Chronic is the story of a young couple, Sadie and Rob, who move in together but Sadie’s chronic illness complicates their plans and begins to govern their relationship.

We’re a group of female filmmakers looking to raise £6,800 so we can shoot our short film about invisible chronic illness. Our team is really passionate about this project on a personal level, with our writer and director both having been on journeys with chronic illness.

You being a part of this project is so much more than just making a film happen financially. You’ll be helping us create awareness and education for invisible disabilities, as well as raising funds for much needed research around some of these conditions. 

As a team, we discussed what we might be able to offer you by way of thanks for your donation. In the end, it only felt right that instead of spending money on t-shirts or printing out scripts, we direct what money we can towards our partner charity The ME Association. 

So, here’s our promise to you. 

5% of every donation made will be given to The ME Association. 

And all of our backers will be given exclusive access to our first digital release of the film. 

Sadie and Rob have been planning on moving in together for a year now. In that year, Sadie has experienced debilitating chronic fatigue and pain. The move-in day is here but it doesn’t look like either of them imagined. 

The next week brings with it intensified symptoms for Sadie and a complicated doctor’s appointment. The couple struggle to know how to hold onto their relationship, and each other.

Invisible illness within a romantic relationship is not spoken of enough. Chronic is here to change that. 

We rarely, if ever, see a portrayal of invisible chronic illness and the difficulties of living with a diagnosis that offers no definitive answers or treatment. In what can be a very isolating place, we desperately want those who are suffering and their carers to feel seen.

The grief and pain involved with chronic illness affects not only the person experiencing the symptoms, but also the people caring for them. That’s why Chronic is about Sadie and Rob. It’s a story that many people will relate to across the board of invisible illnesses - autoimmune diseases, arthritis, connective tissue disorders, mental health conditions, cancer, the list goes on... 

It’s only becoming more critical to raise awareness for illnesses that include chronic pain and chronic fatigue in a world with Covid-19.

Data from the King’s College London Covid symptom tracking app suggests that up to 500,000 people in the UK are suffering from long-term, fatigue-like symptoms.

Many, many people who have been tested positive for the virus are now experiencing debilitating symptoms that look alarmingly similar to chronic fatigue. It’s been given a separate name - Long Covid - but it looks a lot like many other invisible chronic illnesses.

Lockdown and restrictions have shown able bodied people just how hard it is to be housebound even without chronic pain. We believe it’s the right time to create empathy and awareness around this struggle for the chronically ill and that making a film about it is critical for solidarity, support and awareness.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/... 

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health...

We’re extremely happy to have partnered with The ME Association. Even though Chronic isn’t about one specific invisible chronic illness, our writer and director have both been diagnosed with ME/CFS. We hope to promote the work The ME Association does in funding research, lobbying for and supporting those suffering and caring. 

A message of support from Neil Riley, The ME Association:

The ME Association, Britain’s oldest charity for people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, is delighted with ‘Chronic’ – a film which reveals some intimate home truths about what it means to live with a largely invisible illness. 

Charlotte Paradise’s script for this deceptively simple, short film illustrates the light and shade of many relationships where couples quickly must make compromises if they are to survive in a world where there are as yet no treatments that restore full health. 

Rob and Sadie, the star-crossed lovers, are going to have a tough time if they stick together.

Doctors can get bored with Sadie, if they can’t cure her. Employers can get decidedly tetchy if she takes too many days off work. Workmates will begin to shun her. Friends will drop away if she can’t be relied upon to come out to play. Even mum and dad can become less than sympathetic as the years pass by. 

Yet M.E. is a real physical illness that affects over 250,000 adults and children in the UK and millions more worldwide.

One in four are so severely affected that they are rendered housebound or bedbound – with some needing 24-hour care.

They are often confined to their beds, unable to walk, are extremely sensitive to light and sound and in extreme cases can require tube-feeding. 

Minor exertions – such as talking, reading, sitting up in bed, brushing hair or trying to stand – can result in worse symptoms and trigger relapses. 

There is no known cure or effective treatment and worse still, there remain vast misconceptions – even in medical circles – that M.E. is ‘made up’, ‘in the mind’ or even ‘just laziness’. 

People with M.E. and other invisible illnesses will be so pleased you are telling a big part of their story in such a compelling way. We hope it comes to a big screen near us very soon.

You can find more about what they do on their website: https://meassociation.org.uk/   

Here is a short clip by our director, Milly Garnier, about living with ME/CFS: 

Why Chronic?

I was diagnosed with ME/CFS at a young age and although my health is in pretty good shape at the moment, it's something that has defined quite a large chunk of my life. As my health has improved over the years, it’s become increasingly important to address some of the misconceptions about the illness and show that it’s so much more than ‘feeling tired’.

Having already made an animated short discussing the illness (All About M.E., 2016), it’s necessary to go further than talking generally about chronic fatigue and delve into the individual experience. That way, we can illustrate the day-to-day monotony, the excruciating frustration, how truly limiting it can be and how increased awareness is key. It’s also extremely important to demonstrate that there’s hope in many people’s lives, through the support of their friends and family. 

How will we make it?

The beauty of the script is its naturalism. You can instantly feel the chemistry between the young couple, but also the pain they both feel as Sadie’s symptoms take hold. Working closely with the DOP and through a combination of steady cam and static set-ups that mirror the energy of the protagonists, the intention is to capture this intimacy without acting as intruder or voyeur.

The production will make use of light (soft in moments of intimacy and connection and slightly colder in times of discomfort) with a limited colour palette to retain focus on characters and narrative.

