Jack's Room - A Short Film by Leishe Meyboom

Notes from Leishe:

This year has brought on the most difficult challenges. The selling of my childhood home, the passing of a close family member, constant heart aches, and the heightened anxiety in the world that seems to be never ending.

All around me, and in my own life, it feels that 2024 has been the year to let go of the people, places, and realities that we once knew... hopefully to make room for something new and beautiful to grow within and around us.

To grow, is to grieve. To let go of the things, spaces, and people we love is a necessary part of life. It’s what we collectively go through, willingly or not. “Welcome to the rest of humanity, we have been waiting for you,” a good friend once told me.

Jack’s Room is a project I would like to share as my love letter to grief. To the things unsaid and left behind. To the strangers that connect us to the unspoken parts of our hearts. To the rooms we shall never walk into again. I want to share a story that illuminates the difficulties and the ever-changing perception of the things that once were, and the things that are now becoming.

It is a story in which I will be taking on the role of: writer, director, producer, and actor. A large bite to swallow, but one I am finally ready for. I deeply believe this project can be made into something beautiful. And as I grieve the things that once were, I want my first project to be something that blossoms my creative drive and spirit; a new artistic beginning as I find my footing as a young director.

So, I humbly introduce you to my project:

Jack’s Room

After the unexpected death of his son, Ray takes in Vanessa, a stranger carrying his unborn grandchild. As they navigate their shared grief, Ray must confront hidden truths about his son and find a way to bond with Vanessa before the birth.

Ray

A man who has a plan for life. Or at least he did until his son’s addiction took over. His conservative nature makes him controlling, rigid and judgmental. Living in a home that shallows him with silence and memories of the past, opening up his heart is his biggest fear. But underneath this hard exterior is a man looking to come home to himself, and re-discover his sense of play, tenderness and support.

Vanessa

Vanessa grew up in a dysfunctional environment with no room to fully grasp her future. She understands the brutality of the world, and because of this has the capability to read people for who they truly are. The death of Jack, her baby father, is the death of her own sense of family and home. Left alone, Vanessa must do whatever it takes to survive, even if that means putting up with people who are afraid of the love she holds.

Jack's Room is a story of two unlikely characters processing death, and a soon to be birth, as strangers.

Will these two find a way to connect and heal? Or will their inability to let each other in, be too much of an obstacle? And how much of Jack do they really know?

Donations:

This is a project in which I can only succeed with the help of the people around me, very much like Vanessa and Ray in the film, I am looking for a helping hand to express this story.

Any donation counts. Even if you cannot afford to, sharing, watching, and following the journey of creating this short is a donation in itself.

The funding is going towards the full production of the film including:

Location

Crew

Hair and Make-Up

Equipment Rentals

Editing/Score/Post-production costs

Festival Submissions

This is my first short and my “coming out” as a young female director, so having your support on this journey means the world to me.

Thanks for taking the time friend, stranger, family, or lover. Peace, love and everything above:

Leishe.