MISALIGNED

This short drama depicts the realities of Alex, a 25 year-old nurse and her girlfriend Natalie a 24 year-old retail stylist who have fallen victims to a loss of love. For these two ignorance seems bliss but is far from. They’ve drifted apart and consequently the romance is dead; they not longer go on dates or make effort with each other. Stuck within the bittersweet safety of their relationship, conflicts and tensions rise as Natalie begins to spend progressively more time with another woman and Alex finds herself in a predicament. After months of suppressed feelings does she look to reconcile with Natalie or accept that they are not the same people they were four years ago and leave the toxic relationship for good?

DIRECTORS STATEMENT

The first few drafts of the script weren’t written with a particular denomination in mind, but the more I wrote about the characters the more they felt like women to me. In turn, the anxieties that are felt by people approaching adulthood and the alienation that this can bring, manifests itself within the conflict that the two women experience within the relationship they have. I see myself as a progressive writer, but as a straight woman it was important to recognise that straight experiences are not transferrable onto LGBTQ+ couples. Whilst writers always put parts of themselves into their characters, it was crucial in this screenplay to avoid the problematic trope that queer desire is narcissistic or about wanting yourself. Therefore the two women aren’t intended as a metaphor for my inner conflict but instead have been built up as independent characters distinct from myself. Reaching out to the community and researching queer representation in films was the only appropriate way to pursue this aspect of the narrative whilst ensuring an accurate representation of a female-female relationship.

If you have any questions we'd love to hear from you, get in touch with us either through  Facebook or Instagram accounts:

Instagram: @stelliumproductions 

Facebook: @MisalignedFilm

MEET OUR CHARACTERS

ALEX is a 25-year-old nurse, has long and difficult days at work and has a lonesome home life. She is intelligent but perhaps too kind and forgiving for her own good. She’s mature but intimidated by adult life alone; moving in with her girlfriend straight after university has meant that she hasn’t truly been alone in several years. She is unhappy in her relationship with Natalie and so faces a big decision; stick it out with Natalie because things could change or admit that perhaps she’s staying in the relationship for the wrong reasons.

NATALIE is a fun-loving 24-year-old retail stylist. She has an eye for fashion and takes a lot of pride in the way she looks. She is always up for a night out, even when in complicates things with her girlfriend, Alex. Her selfishness and childishness mean that she is often blind to how others are feeling and the consequences her actions may have. Her friendly and flirty nature gets her in sticky situations and her blossoming relationships with others means her mind is away from her current failing relationship.

Illustrations by Chloe Berry (Instagram: @berrygoodwork)

WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP

In order to bring Misaligned to life and to do this social realistic story justice, we need your support. With a number of crucial speaking roles, a distinct location, set design and specialised costume, we are struggling to gather the financial resources to make this happen even on our carefully calculated low budget. We are incredibly passionate about keeping true to the vision of the script. With this in mind we greatly appreciate any contribution you make to our project!

Location and Set Design

The home of our protagonists plays a vital role in creating and developing the stages of their relationship, it is key in depicting tension and divides between them. Although many features of our set design we plan to source for free or next to nothing, the location is something that we can't. We are set to rent out an Air BnB which has costly fees when shooting within.

Actors

We are currently casting professional actors for the purpose of quality as the script is dialogue heavy which needs to be executed by experienced actors. The four speaking roles are incredibly important in bringing this project together and it is only fair that they should be paid accordingly for their time with their travel included.

Catering

Despite being a small production team, we are going to have to bring in reinforcements on set in order to be able to execute our shooting schedule productively and to its full potential. Often we will be shooting for long hours into the night so we will need to provide crew and cast with food!

Distribution and Exhibition

Finally, this will help us to organise and fund a private premier in Brighton, print posters to promote our film and also help to subsidise the costs of entering our film into national film festivals.

MEET STELLIUM PRODUCTIONS

From the University of Sussex we are a Brighton based production group brought together by a shared passion for the art of filmmaking. In our final year of study we are highly enthusiastic about  bringing together our individual skill sets to create something brilliant to draw our university experience to a close.

Sophie Berry

Writer and Director

Sophie is a Writer and Director from Oxford, in her final year of studying Media Practice (BA) at the University of Sussex. Since a young age, Sophie has had a major interest in storytelling, specifically film. Having written several scripts during her time at Sussex University, she’s become a confident writer. She has experience working as a script reader for companies like The Works Film Group, so she knows what makes a good script into a great one. Both directing and writing this film, has meant that her vision can truly be brought to life and she can guide her team to create an amazing film that is inspired by her original vision. Being a huge fan of the coming-of-age genre, and taking from her own experience as a young adult, she hopes this film will be relatable and break down the idea of ‘happy endings’ that movies often show.

Alex Stark

Director of Photography

Alex Stark is an aspiring Director of Photography and Cinematographer in his final year at Sussex University. Alex has worked as a freelance videographer on various projects such as music videos for local Brighton bands and corporate promotional videos for a law firm. He also has experience making short films at Brighton Film School under the supervision of British director Julian Kerridge, alongside various Documentary projects within his Sussex Degree. Alex plans to use his experience with the nuances of cinematography to create an intimate and naturalistic look which complements the profound script.

Ella Dowling

Producer

Ella Dowling is an aspiring young Producer from South East London. She is in her final year of a Media Practice degree at the University of Sussex. With previous experience across the artistic processes of filmmaking she now turns her creative hand to the disciplines of coordinating the various aspects of film production, drawing on her previous experience of directing and writing to bring the script to life BUT on time and in budget!

Paul Evagora

Editor 

Paul Evagora is a young and ambitious Editor from North London. He is in his final year at the University of Sussex and has worked on a number of projects such as the documentaries ‘Going in Blind’ which focuses on gambling addiction, ‘The Man behind the Muscle’ which focuses on the lifestyle of bodybuilder Zak Pallikaros and ‘The Gift of Life’, a documentary following the journey of a kidney donor. He’s also worked on various music videos with inspiration from BRTHR who edited Travis Scott’s ‘Butterfly Effect’. As this is a new challenge for him, he is really excited to apply previous learnt skills to this project.

David Amey

Sound 

David is extremely excited to transfer his depth of experience in live sound and music to this project. Having previously experimented with storytelling through sound, he is looking forward to presenting Sophie Berry's idea to the ears of as many people as possible.

OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP

We appreciate that you may not be able to contribute financially, we are students after all! But you could contribute by sharing our campaign!

A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU

We are so grateful for any kind of contribution to our project, any amount you can give will enable us to work towards our ultimate goal. Make sure you take a look at some of the perks we are offering in return for your donations! Alternatively you could make a contribution without selecting a perk. You can find the links to our social media accounts on this page to follow our journey and we will also be providing updates on this page to keep you in the know!

Thank you for joining us on this project!