them the memories of the good – the time spent at home with family, the appreciation of those around them, and the cherished memories of those they love. ‘Sol’ is a timely and original beacon to these children – a celebration of the light and the good in life, which has always and will always co-exist alongside the bad.