Diary of a bereaved mother: Peeka-boo

I am supporting this film project, though my baby Andrew was 55 days old, he might as well be still born because he was given the death sentence when he was born. The healthy baby I longed for died when I was told," Your baby is going to die tonight" the day when he was born.

Good luck to your project

Peekaboo is a short film soon to be into production. It is looking at stillbirth and miscarriage and the effect the grief has on the parents. It is starring Lesley Sharp and Shaun Dooley.

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Basic Information
Release Date TBC
Genre Drama
Studio Big Buddha Films
About Peekaboo is a short film soon to be into production. It is looking at stillbirth and miscarriage and the effect the grief has on the parents. It is starring Lesley Sharp and Shaun Dooley.
Description You can see the video pitch for Peekaboo on the Indiegogo website at:
http://www.indiegogo.com/Peeka-boo

Please support us if you can.
Plot Outline Stillbirth and miscarriage is a taboo subject within our society.

I am making a new film to highlight this tragedy and the silence that often surrounds babies that are ‘born asleep’. This is an incredibly difficult time for parents, and there is little support and understanding to help them.

The new film, Peekaboo, is a high profile, short narrative film that looks at the issue of stillbirth and miscarriage and the psychological trauma that surrounds them.
Starring Lesley Sharp, Shaun Dooley
Directed By Debbie Howard
Screenplay By Debbie Howard
Produced By Debbie Howard and Sandra Chapman
Website http://www.bigbuddhafilms.co.uk/
http://www.indiegogo.com/Peeka-boo



Our Story
Hello, this is Debbie Howard, writer/director from Big Buddha Films, in Sheffield, in the UK. I'm trying to raise money for our new short film Peekaboo. It's a really strong script and has attracted two of the UK's top actors in the lead roles. We have BAFTA nominated Lesley Sharp playing Emily, and Shaun Dooley playing Andy.

Our subject matter is quite a taboo. However, I feel it's really important to get this film made. It's looking at the struggle parents have to come to terms with their loss when they have lost their baby due to stillbirth and/or miscarriage.

The script is dark and surreal. The mother can't move on from the loss of her three lost babies and due to the trauma she becomes delusional and imagines her babies have come back, as a way of coping with her grief. Her husband is left trying to skillfully deal with the consequences of her seemingly irrational behavior and gently guide her back to reality. But will she really ever be able to let go?

We are hoping to shoot Peekaboo in March 2011 here in Sheffield.

Our Exec Producer is Alex Usborne of Picture Palace North, who has made such wonderful films as Irvine Welsh's Acid House, Fucking Sheffield and Tales from a Hard City. We also have very generous sponsors Alice Jolly and Stephen Kinsella.

"Debbie Howard is an original and tenacious filmmaker. I have followed the development of Peekaboo and am hugely supportive of this project and feel strongly that this will be the film that takes Debbie to the next level.”
Alex Usborne, Film Producer, Picture Palace North.
The Impact
I feel it's a really important story to tell, as there is a lot of silence around stillbirth and miscarriage in our society and parents often feel isolated and silenced on top of their grief.

Below are some quotes from A Silent Love by Adrienne Ryan:

"Some people said, “Never mind, you’ll have other children.” The point was that we wanted this child. Others decided to deal with it as if nothing had happened."

"Can you not see the pain that you cause when you dismiss my loss as trivial? Do you not realize that although they are merely words, it still cuts like a knife when you tell me everything is fine because it wasn’t really a baby I lost?
It was a baby, and I am the child’s mother. Just because you do not acknowledge it does not make it any less real to me."

Quotes from parents of stillborn babies.

What We Need & What You Get
Updates from since our video pitch was put together: So far I've managed to raise £5,500 approx through my own fundraising events and sponsorship from people I've contacted directly. I have used some of this money for pre production costs including three amazing reborn babies made for the film by reborn artist Elaine Colbert. The rest of the money we are saving towards our shoot.

We are now looking for an additional £4,000 for our shoot. This money will be used for the following:

Cast' wages, crew's expenses, equipment hire (camera's, lenses, lighting, sound recording), insurance, locations, catering, costume. All of the above will be helped along by discounts and favours from our kind contacts, so we'll get the most out of our money that we can. Everything raised will be spent on the production, we will look at fundraising later for post production.

Everyone that donates will get something from us in return, see our VIP perks. And your help will be massively appreciated. Anyone that has suffered a loss from still birth or miscarriage may prefer to have a dedication made to their baby, rather than their own name in the credits.
Other Ways You Can Help
Please help us by spreading the word about our campaign. You can download a Peekaboo press pack which tells you all about our film from the Gallery page, see files at the bottom of the page, or it's on our Peekaboo page on our website at:
http://www.bigbuddhafilms.com/films/fiction/pee...
Please send this out to anyone you think might be interested.

Visit us on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/bigbuddhafilms?ref=t...;
and leave us positive feedback to help us generate interest and support.

Every donation will be massively appreciated - please help us if you can. Please help save the arts by supporting projects independently.

Thanks to Sara Jay for use of her song It's All OK, in our video pitch.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALTHOUGH THE PAYMENTS SHOW UP IN DOLLARS, YOU CAN PAY BY PAL PAL OR CREDIT CARD IN ANY CURRENCY AND IT WILL CONVERT IT INTO POUNDS FOR US. THANKS.

Thanks to all those that have donated so far! Your donations are really appreciated, thank you.