10 Days to Go... The Ashes Charity

Hey Guys,

   Pre-production is such a mad, busy time. It always stresses me when I'm in the middle of it, but I miss it when it's over. Yesterday, myself and the design team decorated the Ashes set (head on over to the Facebook page for a sneak preview) and today I have schedule meetings with the wonderful Chris Newman. This is on top of all the emails I've been doing to finalise all our kit rentals, get insurance, plan travel expenses etc.

   The last thing anyone wants during pre-production is more things to think/worry about, but let me tell you now, there is one thing you have to think about which won't immediately spring to mind: what will happen with your film after you've shot it?

   Yes, you may be working yourself to the brim making sure your film happens at all, but you still need to think about the future. First off, make sure you'll have enough publicity material captured during your shoot (such as good cast/crew interviews and photographs of everyone at work), otherwise it'll bite you in the arse when you come to do your EPK. But you also need to think about where your film will premiere, and how your work now will affect that.

Meeting Wan 2 Talk. Photo: Rei Bennett

   I've talked at length about how I wanted a charity to back Ashes' production, mostly because of the subject nature of the film, and my desire to be faithful and true to it. After my first charity showed me more silence than support, I was introduced to the much more active Wan 2 Talk, and they've already given me some pointers for the film's edit (a cut of Ashes will also be shown to them before it is locked to check that it's gone in the right direction for them).

   But our collaberation is also useful in terms of the post-production of the film. I'm hoping to work together with Wan 2 Talk to create a premiere which not only showcases the film fully, but also provides publicity and a profile for the great work that they do. This will be done by pulling together our contacts, earning both members of Wan 2 Talk (Dominique Ciupek and Carol Maggs) Associate Producer credits. Hopefully it will also raise some donations for them too, something which me and my little film has failed to do so far. But this is always to be expected with shorts.

www.wan2talk.co.uk - a 'Voice for Victims'

   The Wan 2 Talk website has recently gone live, so you can head on over to the link above for more information about them. Since I started work on Ashes, I've had more and more people coming to me and telling me that they can relate to the script, or that they've been through something similar. The hardest part has been when some of these people are those who I have known and cared about for a long time, but who have only told me this recently.  Wan 2 Talk have such stories sent to them every day, and they face them with a kind heart and a practical mind, so that they can help tell these people what to do next. So it's definitely, definitelty work which is worth supporting.

Carol's Book

    As well as launching the website, the inspirational Carol - who has been through such terrible experiences but turned them round into a way to help others - has also released a book. It not only details what happened to her, but also how such attacks can affect people, as well as offering general advice and opinions on rape and sexual abuse in the world. It may not be the most comfortable read, but it should be an inspirational one, so I encourage people to go out and buy her book.


   Although Carol and Dominique are both unavailable to comment at this time, I can assure you that their support has been constant and well-recieved. At one point, Carol tweeted that she was proud to know me. And I just thought, wow, that's crazy - surely that's the kind of thing I should be saying to her?


    Right, that should be everything you need to know about the film's charity connections. I've told you about it's heart, and tomorrow I will continue to tell you about it's production, with a profile about the behind-the-scenes of Ashes, headed by Documentarian Lara Elliot.




Sophie x