SOOT DARLINGS
A short art house film about a wife, trapped in a deteriorating marriage, who grows wings and flies away.
Originally written for the stage, the film is an adaption of a lyrical monologue revealing an intimate portrait of a woman who manages to find herself again.
This film is completed and is now being submitted to international film festivals.
CREATIVE TEAM
Director—Olympia Christofinis
Olympia is an emerging Syrian-Cypriot director. A storyteller at heart, she started in journalism before migrating to film and TV. Since graduating from the National Film & Television School in 2020, she was nominated for an Edinburgh TV Festival New Voice Award (2022), won a Royal Television Society National Student Award (2021), awarded a bursary to the National Theatre Playwriting Course (2020), longlisted for the Funny Women Comedy Writing Awards (2021), and shortlisted for Girls in Film x BFI Network mentorship (2021). She wants to change the narrative surrounding MENA+ identity in western media and tell emotionally-driven stories that reflect the multiplicity of identity. She's currently mentored by leading film and TV director Ella Jones.
Writer—
Alina Rios
Alina is a Russian-born international writer, theatremaker, and founder of Bracken literary magazine. Her short film pressed/bluebells premiered in Cannes in 2022. She’s a Dramatist Guild Foundation National Fellowship Finalist (2023-2024) and a quarterfinalist in the ScreenCraft Stage Play Competition 2023. She’s been mentored by Kevin Dyer (winner of Best Play, Writers’ Guild of Great Britain). In 2023, after training with Frantic Assembly in London, she started her own physical theatre company Verbooom. In 2024, she wrote for Dragonslayer, an immersive experience produced by AnA Collaborations. alinarios.com
DOP—
Barbara van Schaik
Barbara is a Dutch cinematographer, based in London and with an unusual background that began with acting in theatre.
She then continued on to study cinematography first at the Met Film School and afterwards at the prestigious National Film and Television School, both based in the UK.
Barbara has been working in the UK film industry for over 10 years. She shot many a short film (several of which have won many awards), and a wide range of music promos and commercial content.
Producer—
Emilie Dubois
Emilie is a creative producer with a background in filmmaking, photography and interactive media production. While pursuing a BA in Contemporary Media Practice from the University of Westminster, Emilie built up experience in the camera and production departments working on multiple award-winning short films, documentaries and web series.
She then went on to work as a freelance photographer and videographer specialising in events and promotional content creation and later on completed a PGDip in Creative Producing for Digital Platforms at the National Film and Television School. In 2021, she produced a short animation commissioned by Comic Relief and GSK for a malaria awareness campaign dubbed in English and 5 local Ghanaian dialects.
Kate - Rachael James
Rachael is a Scottish-born actress who moved to London for Drama School (The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama) and has been working and living there ever since. She can been seen across a wide verity of short films, adverts, and music videos. Most recently, her short Meet Me There was screened at NFT1 at the BFI - Flare Festival.
WHY ARE WE MAKING THIS FILM?
We feel this is an important story to share right now as it sheds light on loneliness within relationships and its impact on mental health.
From Alina Rios
From Olympia Christofinis
When Bluestocking Theatre first sent me Soot Darlings to read, I was completely blown away. I read, re-read, and re-read the monologue with excitement. It's such a masterfully lyrical and evocative piece, revealing the stark impact of loneliness within relationships; something that isn't often discussed. When I first met Alina and we spoke about the project, ideas immediately came pouring out and it was clear that we were on the same creative wave-length. I was so impressed by her vision and by her willingness to collaborate that I knew this project was going to be incredible. We added elements of magical realism, heightening the psychological aspect of the blurring of fantasy and reality to add another dimension to the story. Much to my delight, and surprise, Alina was on-board with some of the wild ideas I had for the film—like our protagonist vomiting feathers and her mirrored reflection disappearing. At its core, this story is about a woman who, after years of being disconnected from her own wants and needs, finally listens to and reconnects with herself. The visual metaphors within the film are ripe and every element that will be shown on-screen carries symbolic meaning. I feel so privileged to work on such a beautiful story and to collaborate with such talented individuals to bring Soot Darlings to life.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Enjoy some shots from our filming!
DONATIONS
If you feel inspired, we would love some help with festival submission fees, as they do add up.
