Life Eternal is a melodrama short film in which the elderly protagonist, Gerry, grieves the recent death of his long term wife, Lily. Gerry is borderline catatonic, and a recluse, with his daughter, Kate, his only remaining connection. However, upon his refusal to attend Lily’s funeral, this connection is severed. In his pit of despair and isolation Gerry forces himself into a reckoning.
Why We Want to Make This Film
Life Eternal is inspired by our Grandparents, and specifically the grief they have experienced at the loss of their life partners. Though, grief is an inherently relatable topic, even for those who are lucky enough to still have all of their loved ones still in their lives. That is why Life Eternal is important to us. We will all experience loss. All of us who are lucky enough to experience love everyday will at some point feel the pain of grief and loss. But none of us are ever alone, even if one may believe that to be the case. The worst thing we can do is remain in stasis, and long for the past to be the present and future and so forsake those who remain. And so that is what this film explores; the most extreme example that could yet be everyday life. A partnership and love that has lasted for numerous decades, suddenly dashed with a widower left in mourning. A widower that cannot overcome their desperate need to be reunited with their wife once more.
Our crew is young, naturally so as University students, but we focus on characters beyond our years. I believe that speaks volumes as to the maturity of the wonderful people that have come together to tell this tale. Maturity that is utterly necessary at the gravity of the tone and themes. The film shall be difficult, it shall be grounded and real, but never a pit of hopelessness and despair.
Love will always give those who have left us, life eternal.
the crew
We have an amazing and talented crew, all of whom are committed to making this short film as good as it can possibly be.
Where will the money go?
The more money we can raise, the better the film we can make. We aim to raise a minimum of £750, but our goal is £1500. With that we'd be able to able to put more money into getting better locations, dressing the sets, hiring higher quality equipment, and many other areas that will drastically improve the quality of the film. Below is a budget breakdown of how we'd spend the £1500 if we reach our goal:
- Travel (reimbursing cast & crew fuel costs, train tickets, etc.): ~£100
- Catering (feeding cast & crew): ~£100
- Production design (set dressing, wardrobe, hair & make-up): ~£250
- Equipment rental (lights, lenses, any equipment the uni can't provide): ~£600
- Additional locations: ~£100
- Post-production (editing, post-production sound, music, etc.): ~£100
- Film festivals (funding to submit the project to film festivals): ~£250
If we raise any extra funds above our target, this money will be used by the University of Reading Film Theatre and Television department to help promote our film and other films made by our fellow students.
Follow the project
Keep up to date with the development of Life Eternal by following the project on Instagram:
We'll post updates, teasers, and behind the scenes content so you can keep track of production.
everything is Appreciated
We truly appreciate every single donation, no matter how big or small. Every penny helps us reach this project's full potential and make it an amazing short film.
If you're interested in donating, check out some of our rewards for doing so. You can receive anything from a 'Thank You' credit at the end of the film to a full walkthrough of the production process in our 'Making Of' photo album.
And even if you can't donate, you can still help us out by sharing the link to this page with anyone who may be interested in donating. Word of mouth goes a long way on a project like this.
