Harvey John was our 2024 Spring Short Film Fund Grand Prize Winner for his script TO CATCH A SIREN which follows a young orphan who desperately searches for the mermaid he believes to be his mother before he is adopted and sent to live far away. The film will be directed by Raphaela Wagner and is a poignant fantasy short that touches on the migrant boat crisis plaguing the southern coast of England.
Tell us a little about your short. What is it about and how did you come up with the idea?
To Catch a Siren tells the story of Bilal, a young refugee who is desperately searching for the mermaid he believes to be his mother before he is adopted and sent to live far away.
I’ve always been obsessed with British folklore, and as a child would spend hours walking through forests on the hunt for fairies, or snorkeling in the sea, desperate to catch a glimpse of some elusive, mythical creature – so the idea of a little boy being determined to catch a mermaid was something I’ve been wanting to write for years. However, To Catch a Siren really took shape in my head in the aftermath of losing my father, who I was extremely close to. After he passed, for some reason I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was still out there, just out of reach. Oftentimes, I even deluded myself into thinking he wasn’t gone, just away; on an endless holiday, that one day he might return from. The parallel felt evident, a little boy determined to find this fantastical being, and a son unsure where to put all his love, in the wake of his parent’s passing.
Over the past year, I’ve been working really hard on improving my writing, honing my craft, and trying to find my voice. What stories do I want to tell? What am I trying to say? I realised that I want to use film as a means of inspiring change.
For around the last five years, the UK has been engaged in a highly divisive migrant boat crisis, where asylum-seekers have been entering the country along England’s southern coast via small boats. Not only has this caused endless anti-migrant rhetoric being vilified in the press, and the subject of asylum-seeking being used more and more as part of political agendas (which is only all the more apparent, in the build-up to Britain’s upcoming general election on July 4th), but it has also, harrowingly, led to the deaths of countless innocents, which is often completely overlooked or ignored by the general public. Even as recently as in April of this year, 5 people tragically died making the crossing, including a 7-year-old girl. I think in this day and age, we, as a society, have become so desensitised to horrible news, that when we hear of these overwhelmingly tragic events, we dismiss them in our heads simply as statistics. But these are real people, with real lives, and their struggles, suffering, and deaths should not be treated so dismissively.
To Catch a Siren is a modern fairytale short film that seeks to bring further awareness to the UK’s ongoing migrant boat crisis in an allegorical way that audiences will find affecting but not self-righteous. It is my hope that this film will draw audiences out of their desensitisation, and invite a more empathetic response to what is really going on. One that might, in time, inspire actual change.
What made you want to enter it into the Short Film Fund?
Years ago, when I was just starting out as a screenwriter, Shore Scripts was the first screenwriting contest I ever became aware of, and so on a personal level, it has always been a dream of mine to one day enter and win.
In terms of entering this specific film into the Short Film Fund, it felt like a no-brainer. From what I have seen, Shore Scripts has helped to fund and support countless filmmakers at the early stages of their careers. Not only is there a very generous and considerable cash prize grant, but the additional development and mentorship awards set the Fund apart for me, from a lot of the others out there. I felt like if I were lucky enough to win, I would feel genuinely supported throughout the film’s production, and at this early stage in my career, that is something I very eagerly sought.
Needless to say, I am incredibly grateful I did decide to enter!
How did you feel when you found out that you won?
To be perfectly honest, I think I’m still in shock. Grateful doesn’t even cut it! Not only did it mean that our project was officially greenlit to go into production (which, as many filmmakers will know, does not necessarily happen very often), but it also felt like the culmination of years of hard work. It all felt so incredibly validating. To be supported and believed in by such an established fund, to realise that such acclaimed judges had connected with my work and understood so deeply the message I sought to tell – the feeling is priceless. I think creatives are forced to quickly get used to rejection in the early years of their career, so to get a win, and one as significant as this, really helped me to acknowledge that I am on the right track and that all the hard work that has led up to this moment has been worth it.
