Director Mat Sheldon’s BAFTA-qualified short film THE ELECTRICITY IN ME is a visceral and intimate portrait of his Canadian birth mother, whom he never directly knew as she gave him up for adoption shortly after giving birth.
BAFTA Breakthrough, BIFA nominated, and Screen International Star of Tomorrow actor Ellora Torchia (In The Earth, Ali & Ava, Midsummer) plays Joan Stockdale in this compelling short film. Years after giving up her newborn son for adoption, we see Joan confront her trauma and memories of the man she calls ‘my monster’. A student at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada, Joan discovered she was pregnant by her professor shortly before or during a university theatre trip to London. She stayed to have her baby, giving her newborn son up for adoption. After the birth, Joan made a new life in England. The backdrop to Joan’s story is Canada’s shameful post-war history of treating unwed pregnant women as societal pariahs.
Joan’s diaries and letters were a key source for Mat Sheldon, who wrote, directed and co-produced The Electricity In Me. The film’s visceral stream of consciousness comes directly from those diaries and letters.
Mat Sheldon studied film and theatre at University of Rochester, New York. Training includes working with the legendary director’s coach Judith Weston, who has consulted with noted directors including Ava DuVernay, Alma Har’el and Taika Waititi. Mat has written, produced and directed over twenty short films. Work in progress includes The Color Of Our Memory, part science fiction, part real examining the intersection between digital and human memories to alter our future; and Deadweight, a dark drama with a sense of humour about the crushing nature of family.
Director’s statement: “The Electricity In Me is a visceral portrait of Joan Stockdale, my Canadian birth mother. Built around an eviscerating stream of consciousness one shot performance, the film is a three dimensional reflection of her in me, and undoubtedly flawed mirror. What I do know is Ellora Torchia’s extraordinary connection with the character is wholly real; a living and breathing embodiment of my flesh and blood. Someone I never met but know deeply.”
Upcoming Festival Screenings:
- Norwich Film Festival, UK: 19 November 2022
- North East International Film Festival, Newcastle, UK: 19 & 20 November 2022
- Earl’s Court International Film Festival, London, UK: 11 – 18 November 2022 [dates tbc]
- Cornwall Film Festival, Falmouth, UK: 14 – 20 November 2022 [dates tbc]
- Shorts Not Pants, Toronto, Canada: 19 November 2022
- Eailing Film Fetival, 23-27 November
- London Super Shorts, London, UK: 2-4 Dec 2022 [Dates TBC]
- DUMBO Film Festival, New York: 2023 [Dates TBC]
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