By: Valerie Milano
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 8/17/2024 – We all have people from childhood who have drifted away from our orbits and with whom we have no longer have contact. Many of those were merely classmates, acquaintances who we crossed paths with merely by the chance of classroom assignments.
But some of them, a precious few, are friends, people with whom we have formed a close bond, whose lives have been taken out of our circle through career paths or wanderlust. Reconnecting can be joyful, and/or be bittersweet.
For Joe (Harry Michell) and Katherine (Maddie Rice), a reunion after a 20-year estrangement turns out to be cathartic. They spend a day together, revisiting their teenage haunts in the seaside town in which they grew up, confronting their past together as they share who they’ve become, and finally conclude the conversation that tore them apart.
This is the storyline for “Shouting at the Sea,” a thoughtful short film from writer/director Benjamin Verrall that had its premiere screening at the HollyShorts film festival last night.
Set in the out-of-season coastal town of Hastings, this English drama unfolds as Katherine and Joe spend the day together revisiting some favorite places from their youth – the rickety funicular lift, the vibrant amusement arcade, and the windswept pier.
They share memories and as they reflect on the paths their lives have taken, they realize their lives have not necessarily turned out the way they thought they might or hoped they would.
Katherine appears outwardly successful yet internally conflicted. Joe has unfulfilled dreams and reflects on his late father’s life and unfulfilled ambitions. All the while, the Sea is ever-present, its waves crashing against the glistening beach as it mirrors a story of memory, belonging, and vulnerability, reminding us of life’s ebb and flow.
Verrall was in town for the premiere and took time to talk about his film with The Hollywood Times. Verrall, who grew up in Hastings, said using the sea as a unifying character came from his own experience growing up in the small village on the English Channel.
Click below to see our exclusive interview:
“If you grow up by the sea, the seaside is where you have those silly moments, those bored moments with friends. The sea is ever-present in your life,” he said in the exclusive interview. “The sound of the sea is always there. So, it seemed fitting that we have these short pieces of duration in between the quite intense conversations that these two friends have.”
Most certainly the Sea, voiced by Daisy Haggard, is an important character in this 20-minute drama, adding context and explaining the emotions the pair are experiencing as they move toward a resolution of the conversation that tore them apart many years ago.
The narrative crescendos as Katherine and Joe share personal revelations and vulnerabilities, culminating in a cathartic moment on the beach where they confront their pasts and contemplate their futures.
“I think it is important for the audience to have a bit of a breather after each snippet of conversation and have a bit of an opportunity to reflect on their own lives,” Verrell said, in explaining his use of the sea to provide that break. “But also, there is something about the difference between what’s important to our lives and what’s important in the world. What seems like a really important, significant relationship or significant conversation to us in our moment, it’s really important, but the sea reminds us that we’re here for a very short amount of time. And the sea will go on forever.”
“Shouting at the Sea” explores themes of memory, connection, and the pursuit of self-acceptance, all set against the constant presence of the Sea – a metaphor for the forces, internal and external, that shape and reshape our lives.
Filmed on location in the village of Hastings, the story was written by Verrell and co-writers Kate Auster, Ruth Marshall, and Amelia Rowcroft, who also served as the film’s producers. The beautiful cinematography was created by Tom Hooker and Richard Johnsen provided the haunting musical score.
For more about “Shouting at the Sea,” check out the film’s website.
