12 Stages of Unemployment – A short film

Cast, Crew and Production Notes

This project was started by James Ballard, co-founder of Annapurna Recruitment. He had been part of a film project that had collapsed but thought the story needed to be told. James purchased the rights to the script with a view to having the film made.

James then contacted Jeff Turner, of Boredom Boy Productions, and asked if he could use the script and produce the film. Jeff agreed to review and revise the script as well as direct and produce the film.

Fortunately, some of the actors who had been scheduled for the original shoot were still available and interested in taking part in the new project.

A cracked, budget smartphone lying face-up on a narrow park bench, its screen displaying a paused job search page surrounded by smudged fingerprints. Beside it sits a nearly empty travel card wallet and a single printed bus timetable folded in half. The bench is slightly weathered, with peeling green paint, set against an urban backdrop of out-of-focus high-rise flats and a grey, overcast sky. Natural diffuse daylight creates gentle, even lighting with soft shadows under the phone and wallet. Photographic realism, captured from an eye-level side angle using rule-of-thirds composition, conveying a quiet moment of decision-making during a solitary, uncertain afternoon.

Team Reels:

Take a look at some short reels made by the cast and crew involved in this project.
Just click on their name and they will explain why they wanted be be involved:

Bernard – Playing Chris (Asha’s father)

James M – Playing David. Asha’s employment advisor at the Job Centre.

Mia – Playing Mia, Asha’s closest and long-time friend.

Pasquale – Playing Daniele, someone from HR who interviews Asha

Izzie – Playing Luna, Asha’s older sister

Jeff – The producer

12 Stages of Unemployment

A short film exploring the various stages young people aged sixteen to twenty-four who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) go through while unemployed.

For more information about NEETs, view the UK’s Office for National Statistics report here.

Synopsis

The film follows the problems facing Asha, a young woman who is unexpectedly made redundant.

We follow her journey through 12 stages as she struggles to find alternative employment.

The film shows the anguish and psychological struggles faced by young people in this predicament. It also shows the effect her struggles have on those family members and friends around her.

A bare, fluorescent-lit waiting area in a job center, shown without people, with a row of slightly mismatched plastic chairs and a single, overstuffed information leaflet stand beside them. On one seat lies an unopened envelope stamped with official markings, next to a budget black backpack with a broken zipper and a nearly empty clear plastic water bottle. The light is harsh and cool, casting sharp-edged shadows beneath the chairs and emphasizing the glossy floor tiles. Photographic realism, captured from a low, wide-angle perspective to amplify the emptiness of the space, creating a mood of bureaucratic distance and anxious anticipation.
This is Asha. We follow her through the various mental stages of being unemployment for a lengthy period of time.
This is Asha's room, a place she increasingly inhabits as she tries to block out the outside world.
This is Chris, Asha's father. A single parent, he is doing what he can to help Asha but feels as though he's not doing as well as he'd like.