THE TEAM behind one of the pieces set to feature in an Andover film festival has said they hope their work ‘resonates’ with people who have gone through the tragedy of child loss.

My Baby Cries is a chilling drama exposing the painful struggle of a young couple's journey into parenthood. As their relationship fractures under the weight of their isolated despair, a mutual friend's growing concern finally forces the couple to confront their reality.

The piece, which had its first global screeing at the London Film Festival, has been selected for the programme of the upcoming Homebrew Film Festival, an independent film festival run by Andover College students to take place later this month.

READ MORE: Andover College students' independent film festival to be held in May

After experiencing miscarriage, and then seeing her sister and best friend both go through it too, actress, producer and now first-time director Faith Elizabeth wanted to create something which would make others in her position feel understood.

She said: "It felt like a lifetime ago that I inconsolably wept while cradling my daughter's baby doll, striving for some kind of comfort, after being told the baby growing inside me didn't have a heartbeat. But those feelings of immeasurable grief came flooding back years later in the moment my best friend hysterically called me- she was bleeding- she was miscarrying her baby. Just days later, my sister tragically had the same heart-breaking news.

“I was very fortunate to find a small, diverse, heavily female, team of Cast and Crew, who passionately believed in the story, to support me in my journey.”

Co-producer Leigh Trifari added: “What it means to me is that people are really resonating with the story. Faith really wanted to make something beautiful that would resonate with people and to make people feel that they were being heard.”

In her research for the film, Leigh reached out to 45 charities which work with people experiencing child loss. She says that just three got back to her and one in particular - MAMA Academy - were extremely helpful in informing the work.

“This is for them as well,” said Leigh.

SEE ALSO: Mum raising thousands for charity after loss of baby son

She continued: “When a couple goes through miscarriage, so much emphasis is on the mother, rarely is the father or partner asked how they are doing. So we wanted to show both sides of this in the film.

“The fact that we are getting into festivals shows that it is resonating with people.”

Data from Tommys, national charity for babies, indicates that one in four pregnancies result in child loss.

Talking about why she feels Andover audiences should engage with the film and it’s messages, Leigh added:“My own sister lost a baby and my family just couldn’t talk about it. Even if you haven’t gone through it yourself, the chances are that you know someone who has lost a baby. It might make the communication easier - I would invite people to think about that.”

Following a successful crowdfunding campaign, the film was shot in Rednal, Tenterbanks and Staffordshire in the summer of 2021.

My Baby Cries premiered at London Independent Film Festival in April 2022, and won Best Debut Short Film.

It has since won Best Director at Eastern Europe Film Festival, Best Director (Silver Award) at Tokyo Film Awards.and been accepted into Carmarthen Bay Film Festival, Cinema Femme Film Festival, Toronto International Women Film Festival, IndieFlicks Festival in Manchester and Andover’s Homebrew Film Festival.

Homebrew Film Festival will take place at Odeon in Andover on May 22. For details, visit: homebrewfilmfest.co.uk.

If you or someone you know has experienced child loss, you can access guidance and support at: tommys.org/baby-loss-support.

You can also access information and resources on safer pregnancy from the project's partner charity here: mamaacademy.org.uk. 

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