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The debut Short Film from Director: Simon Smith, Writer: Temi Oh and Producer: Ed Feilden. Funded by Sky Arts and BFI Network. Made with Autistic cast members, crew members, advisors and executive producers.
Starring Bronagh Waugh ('The Fall') Mark Lewis Jones ('Outlander', 'Keeping Faith'), introducing Sienna Daly, and featuring the voice of Chris Packham (‘The Really Wild Show’, ‘Springwatch’).
SCREENINGS
Atlanta International Film Festival - Sunday 23rd April - LINK
Northampton Film Festival - Wednesday 24th May - LINK
Romford Film Festival - Thursday 25th May - LINK
Sieze The Film Festival SERBIA - Sunday 15th October - LINK
Oska Bright Festival - March 2024
Murmur is a contemporary fairytale about the relationship between a single mother and her autistic daughter, as they face the challenges of social expectations while coming to terms with their own needs. Evie’s eleventh birthday arrives and a difficult decision has to be made, yet an incident at school only confuses matters.
Evie doesn’t seem to talk very much, though she communicates with everything - the plants, grass, water, TV static and the starlings that gather over the sea. As murmurations form, so awakens a sense of understanding, connection and acceptance between mother and daughter.
The magical-realism narrative of Murmur subverts the mythology of the Changeling, common in medieval literature, it reflects concern over infants thought to be afflicted with unexplained diseases, disorders, or developmental disabilities including autism. Murmur is a story of beauty and awe, utilising the stunning spectacle of the murmuration, a sign of greatness, as a metaphor for Autism Advocacy.
Temi Oh is an author and scientist. She holds both a BSci degree in Neuroscience and an MA degree in Creative Writing.
Temi’s debut novel Do you Dream of Terra-Two? Published in 2019, is about a British expedition to an earth-like planet.
In 2020, Temi won the American Library Association’s Alex Award.
Murmur is her first screenplay.
Simon Smith is a director and drama editor living in Brighton.
In 2020, Simon won both a BAFTA and an EMMY award for his work editing on the TV series Chernobyl for HBO and Sky.
Simon has a diagnosis for Level One Autistic Spectrum Condition, and looks to explore neurodiversity in his creative work.
Murmur is his first short film.