Project Detail

Bare Roots

Bare Roots

Synopsis

Amy reluctantly returns home to the windy clifftop in North Cornwall where she grew up, after a break-up with her partner Jess has left her homeless. She hopes her mum, Sue, will be pleasantly surprised at the chance for them to reconnect.
But Sue isn't good with surprises, and has other things on her mind. She is preparing to plant a bare root hedge, her final act of resistance against the second home development that will surround her home, concreting over her memories and erasing her past.
They start early: digging in the hedge is backbreaking work.  
When Amy finally manages to tell Sue about her loss, Sue is lost for words. They doggedly continue planting, gradually finding a rhythm together in the silence.
As night falls, and exhaustion sets in, Sue returns to the house, and Amy is left in the field, digging the last trench for the remaining plants. Alone, they each find a way to reach out across the silence, the years of separation, and their losses, towards each other.
Official Selection Encounters Film Festival 2025
Official Selection Aesthetica Film Festival 2025

Details

Year
2025
Type of project
Shorts
Running time
15 min
Format
Digital
Director
Ellen McDougall
Producer
Lucy Mainstone
Executive Producer
Nadia Attia
Editor
Holly Bourdillon
Screenwriter
Ellen McDougall
Director of Photography
Amber Amare
Production Designer
Lauren Clark
Sound
Dajain Daley, Claire Stevens
Composer
Màth Roberts, Annie Chown
Principal cast
Linda Bassett, Charlotte Ritchie
Associate Producer
Tom Stuart
Casting Director
Anna Cooper CDG
First Assistant Director
Emily Hester
Script Supervisor
Peter Clarke
Costume Designer
Eleanor Gow
Production Design Trainee
Natacha Simpson
First Assistant Camera
Kyle Richardson
Second Assistant Camera
Jamie Coupland
Second Assistant Camera
Charlie Davies
Key Grip
Sam Hill
Grip
Adam Colwell
Gaffer
James Adair
DIT
Josh Burbridge
Lighting Trainee
Aidan Brook
Sound Trainee
Alex Payne
Access Coordinator
Paul Smith
Stills Photographer
Brett Lockwood
Driver
Gilly Roche
Driver
Liam Mainstone
Catering
Thomas Moore
Catering
Lyra Waters
Sound Designer
Claire Stevens
Colourist and Online Editor
Berta Valverde
Deliverables
Winston Tjia
Sound Design Trainee
Ella Gorman

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

Supported by BFI NETWORK

Fieldwork Productions Ltd

Lucy Mainstone
Tansy Cottage
Nancegollan
Helston TR13 0AH

Page updates

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