Lethe
`'Lethe is a tragic suspense drama about a young amnesiac woman named Eve, who must piece together her fragmented memories while running from mysterious pursuers. Eve is a scared, desperate woman who will do whatever it takes to discover the truth.'
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Eric RomeroDirector
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Eric RomeroWriter
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Madeleine DrewellProducer
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Kirsty FindlayKey Cast
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Kenny BlythKey Cast
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Nick ChealesKey Cast
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Kate PotterKey Cast
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Andrew CorelliKey Cast
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Garry TorranceDOP
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Rory StewartFIRST AD
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Paul HartmannDIRECT SOUND
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Jo HillMusic
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Pat JasCOSTUME DESIGNER
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Danniella HayMAKE UP
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Paul KowalikSOUND DESIGNER
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Gavin LivingstoneOFFLINE EDITOR
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Kieran GosneyONLINE EDITOR
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Gemma FiellerArt
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Lindsay McGeeCO-PRODUCER
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Reyhan BekarSCRIPT SUPERVISOR
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Andrew Mcdonald1ST AC
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Andrew O'ConnorGAFFER
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Rasmus RäniCAMERA ASSISTANT
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Rosa GoodExtra Direct Sound
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Jonny Magowan2ND AD
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Allegra Stodolsky3RD AD
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Stephen LambDIT
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Lucas KaoSET PHOTOGRAPHERS
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Ewan RolloSET PHOTOGRAPHERS
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Phillip FitnessEXECUTIVE PRODUCER
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Eric RomeroEXECUTIVE PRODUCER
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Stephen WhitePoster Designer
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Project Type:Short, Student
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Genres:Thriller, Drama
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Runtime:20 minutes
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Completion Date:January 5, 2017
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Production Budget:4,500 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:Yes
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Royal Television Society of Scotland Student AwardsGlasgow
United Kingdom
Best Drama -
Royal Television Society of ScotlandGlasgow
Best Student Project -
Kalat Nissa Film FestivalCaltanisseta
Italy
May 26, 2017
World Premiere
Best Short Film -
Alicante Film FestivalAlicante
Spain
May 27, 2017
Spanish Premiere -
Bucharest Shortcut CinefestBucharest
Romania
May 28, 2017
I moved from Barcelona to Edinburgh five years ago and I just graduated from a BA in Television at the Edinburgh Napier University with a First Class, winning a Napier’s university Medal and the Clement's Family Prize for TV production.
Back in Barcelona I worked as a writer for TV, Radio and Theatre and when I moved to UK I decided to start a path towards becoming a writer/director. My first attempt was a mockumentary called “The Arsehole Gene” in 2013, which won some international awards and was nominated to a BAFTA Scotland New Talent award in Comedy.
My second film, another mockumentary called “Native Immigration” was selected by more than twenty festivals around the world and has won several awards like Best Short Film at the U-Special International Campus Film Festival (New Delhi), Best Short Film at the Cinema City Film Festival (Serbia), Best Short Film and Best Director at the Outlaw Film Festival (Missouri), Audience award at the First Friday Film Festival (Kansas), etc.
With my last project I decided to move from comedy towards drama to direct “Lethe”, my most ambitious film. I have great hopes that it will open me doors to new projects.
Nowadays I spend my time working as a carer doing 24 hours shifts and using all my free time to keep working on films until the day comes in which I can afford spending all my time just doing what I love.
FILM'S INTENTION (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
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PLEASE WATCH THE FILM BEFORE READING THIS STATEMENT
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PLEASE WATCH THE FILM BEFORE READING THIS STATEMENT
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LAST CHANCE TO WATCH THE FILM BEFORE READING SPOILERS
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This film concept came from a combination of my personal experience with a family member suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and my interest in the human brain; how it operates on a physical and psychological level.
However, I didn’t want to make a film about dementia; I don’t want people going to see it knowing it is about Alzheimer. I want them to watch it because they find the premise intriguing and interesting. I want the audience to travel with the main character knowing as much as she knows and seeing the world in the way she sees it, because, then the climax will be as powerful and revealing for them as it is for the main character.
By exploring the subject from the characters point of view the audience can identify more with the situation; I want the audience to identify themselves with the dementia sufferer without knowing the person’s disease until the climax.
As a result, I approached the script as if it were a classic thriller, splashing the different scenes with some of the traits associated with the disease. For example, at the hospital the main protagonist Eve refers to the bedpan as “that plastic thing to pee”, which is an indirect way of speaking; this is common with Alzheimer sufferers as they often are unable to use specific names of objects.
Similarly, Eve finding her car keys in the freezer is not related to somebody mysteriously hiding them there, but it is related to another dementia symptom; the misplacing of objects. Everything strange that happens in the script has a mundane reason as is far from the conspiracies and supernatural phenomena that Eve feels conspires against her.
The script has been heavily revised and researched including the investigation into how music works on a neurological level and can have an impact with dementia sufferers; think of a person with Alzheimer’s not being able to remember his family, but readily remembering a tune and song and performing in front of people with no hesitation. This concept has been linked into the story as a tool in grounding Eve’s character back into reality.
I really believe this short film can be a game changer for my team and I and will lead us to more interesting, challenging and diverse projects in the future.