On a bleak English Council Estate, teenage Lilac struggles with a generational curse and a mother desperate to contain it. With a blue moon looming, she must either choose the chains her mother swears keep them safe or break the cycle before it destroys them both.

We're excited to announce our upcoming graduation project BLOOD RUNS BINDING, a short film that explores lycanthropy, family ties and mental health.

BLOOD RUNS BINDING tells a story about hereditary mental illness and how it affects your life and relationship with your loved ones. The story follows a mother and daughter in 90s England as they clash with each other over the right way to deal with this curse. While they struggle with their werewolf biology, the story is not about control, but managing in a healthier way than chains and suppression.

To tell this werewolf-mother-daughter story, we need your help to fund this film!

SYNOPSIS

After a particularly hard full moon strains the relationship between a family of two, Lilac is determined to try and find another way of managing their hereditary curse. Mary, her tired and hard-working mother, is stuck in the ways of the past—the only thing she’s ever known is chains and repression. A blue moon approaches, giving Lilac only a few weeks before an even worse full moon promises to split her mind, body and relationship with her mother beyond repair.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

This film is directed by Ruby Wilkinson, a 20-year-old non-binary filmmaker who loves stories about family, love, the lower-class and trauma.

“The idea of representing something internal (mental illness) as something so external as a werewolf transformation interested me because lycanthropy is such a physical thing. It’s usually used to symbolise things like puberty, change of the body, or sexual desire. But it seems like a wasted opportunity to not touch on the werewolf’s emotional change—the getting tense as the full moon approaches, snapping at people, becoming irrational and upset. These are things many people with mental health issues struggle with, and I wanted to tell a story that depicts it within a family, and how generational trauma can actually damage any potential growth with traditions and shame.

It’s important to me to depict this in a way that does not demonise mental illness. This is not another movie about how mentally ill people are violent, abusive people, nor does it depict suicide or curing it as the only two options that they have. This story is fundamentally about managing mental illness and the way of becoming more stable by having support systems and things in place to help manage it.

However, it is also important to me that this film doesn’t become a PSA message. It will centre a family drama at the focus, with it being about a mother and daughter that love each other but do not meet eye to eye on how to deal with something so heavy as lycanthropy. I mean, how can they? It is shameful, hard to deal with, behind closed doors and something only the other is privy to. So, yes, the themes are about mental health, but it won’t be a 1-to-1 message, keeping it as a psychological drama with horror elements so it doesn’t feel preachy.

I really hope this film finds the right people, as I love this story and think it’s important to tell a story about shame and breaking out of the endless cycle of generational trauma, and managing your health instead of chaining it up and hiding it.”

BUDGET BREAKDOWN

Due to this project being made by university students that are currently on the last year of their course, we don’t have to pay for our equipment. However, our budget will largely go towards finding our filming location, making it look authentic and fresh out of the 90s, and compensating our actors. In addition, it will also cover travel costs, food and promoting our finished project at film festivals.

CREW

Director - Ruby Wilkinson

Assistant Director - Jack Froggratt-Cooper

Producer - Max Saich-Wagerfield

Production Designer - Lewis Ashall

DoP- Juliet Bywater

Editor - Harvey Franklin

Production Manager - Tanisha Gadhavi

Script supervisor - Henry Rose

Sound Recordist - Katie Arnot

Sound Assistant - Wen Shen

Boom - Preston Tenet

Costume Design - Kat Hall and Clara Blyth

Makeup Artist - Reynold Poulson

Composer - “Orioness”

Most of us have worked together before, and we are all passionate people excited to begin our filming in February! We have years of experience in our fields and were all excited to work on this project.

PROOF OF CONCEPT

HOW CAN YOU HELP & WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?

We understand not everyone can donate, and if you're unable to, sharing the link to this fundraiser will bring us one step closer to being on screen!

As a complementary "Thank You" to whoever donates, we will be crediting everyone who donates (unless requested or anonymous) under "Donors"/"Special thanks"! In addition, donations of £50 or more will be put the donors into the credits as an executive producer!

Thank you for making this University of Creative Arts (Farnham) production a reality!