~'The Body With No Face' short film for M.E Awareness ~

I am the writer of BBC New Creatives short film 'The Body With No Face.' The film is inspired by my lived experience of very severe M.E.

If you have watched my film please consider 'buying a ticket' by making a donation to the ME Association on this fundraiser page. All donations go directly to the charity.

TO DONATE - Click the 'Give Now' button on this page and enter your donation amount. Thank you!

During ME Week 2023, Boundless Film Festival hosted a special online screening from 7-13 May, to help raise awareness of M.E, and to support my fundraiser for the M.E Association.

The online screening was free watch worldwide, and I asked people who watched to 'buy a ticket' to support ME awareness, research and advocacy, by making a donation to the charity,

The specific event for ME awareness week has now finished, BUT The Body With No Face is screening at many more film festivals and events across the UK and worldwide this year, and I am keeping my fundraising page open - if you watch the film please consider 'buying a ticket' by making a donation on this page!

>> CLICK HERE FOR ALL FILM FESTIVALS & SCREENINGS <<

Huge thanks to ALL who have watched, shared and commented on the film, and to everyone who has donated so far!

April xxx

~ About my M.E & writing the film ~

I’ve had Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E) since 1999, which developed after an unidentified virus. By 2006 I had become very severely affected, unable to move, tolerate any light or noise, speak, even think, and moved into adult residential care. Over many years, in my bed in a darkened room and the depths of my imagination, the acorn of an idea for this short film was planted. When I could finally tolerate light again and was able to put pen to paper, somehow the script emerged with me and was written from my bed a few words a day.

There is no treatment for ME and it is still a very misunderstood and unseen illness. I have made slow and gradual improvement over many years with the support of carers, but am still largely bedbound.

Nothing could really describe the internal experience of the decline of my illness, and the fragility of recovery, or the gratitude I feel for the carers who have supported me, or the fear of having that much needed care taken away, all while having such an incapacitating illness and living with the looming threat of loss, to external forces and to ME itself.

But this film is my attempt to describe how living with severe ME feels, in a fictional and visual way, to raise awareness of how debilitating very severe ME is, the extent of its affects and how it feels to be dependent on the help of others.

While it is inspired by my own journey, and the loss of my former life to M.E, I also wanted to make visible this one hidden story on behalf of all those who also exist ‘in the dark,’ with invisible lives.

The film has been described as “powerful”, “moving” “poignant” and “both scary and sparkling.” It is not easy viewing, but hopefully meaningful viewing, for my fellow ME sufferers.

Thank you for watching and for supporting our film and this charity.

Please share with your family, friends, co-workers!

April xxx

~ About the film & background ~

The Body With No Face is an experimental thriller, exploring illness, loss, agency and adult care. While a fictional drama and more abstract than realism, it is an artistic expression of my direct experience.

The lead creative team (director Owen Tooth, producer and lead actor Emmeline Hartley) have lived experience of chronic illness and disability.

This film has been on a long, challenging and miraculous uphill journey, from the many years I spent in the dark forming the idea in my foggy brain, to beginning discussions with Emmeline in 2019, to submission and commission of the script to make a film, development, filming and finally the releae in 2023.

Emmeline and I submitted my script to the BBC New Creatives Scheme (backed by BBC Arts and Arts Council England, facilitated by Rural Media) and were beyond thrilled to land the commission. I am endlessly grateful to Emmeline and Rural Media who set the ball rolling and made the whole journey possible.

Before and during the development stages Emmeline and I had lots of discussion around the issues and themes reflected in the film, and it is due to her understanding and great compassion to my life with M.E. that I was able to participate in the process.

Without Emmeline and our masterfully creative director Owen, and the dedicated team and cast, this story would never have been brought so vibrantly alive on screen, or the film ever made. My huge thanks goes to them both for bringing all of their talent, creative fire, determination and dedication. The film was also shot during the pandemic, with all the challenges and delays that entails.

Aa well as producing, Emmeline delivers a powerful and heart wrenching performance as lead actor, in an incredibly challenging, dialogue-free role. Her portrayal and Owen's insight and creativity brought the script to life in more visceral and immense ways than I could have imagined.

~ Film festivals and screenings ~

Due to the pandemic and late completion, our film was not released for broadcast alongside its New Creatives cohort, and there were times I wondered if it would ever reach audiences.

But this year The Body With No Face has been selected and shortlisted for several film festivals across the UK and worldwide. It has been nominated and won awards and screened as part of ME film events.

The film premiered online worldwide at Boundless Film Festival 2023, where it won the Audience Award. It screened in Washington DC and worldwide virtually as part of Chronic Market's ME film event benefitting Open Medicine Foundation and ME Action, alongside 'Unrest' and 'Life In The Shadowlands.'

To date, TBWNF has been selected for 6 film festivals, Boundless Film Festival, Northampton Film Festival, EuropeNow Film Festival, The Extraordinary Film Festival, Ramsgate International Film Festival and been nominated for Best Music at the Midlands Movie Awards.

~ Statement from Producer & Lead Actor Emmeline Hartley ~

When April and I began speaking in 2019 there was an immediate connection and I was in awe of her knowledge, imagination and passion about such topical and important issues. She articulated all her thoughts, ideas and arguments in such a way that intrigued me greatly, so it was no surprise when she said she’d always wanted to write before the severity of her ME took away her ability to move and communicate.

I was beginning to face the faceless bureaucracy of the healthcare institution while dealing with my own declining neurological, mental and physical health, and April’s experiences really shone a light on everything in a way that empowered me to push on forward. I was thrilled when she said she’d begun writing a short screenplay, but nothing prepared me for that first draft to be so poignant, haunting and powerful, and I knew it was a perfect fit for the BBC New Creatives commission.

This was a challenging film to make, especially in the height of the pandemic, but that made it even more resonant and I couldn’t let it go. I feel so honoured and privileged that April trusted me with such a personal project, and grateful to her for sharing her story and being such a strength and inspiration. I want to say a massive thank you to Owen who took this bull by the horns and steered it all the way to completion- what an absolute gift it’s been to work with him. And also a huge thank you to Rural Media without whom none of it would’ve been possible, and to our amazing cast & crew.

~ Reviews ~

~ About The ME Association ~

The ME Association is an established UK charity providing information, advice and support to adults and children who have ME/CFS, and their families and carers. The charity campaigns for the recognition of ME as a severe neurological illness and funds biomedical research.