Strain (2017)

A single mother is struggling to provide for her children, but when her son starts to corrupt his younger sister with ideas of stealing, she finds herself torn between protecting her family and doing the right thing.

Nine scripts were selected as finalists to eventually be produced graduation films as part of my undergraduate program in London. Many table reads later, I found myself quite interested in a script titled Stolen Tears by Egon Ustino. There was talk of it becoming a social realist film with a gloomy tone focusing on the family’s struggles and desperation.

I personally didn’t think it would suit the story, so I pitched to direct the film and highlighted the changes that would take place to make it a social/family drama. I was eventually chosen among five other candidates eying the role. After collaborating with the writer, the project was renamed.

During production, I applied everything I had learned from previous projects and further explored the craft of directing as I realized how best to channel everybody else’s input. When completed, I was glad to see it was well received but the most meaningful comment came from the script’s original writer who thought I had done a great job of it. That made me very happy.

The film went on to screen at some festivals and was nominated for a few awards.

Co-Written by Egon Ustino

Co-Produced by Ellen Lake

Cinematography by Thomas Cartwright