What would you say?: Behind the scenes of our short film
This is a blog by our Communications and Campaigns Manager, Keeva Baxter.
Happy Restorative Justice Week 2024! This RJ Week, Why me? released our brand new short film, ‘What would you say?’
Creating this film was a unique experience, where the Why me? team went along on a journey, aiming to authentically capture the journey of a victim of crime.
In this blog, we take you behind the scenes of the creation of the film and share what inspired the storyline. If you’re interested in storytelling about Restorative Justice, how to make a short film or what Why me? have been up to – read on!
Why me?’s Keeva and Isabelle with our film crew
The vision
After finding out that we had been accepted onto the Media Trust and Criminal Justice Alliance’s filmmaking programme, we got to work thinking about the messaging we wanted to get across in the short film.
It can be difficult to communicate what Restorative Justice is, so we wanted to show the process, and capture why people might want to take part, in a visual way. We discussed multiple different video styles but settled on the imagery of tape over the mouth to represent how victims of crime are silenced both by the crime itself and also by the justice system. The film ends with the reveal that the person who committed the crime also has tape over their mouth, showing that harmers also feel silenced and rarely get an opportunity to explain their actions.
Our film crew met with our lived experience Ambassadors to hear firsthand how powerful Restorative Justice can be. The Ambassadors shared their stories with the crew and fed in their ideas about what they’d like to see in the film. Our talented team of filmmakers at Loudmouth Creative then wrote a script which was the foundation of the final film.
The filmmaking
Keeva and Isabelle, Why me?’s communications team, attended the two filming days and were amazed by the professionalism and creativity of the crew. We were also joined by our Ambassador Will who came as an advisor to the actors and crew and ended up appearing as an extra in the film.
Will says, “Restorative Justice changed my life because it allowed me to reclaim my story. For years, my attacker had all the power – he controlled my narrative through the fear and trauma I carried. But in that room, with him acknowledging his wrongdoing and the damage he caused, I was able to take back control. I could move forward, no longer defined by the worst thing that had happened to me, but by my strength and resilience.
I share my story not because it’s unique, but because there are countless others who suffer in silence, trapped by the trauma of their experiences. I hope this film will reach these people and offer them a path forward.”
We started in a church hall in New Cross where we filmed the restorative circle itself.
The next part of the filming day took place in Why me?’s old offices in Borough.
The second day of filming took place on Wimbledon Common, where we recorded the scenes with the main character’s family. We wanted to show the protagonist in a variety of settings to show how trauma can affect all aspects of someone’s life.
Please watch the film below and share it far and wide – we hope to reach as many people as we can to spread the word about Restorative Justice. Whether you have an upcoming event you could show it at, want to send it to colleagues or friends or link to it on your website, please do! Please credit Why me? if you do and we’d love you to hear what you think of the film and how you’re using it.
