Experiencing Interruptions?

Walk Home

A young school teacher reaches breaking point during her walk home and, with the help of her caring colleague, decides to finally face the skeleton hiding in her closet.

Mary, a young school teacher in the UK, walks home after work. She is visibly distressed about an earlier argument over maternity leave with one of her colleagues. Her colleague, James, tries to console her and make her smile. It is evident that he likes her, but Mary seems distracted.

After James leaves, Mary notices a young child playing with her mother in the park. The girl looks incredibly familiar and Mary leans in for a closer look. Suddenly, Mary’s phone rings and interrupts her train of thought. It is her mother. After a rushed conversation, she hangs up - stressed. Before Mary can gather her thoughts, one of her students, called Zara, taps her on the shoulder. Zara is with her mother, and the two women exchange in polite small talk before Zara and her mother head home.

Mary sits down on a nearby bench. She is overwhelmed by her thoughts and thrown into a flashback of a conversation she had with her best friend, Olivia, when they were teenagers. It is clear that Mary has just made a difficult decision. Olivia tries to offer Mary support, but she is not interested. Mary shuts down the conversation.

As Mary comes out of the flashback, she notices her colleague James is walking the wrong direction. The two of them start talking and James asks Mary out on a date. Mary explains she is not in a good place and, with a little coaxing from James, she opens up to him and shares the secret she has been carrying. She explains that she had a child when she was a teenager and gave it up for adoption. James’ maturity and understanding melts away Mary’s guilt and shame.

  • Josie Copeland
    Director
    ITV "John Bishop: Life After Deaf", ITV "Jac Jossa: Me & Periods", BBC "The Brian Cox Interview"
  • Sarah Cameron-West
    Writer
  • Sarah Cameron-West
    Key Cast
    "Mary"
  • Ross Bayliss
    Key Cast
    "James"
  • Lucy Nicholson
    Key Cast
    "Olivia"
  • Anokhi Zagorski-Shah
    Key Cast
    "Zara"
  • Josie Copeland
    Cinematographer
    ITV "John Bishop: Life After Deaf", ITV "Jac Jossa: Me & Periods", BBC "The Brian Cox Interview"
  • Sam Chapman
    Editor
    Play Creatives "Eyes Wide Open", Aukes Media "Greatness is a Process"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 7 seconds
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Josie Copeland

Director & Cinematographer Josie Copeland is based in Surrey, UK. Her previous experience living in Brazil, Spain, Italy, Canada and Dubai has given her a greater perspective on the world and influenced her approach to storytelling. Since graduating from the NFTS and London Film Academy, Josie has worked on a mixture of documentaries, short films and corporate projects for clients such as the BBC, ITV, UK Government and Sky. She is passionate about capturing what is unique and special about each and every story and is excited to continue developing her narrative work.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Trauma often rears its head many years after the event itself has passed. I directed “Walk Home” to explore how feelings associated with grief, loss and trauma rarely follow a linear path.

In addition, I wanted the audience to recognise the power of admitting when you are not okay. While on the outside Mary appears to be successful and have it all together, on the inside, she is stuck in past feelings of shame, sadness and grief.

In the current “hustle” culture, hyper-independent women are sensationalised. However, we are not designed to face all of life’s challenges alone. Mary demonstrates profound courage when she shares her deepest secret with a trusted colleague, James. It was incredibly important to me that her colleague, James, doesn’t try to “save her”.

I wanted to show the audience what a mature and supportive relationship looks like. Instead of attempting to fix, minimise or advise, James simply sits with Mary and listens to her. He validates her experience and empowers her with his encouragement and support.