Tommy – A short film for Remembrance Day 2016
A short film for Remembrance Day 2016. A man struggles to determine between past and present as the horrors of The Great War and his civilian life intertwine.
Released for Remembrance Day 2016, this short independent film highlights the tragic nature of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) – known then as Shell Shock. Many soldiers suffered severe consequences during World War One as a result of the condition, leading to some of them being charged and executed by their own side.
Directed by: James Sieradzki
Produced by: Joel Maguet
Starring: Sebastian Sacco, Andrew Shire
About:
Tommy is a short independent film created by a close-knit bunch of filmmakers. Written and directed by James Sieradzki, the film attempts to create a first-hand insight into the mind of a soldier suffering from PTSD in World War One.
The aim was to explore what one might be experiencing when becoming a victim of ‘Shell Shock’. An absurd duality of war time life versus civilian life was a key factor in the writing process, using a crossover between both scenarios declares two possibilities, that our hero is having a flashback to the war whilst picking apples, or he is simply missing home whilst in the battlefield, reminiscing on his past and what he’d be doing right now if it wasn’t for the war, this hopefully brings us closer to the confusion undergone with PTSD.
We hope to achieve a unique and personal perspective on the tragic consequences of PTSD during The Great War. The aim is to remind people of the real human sacrifice behind the history books and how we should endeavour to avoid events that lead to such sacrifices in the future. The production process was in some ways as unique as we hope the story to be. From the director and lead actor digging trenches in the weeks leading up to and after the shoot to the entire cast and crew engulfed in pitch black darkness and torrential rain, the shoot was full of successes and riddled with unexpected difficulties. Never the less, everyone pulled through together with a smile on their face, this wasn’t your usual production, it was fuelled by passion and the strong will of everyone involved.
Source: www.makeshiftmotion.co.uk
