Horsham film company’s new project to get people talking about mental health

Fact Not Fiction Films will be creating short film Finding Wilson in partnership with The Lucy Rayner Foundation and will begin filming in West Sussex in August.

The cast includes rising star Darcy Jacobs, who last year won the Best Young Actress Award at the Birmingham International Film Festival.

Tristan Loraine, Fact Not Fiction Films chief excutive, said: “Written by Viv Young, Finding Wilson is a great script that allows us to work again with the rising star Darcy Jacobs.

“We have an incredible crew volunteering to make this important short film. The film will further raise awareness of mental health, PTSD and the incredible work of The Lucy Rayner Foundation.”

Those working on the project have created a Crowdfunding page to fund the making of the film after agreeing to work for expenses only in order to raise awareness and to support the charity which Jenny Rayner founded after her daughter, Lucy, took her own life in 2002 at the age of 22.

The foundation and aims to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of depression in young adults through education and campaigning, to facilitate change in the way mental health is perceived by society, and to help prevent young people taking their own life.

Chief executive for the Lucy Rayner Foundation Jenny Rayner said: “Film is such an important way to stimulate discussion about such an important public health issue.

“We are delighted to be the charity partner for this film project and we can’t wait to see the finished film.”

Fact Not Fiction Films, established in 2006, has a history of making films on public interest issues.

Its latest documentary release Everybody Flies investigates the air you breathe on planes and last year the company released ‘Missing a Note’, a short film raising awareness of dementia.

The film had a selected theatrical release with Everyman cinemas and was submitted for consideration to the 2020 Academy Awards.

Fact Not Fiction Films is hoping to once again submit this new film to the Academy Awards with the aim of getting more people to talk about mental health, particularly during these difficult times.

The crew working is now focusing on finding someone to cast as the role of a former military paramedic in her late 20s, while Lily Grimes has been confirmed as the director of photography.

Lucy was runner up of the British Society of Cinematography (BSC) Emerging Cinematographer award in 2019 and recently won an RTS award.

To support the project crowd funding appeal, visit https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/finding-wilson-short-film

For more information, visit www.findingwilson.com or find ‘Finding Wilson’ on Facebook.