'The Passage of Sister Mary Beaumont' Short Film Fundraiser

Rose Westerman is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

‘The Passage of Sister Mary Beaumont’ is a romantic tragedy that is told from a retrospective (somewhat meta) perspective, as an elderly teacher recounts the story of Sister Mary-Beaumont to her class. The story is a queer legend that has been buried away in the history books due to controversy and prejudice. The drama comes from how Mary-Beaumont is viewed by her fellow sisters, and how she views herself, never feeling like she belongs in the convent. Like many English fables across history, there is no happy outcome for Mary-Beaumont and Florence. They are separated by the Reverend Mother and Mary- Beaumont quickly flees the monastery, never to be seen again. Even the Reverend Mother has had a previous love affair with another Sister, who turns out to be our protagonist's mother. This reinforces a cycle of LGBTQ people in history who must repress their true self. However, despite how tragic the narrative told by the teacher is, she leaves the film on a bittersweet note, still hoping that one day Mary-Beaumont and Florence will be reunited as long as their story is still told.

This film is predominantly inspired by ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ (2019), a film in which our director holds dearly in her heart. ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ similarly tells the story of a forbidden romance between two women, throughout the film they know this love will be short due to the world and time they live in. However, as time progresses we see the flames of desire have not waned in the two women, and whilst they cannot be together again they still love each other dearly. ‘Elisa and Marcela’ (2019) also follows a love affair between a trans man and a woman, who struggle to maintain their love in a deeply religious late 19th century Spain. Other parables this film is inspired by are ‘Doubt’ (2008) which follows Catholic uncertainty and deception within the church, as well a song called ‘Mount the Air’ (2015), which is a folk song by ‘The Unthanks’ which tells the story of a woman searching for her lover across land and sea.

The film will explore themes of gender expression, the unearthing of queer history and catholic guilt. ‘The Passage of Sister Mary Beaumont’ will ultimately end on a bittersweet message of freedom, with Mary-Beaumont having the freedom to love herself and Florence as she releases herself into the vast English landscape, and Florence is free to believe that one day Sister Mary-Beaumont will return to her.

Sister Mary Beaumont- Early 20s, Assigned Male at Birth but female presenting. Mary-Beaumont has never felt like she belongs amongst her Sisters at the convent, and has had the truth of her origin and birth a secret. Because of her lack of understanding about herself,

she has an inferiority complex and sees herself the way others see her, as a mistake from the lord himself. However, when Sister Florence enters her life, she finally feels like someone loves her for who she is, which makes Florence’s departure all the more painful.

Sister Florence- Early 20s, beautiful but speaks colloquially and appears slightly more disheveled than the other nuns. Sister Florence was exiled from her rural town for being a lesbian and forced into the convent to put her on a deemed holy path. However, she resents the church authority, and seems to only find joy from spending time with Mary-Beaumont who actually treats her as an equal. Sister Florence is cheeky and abrasive, but sweet and caring of others, however her love for adventure is the root of the separation of the pair.

Reverend Mother Mary Bernadette- in her late 60s, she has a lonely broken disposition. She is a closeted lesbian, who’s hidden away her true self in service for her lord. She takes out her frustration and anguish over losing her lover in the past on Mary-Beaumont, and keeps a tight grip on her out of motherly love. However, her need for control only leads her to lose the ones she loves dearly.

Teacher- Mid to late 70s, she is Florence. In the present day of the narrative (the 1960s), Florence appears tired, weary but still holds onto a warm cheeky smile. She has grown tired by the ways of the world but tells her class the story of her lost love to keep the hope that she will be reunited with her. She’s still an optimist despite the tragedy that fell her years ago and still hopes for a better future.