THE STORY:
Peppermint is a drama about Beth (Jennifer Oliver), a young teenager whose life is a difficult mix of emerging sexuality, turbulent relationships and personal insecurity. The story circles around Beth’s attempt to validate herself in the eyes of her competitive mother Ann (Selina Giles), resulting in a series of shocking revelations which unfold in the space of one difficult day.
Caught in the emotional crossfire are Mike (Christopher Tajah) and Nan (Phyliss McMahon), the people closest to the pair. Through their interactions emerges a past of parental neglect and irresponsible adulthood, which looks inevitably set to repeat itself.
HISTORY:
Peppermint was my debut feature project that I co-directed and co-produced with Gabby Morton Jones. Disenchanted with trying to get films made the “conventional” way, we put our efforts into making the film upon a micro-budget of approximately £2500. The film was shot in eight days, achieved largely as a result of the documentary style and digital video format. We took on a variety of jobs to finance the film; Gabby counted dead sheep for the Government and taught college students, I stuffed teddy bears and taught as a university lecturer!
SCRIPT:
You can read the script here.