As winter settles over a house in mourning, a widower father strives to weave a wondrous Christmas to return his daughter's voice, which has been stolen by grief.
Hello! We are a group of third year BA Filmmaking students fundraising for our festive short film shooting in December. Focusing on the relationship between a father and his 8 year old daughter, Winter's Orange interweaves folklore with an exploration of grief and the bittersweet feelings that arise when it mixes with the supposedly joyous Christmas period.
Synopsis:
With the recent passing of Anna, the wife to Noah and mother to Ivy, their house has seen a winter of mourning. Ivy, unable to process her grief, has resorted to mutism. In attempts to restore his daughter's voice, Noah plans to give her an enchanting Christmas, dressing the house with festive spirit. Whilst decorating the family Christmas tree, Noah tries to double down on the whimsy of the season. He tells her an old folk tale about the origins of the Great Soul Tree. In this fable, we learn that when humans are born they receive souls from the great tree in the sky. However due to overpopulation there are now too many vessels in comparison to souls. These bodies without souls come to be known as hollows and whilst their lives on Earth may be indistinguishable from those with souls, when their life comes to an end, they cannot return to the great tree in the sky. Whilst Noah's intention was pure he may be naive to the fact that the story can be easily misinterpreted by his grieving daughter.
Character Bios
Ivy:
Ivy has been deeply shaken by the passing of her mother Anna and, unable to process her grief, she has resorted to mutism. The festive time brings bittersweet feelings and she struggles to connect with her father despite his continued attempts to get through to her.
Noah:
With Christmas, Anna's favourite holiday, coming up, Noah tries to navigate the new emotions that the festive period brings and he tries to bond with Ivy through embracing the festive atmosphere. Though he is grieving, Noah puts up a front for his daughter and tries his best to make things seem normal but when he is alone, the hurt he is feeling is apparent.
Meet the crew
Writer/Director/Co-producer - Callan Day
Director of Photography - Richard Zhang
Production Designer/Co-producer - Esther Nadeem
Editor - Leon Pena
Sound Designer - Ed O'Rourke
Sound Recordist - Matteo Tedeschini
Where will the money go?
We are hoping to raise £250 which will go towards actors fees, transport and catering, and prop hire for the film. If we exceed our goal, we are hoping to use the rest of the money to submit the film into festivals that have a focus on festive films, as well as to festivals that feature films exploring grief.
Budget breakdown:
Actors fees: £150
Travel/parking: £40
Props: £30
Food: £30
Find us here
Reach out through @esther.a.nadeem on Instagram if you have any questions and look out for updates about Winter's Orange!
Help us succeed!
Donations above £10 will earn a special mention in the end credits of our film!
If able, please consider donating and if not, please share our fundraiser and help us reach our goal!
