Film-maker Laura O’Shea focuses on a social worker’s first day on the job and a key challenge to her future in the dramatic short WEDNESDAY’S CHILD.
Film And TV Now spoke with the film-maker about the short:
FILM AND TV NOW:What fascinates you about the world of social care?
LAURA O’SHEA: Social care workers provide a vital service to communities. It’s a profession that’s ever-changing and differs day to to day, person to person.Â
FTVN: The short is quite timely, given the cost-of living crisis in the UK. Do you feel that the film will have more impact because of that?
LOS: Possibly. It’s certain that many families who wouldn’t usually find themselves in financial strain will struggle with the price hikes over the next few months. While the film represents a family from a particular socio-economic background, the idea of worrying about the electricity bill is universal at the moment.Â
FTVN: Tell us about your cast.
LOS: The lead social workers ‘Marie’ and ‘Annie’ are played by Caroline Harvey and Charleigh Bailey, who also co-produced the short.
They are wonderful actors who have such an ease in front of the camera. Charleigh won an IFTA award a few years ago for her performance in ‘A Date for Mad Mary’ and Caroline was a series regular on the popular Irish soap ‘Fair City’ – both ladies are seasoned at what they do.
The roles of ‘Dympna’ and her daughter ‘Geraldine’ were played by Fionna Hewitt-Twamley and Lauren Kinsella. Fionna came on board quite late in the project, and even though she had less time than others to preorder for her role, I think she really shines. Lauren is a very exciting young talent who we were lucky to have on board. We auditioned a handful of girls for the role and after just one take, we knew that Lauren was perfect for the part.Â
FTVN: Tell us about your production team.
LOS: As I’ve mentioned earlier, the short was co-produced by Caroline and Charleigh. We had a wonderful DOP, Evan Barry. The short was edited by Philip Shanahan, who I’ve worked with on every short I’ve made. Alba Fernandez was our colourist.Â
FTVN: Where did you shoot and for how long?
LOS: We shot on location in Dublin over two days. We got lucky that some friends of Charleigh had just bought a new home, and were in the process of tearing it apart. The girls saw the inside of the house when they were scouting for places to shoot some exteriors, and begged their friends to let us use their home before they began decorating. They kindly obliged us.Â
FTVN: How challenging was it to shoot the film with the child?
LOS: Not as challenging as it looks. The baby we used to play ‘Christine’ was actually Caroline’s son, Tommy. He was comfortable on set because he had Caroline nearby. Her partner Ryan was on standby for the two days as our designated baby handler. Because Tommy had both parents nearby at all times, he was pretty happy.
It seems like he’s in the room for the entire short, but in reality we only got a handful of takes with him actually on camera. Clever editing and sound design on Phil’s part here makes it feel like the baby is in the room the entire time.Â
FTVN: Tell us more about the source material the short is based on and how challenging was it to condense this into a short film script?
LOS: The short film is based on a book of the same name, written by Shane Dunphy. The book is a collection of case studies from Shane’s time as a social care worker. The screenplay for the short film was written by Caroline Harvey, who co-produced and starred in the film along with Charleigh Bailey.Â
FTVN: We have had some sobering examples of the negativity from social care like the death of Baby P in recent years. Did you do much research before shooting?
LOS: All the source material I needed before shooting was the script. As the Director, having the script in the best place possible prior to shooting was my main focus. After that, I just had to prepare as best I could with the DOP in advance of shooting and be there as best I could for the actors while on set. Having a sense of grounded realism throughout the short was my biggest goal. It had to feel real.Â
FTVN: You were chosen for the prestigious Puttnam Scholarship’. Tell us more about your experience with this and how influential was Lord Puttnam to you, given his pedigree as a producer of films like CHARIOTS OF FIRE and THE KILLING FIELDS, both Oscar-winning works?
LOS: Being chosen for a Puttnam Scholarship was an absolutely wonderful experience. I got to workshop feature film development over a series of online seminars, spread over a number of weeks. Lord Puttnam hosted the webinars himself and brought us all right from script to screen. Hearing stories and words of advice from someone of his standing is truly an honour.Â
FTVN: Are there plans to show this short to social worker organisations and children’s charities as a point of reference?
LOS: This hasn’t been discussed so far as we are mainly focused on giving the film the best Festival run we can for the moment. It’s certainly something we can look at further down the line.Â
FTVN: Do you feel that the Government would also benefit from a screening or two to highlight the issues explored?
LOS: I’d like to think that the film will have an impact on anyone who watches it.Â
FTVN: Who and what are your key cinematic influences?
LOS: The film has been compared visually a lot to ‘Fish Tank’ by Andrea Arnold, which I am more than okay with. I remember while in the process of colour grading, I kept referring back to ‘Trainspotting’ as our point of reference for the gritty feel we were going for.Â
FTVN: Would you like to expand on the issues and themes explored in this short into a feature project?
LOS: Absolutely, that’s a discussion I’d be open to having. Now that I have a number of short films under my belt, the next focus for me in my career is directing my first feature film.Â
FTVN: What issues and themes are you keen to explore in future work?
LOS: Human connection and human relation is always a through line in all the work I create, regardless of the subject matter. I’m mostly interested in telling stories that make people feel seen, even if they can’t relate directly. We go to the cinema to lose ourselves, sure, but also find a part of ourselves in what we see on screen.Â
FTVN: How has the festival circuit helped your film?
LOS: Getting your film out on the festival circuit is the best way for it to be seen by peers and people you may want to work with down the line. Having the short premiere at the 34th Galway Film Fleadh was a huge boost for us right off the bat, as Galway is one of two Oscar-qualifying film festivals in the Republic of Ireland. We have been very fortunate.
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