Enmeshed

1. What was one of the most challenging moments you faced while making this film? Did this ’setback’ change the direction of the final story?

One of the biggest challenges we faced while shooting Enmeshed was when we were shooting the scene at the petrol station, an unforeseen thunderstorm stopped us from shooting, forcing us to bunker down inside the petrol station to keep everyone safe. It nearly resulted in us cancelling, fortunately, the storm stopped and left the area, leaving us with 3 hours to complete the shoot.

This ultimately created a far moodier and tenser scene in the film. The thunderstorm was gone, but you could still hear it in the distance, so it remained present throughout the entire scene. 

2. What was the biggest inspiration behind your short film?

Enmeshed is based on the first time I had to commit my mother to psychiatric care, it was a particularly important story that I felt I had to share with other young carers who may be suffering from similar circumstances. A major fictional source of inspiration was actually the feature film Leave No Trace, which deals with very similar themes.

3. Let’s say you had to make this film all over again. Knowing what you know now, is there one thing you’d do differently? And if there’s nothing you’d change, what have you learnt since finishing the film that you didn’t know on day one?

I believe that overall I am very happy with the film and that all has gone very well, but if I had to make this film all over again, I would probably have changed the structure of the first third of the film to be faster-paced, to keep up the tempo of the opening and make the slower pace of the ending more impactful.

4. At its core, can you tell us what Enmeshed is about, and what do you hope audiences will discover when they come to see the film?

At its core Enmeshed is about what it means to be a young carer for someone that you love and the impossible decisions many must make in order to keep their loved ones safe.