The Witness – Children’s Drama

One of five short films, in the series 5 Short Films About Relationships. 

Commissioned by domestic violence charity Jewish Women’s Aid, these 5 short dramas explore aspects of bullying, abuse, and domestic violence. The films are used in schools and educational contexts, targetting communities that find the Department for Education material on the topic too sexualised. In this video you can see the portrayal of a religious Jewish mother and her daughter.

I wrote the scripts before workshopping them with children to contemporise the language and understand how young people responded to the concepts. That was particularly important in this case, both because of the religious portrayal, and the sensitive, implied narrative. I cast children and young people with little or no acting experience to ensure a natural style.

The five films were shot over three days in North and East London, working with several long term collaborators, including Emmy Award winning director of photography, Franklin Dow.