Directed by Rosie Baldwin
This spoken word piece examines the impulse felt during lockdown to experience personal growth; revitalising traditional crafts such as baking, knitting and embroidery as a way of creating an aesthetically pleasing, instagrammable world around ourselves.
As the protagonist cycles through each day, the repetition of her daily tasks and her failure at the new craft-based tasks affect her mental balance. As the false world of visually pleasing idealism begins to fade and fall away, we see that the time-honoured, traditionally 'feminine' activities from the past intended to improve her wellbeing have had a detrimental effect, posing the question of whether they have a place in modern feminist rituals, and whether our obsession with outward appearances is chipping away at our true selves.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH THE FILMMAKER
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR FILMMAKING BACKGROUND:
I actually normally work in documentary, and have made short docs for the BBC and VICE, as well as various funding bodies and charities. I have been really lucky with the reception to these films; they've won multiple awards and screened in cinemas nationwide and at BAFTA-qualifying festivals like Sheffield DocFest and Aesthetica. I tend to focus on character-led stories that provide a wider reflection on society as a whole. I have made four films featuring people living with various disabilities who refuse to be defined by that, and I think of all my work I'm the most proud of those. I'm definitely attracted to stories of people finding ways to live and thrive in our often disabling society.
Since you have a background mainly in documentary, what was your inspiration to switch things up with "Stitch"?
Stitch was a very collaborative project and came about through the BFI Network x BAFTA Crew programme. A small group of us on the scheme (Zara Symes - writer and performer, Chloë Kilby - Editor, Jovana Gospavic - Production Design, Vincenzo Marranghino - DOP, and Adrien Leung - Composer) got together (virtually) right at the peak of the first lockdown, when we were all just stuck inside with all our productions having been halted and feeling like we were stuck in limbo, and came up with the concept over a couple of Zoom calls. We basically began with what we had access to in terms of props and kit, and then worked the story out from there based on what we knew we could actually do within the lockdown restrictions. It was an unusual way of working but we enjoyed the challenge. Obviously lockdown and being stuck inside on this monotonous cycle was at the forefront of our minds so that was where our ideas naturally went.
Any hacks or tips for making a short film during lockdown?
So yeah, tips for making films during lockdown would be to basically just start with working out what you have at hand and get creative with ways to tell a story with that! It's actually quite surprising how much you can do within those limits.
What's your favourite part of the filmmaking process?
As much as I love being out shooting scenes, for me it's seeing sequences really come together in the edit. I've been lucky to work with some brilliant editors, who not only bring the story together but see new ways of telling it and breathe a whole new life into the film. It's a really collaborative process and I just love seeing it all come together.
You work very collaboratively! As the director, how firm are you with your vision vs how open are you to changing your vision?
I do tend to start with quite a strong vision for a film but I am very open to allowing that to develop into a new shape or form once I start working with a team. I think it's so important to listen to ideas from your producer or DOP or editor or any of the team really. I always want to work with people who come with their own ideas and interpretations of a project. I won't always necessarily agree 100%, but that's what's so great about working collaboratively - it forces you to think about other avenues or ways of telling the story that come from someone else's experience or viewpoint, and even if you aren't persuaded by them completely, maybe they'll help to elevate the idea into something better. I think if you don't then you're in real danger of making the same kind of work over and over, and not exploring different ways to show something.
Do you think your background in documentary filmmaking makes your process more collaborative even when working in another form?
Definitely. Working in documentary means you really have to be open to your story or vision changing throughout the process. Sometimes you start filming and the story just goes in a totally different direction that turns out to be a better or more honest film. And in those cases it's really detrimental to the film to stubbornly stick to the original plan. So yeah, that's certainly affected the way I work in other forms because it means I'm always ready for something unexpected to happen and always open to the possibility that that something might be a positive thing to incorporate into the film, and ready to quickly adapt plans around that.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences.
This was an unusual festival circuit for us because it's the first time having a film screen predominantly in virtual festivals. We had one physical screening in the Cornwall Film Festival, but other than that it was all online. We looked at previous programming of the festivals we wanted to enter to see what kind of films they like to screen and whether ours would fit their interests, and that worked quite well for us. Obviously the film is very strong on the lockdown/quarantine theme, so we knew we had a window where that was relevant so we really tried to make the most of that!
Stitch won the Directors Choice Short award at the Cornwall Film Festival which was amazing, and it was shortlisted for a Shiny award. We were also really happy to be screened at BIFA-Qualifying The Shortest Nights film festival. Considering the film was made on a non-existent budget just using what we had at the time in the middle of a pandemic, that felt like such an achievement.
ANY FILM RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE CAN WATCH TO KEEP US BUSY WHILE SOCIAL DISTANCING:
If you haven't already seen it, I can't recommend The Mole Agent enough. It's a really lovely, warm and well-made feature documentary and free to watch on BBC Storyville at the moment. It's also nominated for an Academy Award, so if my word isn't enough maybe that can persuade you!