A woman loses her husband, and finds a houseplant.

Interview with Writer/Director Johnny Kelly

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I made this film because I needed to see it— I couldn’t shake off the idea.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

One good reason to watch the film is Monica Dolan. She’s amazing, I could watch her in anything. She always brings something interesting and unexpected to each role. This film was a first for her: she has a love affair with a plant.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

On the one hand - as evidenced in the trailer - it is a silly film. On the other hand it’s about loss, grieving and starting again when you’re at your most vulnerable. If you seek affection – from a houseplant or otherwise – I think you will relate to this story.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their deShe’s velopment?

The initial idea remained the same throughout, but in the films first drafts it was a sprawling tale. The plant was driving a car at one point, even wearing clothes (admittedly just draped over it). A blizzard of rewrites later, i’d reigned in the madness and reduced it a simpler narrative and a single location.

Setting it entirely inside one apartment made it simpler to make of course, but it also gave the film the enclosed, claustrophobic mood it needed.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

Someone told me last week It made them feel “happy and sad and weird” which feels like a good endorsement? A few people told me it made them look at their plants a little differently.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

This is my first live action film — i’m an animation director by trade – so I’m still genuinely surprised someone let me make this!

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

Thank you for featuring it! I’m hoping your readers will stop reading this questionnaire immediately and share the trailer with ALL of their friends.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

All of the above, especially film festival directors! I would of course love the film to have as wide an audience as possible, so drop me a line for a screener.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I hope people laugh in the right places.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

I don’t want to give too much away, but after watching some members of the audience may question how much in this film is imagined...

Would you like to add anything else?

The biggest challenge might have been making a fern unfurl. We thought about time-lapse but didn’t have 3 months to film it... Luckily Rose Popham, an incredible puppet maker here in London who had just finished working on Wes Andersons’s new film. She went away and built a mind-bendingly simple mechanism to do just that.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

I’ve written another short which I’m very excited about. Now I need to somehow transfer that excitement to a funding body of some description. It probably fits in the Happy/Sad/Weird genre also.

Interview: January 2018

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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTIAQ+, scifi, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

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FERN

A woman loses her husband, and finds a houseplant.

Length: 5’56”

Writer/Director: Johnny Kelly

Johnny is an Irish director living in London. His work spans live action, stop frame animation, CGI and lots between.

Producer: Greet Kallikorm at Nexus Studios

Greet Kallikorm is a freelance producer with a background in animation and a great green thumb living and working in London.

Key cast: Monica Dolan

Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): Journalists, Film festival directors

Social media handles:

Twitter: @mrjohnnykelly

Funders: Random Acts/Channel 4

Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?

Flickerfest, London Short Film Festival, Dublin Film Festival, Santa Barbara Film Festival

Film's website — http://www.fernthefilm.com

Nexus— https://nexusstudios.com