The set dressing will be pared back to place the emphasis on the couple’s emotional experience, but, where necessary, it will reflect the narrative: the bedroom as oppressive and sparse, where Sadie feels trapped; the living room as open and full of shared experience, where Sadie and Rob can feel closer to normal.

Most significantly, the cast will be fully briefed on the reality of a chronic illness and how it manifests physically, having spent time researching it at great length and through discussion with me and Charlotte. We all want to ensure that the portrayal of invisible chronic illness is accurate, but maintains a naturalistic flare. A lot rests on body language and the unspoken.

THE WRITER - CHARLOTTE PARADISE

Charlotte is a screenwriter, playwright and published journalist who was diagnosed with ME/CFS in 2014 and hEDS in 2020. She recently earned a Master’s degree in Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Her theatrical credits include Mess (Warwick Arts Centre), Know You Well (Southwark Playhouse) and WHY AM I SOFT IN THE MIDDLE? (CSSD). 

THE DIRECTOR - MILLY GARNIER

Milly is director and writer, whose directing debut, The Leaving Party, was funded by a £20,000 grant from the inaugural Female Film Force. The Leaving Party premiered at a private screening in association with the London Short Film Festival, before its first public showing at the 2019 Underwire Festival in London, where it was nominated for best screenwriting. Milly was diagnosed with ME/CFS when she was younger. Her other directing credits include, The Dinner Party (Chalkboard Productions, 2019) and All About M.E. (2016). 

CO-PRODUCER - LIZZIE MELBOURNE

Lizzie is a freelance producer and General Manager for the National Student Drama Festival. In her role as General Manager, Lizzie produces all aspects of the annual festival and its year round activities: most recently including a programme of digital events involving artists such as Mike Leigh, Armando Iannucci, Rosamund Pike and Richard Schiff. Lizzie is studying part time at the MetFilm School on the Foundation Producing course. 

1ST AD - THEA PROSSER

Thea is a freelance production assistant with experience in drama and factual TV, as well as theatre. She was part of the BBC apprentice scheme in 2016 and went on to work in arts documentaries at the BBC. As a freelancer, Thea has been the assistant to Amit Lahav, the artistic director of Gecko theatre company, during their productions of Missing and The Wedding. She is currently studying anthropology at UCL.

CO-PRODUCER/PLAYS SADIE - ANTONIA SALIB

Antonia Salib is an actress and workshop facilitator currently in The Play That Goes Wrong on the West End. She is a graduate of The Oxford School of Drama and her credits include Black Ice (Theatre503), Know You Well (Southwark Playhouse), Shudder (Soho Theatre) and The President’s Men (Tristan Bates Theatre). 

PLAYS ROB - JACK BARTON

Jack Barton graduated from The Oxford School of Drama in 2018 and made his television debut in Grantchester (ITV/Masterpiece for PBS). He subsequently starred as Foldo in The Letter For The King (Netflix) and will be appearing next in the upcoming TV mini-series The Pursuit Of Love (BBC), due to air in early 2021. 

PLAYS DR CARR - ANGELA YEOH

Angela Yeoh has always been passionate about untold stories, working 7 years as an international reporter (Australia, Brazil, France, China), before retraining as an actor. She has played doctors for the BBC in both the drama genre (Holby City) and comedy (Ghosts). Film credits include Zebra Girl and Christmas Survival. She is a graduate of Ecole Philipe Gaulier and also trained in Meisner technique. 

PLAYS EMMA - OLIVIA FOAN

Olivia trained at The University of Bristol and The Oxford School of Drama. She began her work at The Soho Theatre, and starred in BIFFA winning film Good Luck with Director Franz Bohm. She works as an actor and writer, producing creative work and events through her company Chalkboard Productions. 

We need your help to turn our idea into a reality. 

We are looking to raise £6,800 to make Chronic. 

Here is a budget breakdown of how the money will be spent. 

It’s important to us, particularly in the world we are living in right now, that we are able to pay our cast and crew for their work and you’ll see that a large portion of the money we raise will be directed towards this. 

‘Other Costs’ incorporates what we’ll need to make the filming Covid-19 secure. It also includes setting aside some money for Festival entry fees so that we can share our film to a wider audience. 

And as promised, 5% of every donation you make will be given to our partner charity The ME Association. 

If we don’t reach our funding goal, the money you donate will go towards covering the cost of camera and lighting equipment, insurances and expenses for all of our cast and crew. 

No matter what we raise, 5% of every donation will still go to The ME Association.

It goes without saying that the pandemic presents a challenge. We will be following all COVID-19 Guidance to ensure that we can operate within government guidelines and mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19 when filming. As part of our preparation, several members of the team will be asked to complete the ScreenSkills ‘Coronavirus basic awareness on production training’ online module. 

Your generous donations will be vital in ensuring that we have a supply of masks, hand sanitiser and other cleaning equipment to keep the cast and crew safe. 

We feel confident, having seen the film industry adapt so quickly, that we will be able to fully deliver under the coronavirus restrictions in early 2021.

We completely understand that you may not be able to financially support us at this time. 

If you aren’t in a position to donate, here are some other vital things you can do to help us: 

SHARE our fundraising page with your friends and family. 

SHOUT OUT about our film to help us reach those we might not otherwise. 

FOLLOW us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @chronicfilm - like, share, comment and get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.

READ all about our partner charity The ME Association and all the incredible things they do. 

If you would like to know more about the project then feel free to message us on @chronicfilm on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook!