Behind the Film: G.S.W. - Worcester Film Festival

G.S.W. is a dramatisation of every parent’s nightmare – your child is in danger and you can’t help them. In this case, Beth is a paramedic dealing with a victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, or G.S.W. in medical terminology, when news comes over the radio that a shooting has occurred at her son’s school, and the perpetrator matches the description of the man on her stretcher. It’s my second short film, and I’ve been a writer throughout my career, so this was a way of scratching the directing itch.

Inspiration:

The inspiration came from my own experience of my boy starting school, and all my worries and anxieties coming to the surface. My mind went to the worst-case scenario and sort of stuck there. The second strand was inspired by my mum’s experience as an A&E nurse; she told us stories of high-pressure situations and the families of those she was treating. In the days before mobile phones, if someone had been in an accident, like a motorway pile-up, relatives would be frantically trying to find out information. I pieced them together, and the bones of the story appeared.

My background in advertising made me think of a sort of brief to answer. What if it were all in one location? Naturally, that leads to an ambulance. What is the most dramatic event that you can put a paramedic into? Something with a family member. And the rest sort of fell into place from there. It took a couple of attempts with the script to make sure all the beats landed where they were supposed to land, but I’m super happy with how it turned out.

The Process:

The film takes place in an ambulance. Having one contained location meant we could do it all in one day, which was tight, but we managed it. But it also means you have nowhere to hide – if the lighting is too dark, if you get an elbow in shot, then that’s it, you’re stuck with it. But Ruairi, our DOP, did a magnificent job. For the location, Neasden Studios kindly let us use their car park for filming, which was handy for having the infrastructure to make something like this. Luckily, the actors were nailing the performances, and it’s all down to them that we got as much done as we did. And they did it with minimal time to get all the terminology and shorthand to play paramedics in their familiar environment. They only a read-through the day before with Keverne, the Medical Adviser. It could’ve easily been a battle against the clock or takes that didn’t quite work, but it wasn’t like that at all, and that’s down to them. They were simply incredible.

But for me, the enjoyment came in the editing room, when I realised that it was all coming together. We had every shot we needed, and I took a huge sigh of relief when we had the first edit.

What It Means to Be a Finalist:

Being nominated for Best British Film is such a surprise, but a welcome one. Worcester was the first festival we entered, and you never know how well it’s going to be received. So it’s a real privilege, especially being in such a prestigious festival with so many talented and unique filmmakers. I’m hoping it has nothing to do with the fact I used to make Vodafone adverts with the Guest Judge, not that he’d remember me anyway!