Baby? - Short Film

Baby? is a heartfelt and funny drama about two mothers connecting. We were inspired to write this story after our first daughter was born. Some things we wanted to talk about were: postnatal depression, the need for community and a story that celebrates older women. We also wanted a project in which mothers of young children could take key creative roles.

Synopsis - Isabelle is determined not to spend her 65th birthday alone. When her daughter doesn't turn up for dinner, Isabelle invites herself into the home of her new neighbour, Leisha. Once inside and eating cake, Isabelle soon discovers that this young woman has recently lost her baby to cot death. When Isabelle's prying triggers a nervous breakdown in Leisha, she helps her in a way nobody else can.

Baby? is a short film we shot in February and recently finished the first stage of editing. We are here to raise $2000 to help pay for the remaining stages of postproduction. The film is currently being sound mixed and colour graded with Claire Cowan composing original music. These finishing touches are so important for crafting moments that bring you into the world of these women and allow their story to speak to your heart.

A huge amount of aroha has been poured into getting the film this far. The New Zealand Film Commission gave us a $10,000 grant and everyone who worked on the film did so for free or at a tiny fraction of their normal rate. Equipment or services have been sponsored by Monster Valley, Panavision, Robber's Dog, Images and Sound and Envy Studios. Don McGlashan is even letting us use one of his songs.

We hope Baby? will draw our audience in with warmth and humour. We want to encourage people to talk about mental health and basically make them want call their mums. It would mean the world to us if you supported this project. With your help we think Baby? could be something special. Any donation size is immensely helpful.

Director - Mark Prebble
Writters - Marion & Mark Prebble
Producer - Ruby Reihana Wilson
Executive Producer - Karl Sheridan (Monster Valley)
Director of Photography - Tammy Williams
Editor - Kerri Roggio
Production Designer - Jane Bucknell
Cast - Julie Collis, Marion Prebble, Nisha Madhan

Mark Prebble is the Festival Coordinator at Show Me Shorts Film Festival. He has written and directed film and theatre projects in UK, Australia and around New Zealand. His play The Pantry Shelf, co-written with wife Marion, was an award winner in Edinburgh and Auckland and listed as one of The Herald's 2012 theatre highlights.

Marion Prebble has worked as a theatre Producer at Massive Company and as Producer in Residence at Basement Theatre. Her most recent screen role was short film Mine which screened at NZIFF and she has performed in numerous comedy shows with dance comedy troupe Dynamotion.

Ruby Reihana-Wilson is a trained lighting technician for theatre, but now spends most of her time producing and production managing at Monster Valley with Karl Sheridan. She spends a lot of her personal time producing films, most recently Moving, directed by Eli Kent and Leon Wadham which screened at the NZIFF, Show Me Shorts and the Melbourne New Zealand Film Festival. In 2013 she produced Talk: A Portmanteau with Christopher Stratton which won Best Visual Arts at the 2013 Auckland Fringe Festival. Alongside post-production for Baby?, she is also in production for a Loading Docs short documentary Asian Men Talk About Sex with fellow theatre makers Chye-Ling Huang and James Roque of Proudly Asian Theatre.

PS: To donate you need to register with Boosted, but this is so they can issue a receipt for your donation. All donations via Boosted are 33% tax deductable. Any extra money raised beyond the target will be spent on film festival entry fees to help get the film seen as widely as possible and represent New Zealand filmmaking New Zealandly.