To then be able to share the news with my loved ones and have them react so positively and celebratory, and to have the news break on World Refugee Day of all days, was the icing on the cake. I’m very grateful to have a very strong support network in my life, so to have them share in my joy at the announcement, and to be so kind and proud and genuinely happy for me and the team, really made the whole experience one I am not likely to forget anytime soon! I feel gratitude in abundance.
Harvey on the set of WHEN THE PARTY’S OVER
Tell us about the director of your film. How did you meet them? How did you know they were the right person for the job? Have you worked with them before?
I’m predominantly a self-taught writer, and although I’ve had some career success in the past, I always felt like I was hitting some kind of invisible wall – that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to move beyond. So, over the last year, I made the decision to undertake a screenwriting course to see if I could figure out that missing element that would help to make everything finally click. Thankfully, it proved to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, as not only has my writing improved immensely, it also connected me with Jenna-Louise Hawkins, who has become both a friend and mentor of mine. She is such a wonderful, talented writer and teacher, and it was through working with her that I was able to get To Catch a Siren to a place I was really proud of. After reading the script, Jenna was the one who put me in contact with the film’s director, Raphaela Wagner. Raphaela is such a genius when it comes to directing, and after seeing her previous work and chatting with her about her own career goals, it became immediately apparent that she simply had to be the one to direct the film. Although we’ve never worked with one another prior to this, our shared love of fantasy, and our shared desire to use film as a platform for social change, was so overwhelmingly apparent, that since starting on To Catch a Siren together, I’m already looking forward to many future collaborations with her. Our working relationship has already been so full of trust and encouragement and care, that I’m extremely grateful to have her onboard the project, and I cannot wait to bring the story to life with her.
Do you want to develop the script further? If so, what will you look to change?
Since initially writing the story in November last year, the script has already been undergoing considerable development, thanks to the support of Refugee Support Group, an English charity that helps refugees and asylum-seekers rebuild their lives with advice, education and support. After reaching out to them, they were able to put us in contact with consultants who have lived experience of coming to the UK via boat, as well as case-workers who were able to help demystify the process of asylum-seeking in the UK for us. In light of these very powerful and informative conversations, I’ve been undertaking rewrites to help ensure the script is as authentic as possible, and although I’m extremely happy with where the script is right now, I am definitely eager to develop it even further. One of the hardest things I’ve had to try and balance in the story has been the merging of this very contemporary issue with the magic of the film’s fantasy genre, and in trying to restrict the film to just 15 minutes, I’ve had to be quite economical
in what to include. I definitely think there is still room to further streamline the story’s ideas and various characters to make their inclusion in the film as dynamic and effective as possible, and to help make the balance of these two contrasting elements even more seamless.
What do you feel will be your biggest challenge in terms of getting your script off the paper and onto film?
I think anyone who has read the screenplay would agree that what we are seeking to make is incredibly ambitious. Having both open-water scenes and underwater scenes, having mermaids and rafts – it’s a lot to try and bring to life, in a short space of screentime. Then when you’re adding child actors to the mix… We’re under no delusions as to the challenge that bringing this epic little short to life will be. But not only are we up for the challenge, we’re doing everything we can to make sure we can effectively bring the scale and wonder of the script to the screen! As a producer, I cut my teeth trying to make films with the wildest ideas for the smallest budgets, and To Catch a Siren feels like a natural progression in this evolution. Honestly, it feels like such an immense privilege to even be embarking on a film with such scope, and I’m extremely excited to figure out how we’re going to make it all work, especially with the support we now have behind us.
Do you think about the practicalities of filming when you write? If so, how has that changed your writing process, or have you always thought that way?
Harvey on the set of WHEN THE PARTY’S OVER
Ironically, I used to always consider the practicalities of filming when writing. And to be honest, I always felt a little disappointed with the quality of what I had written, as I feel that by putting limitations and boundaries on my own creativity, the stories never had enough room to truly breathe. To Catch a Siren was my first project, ever, where I decided to just write the story I wanted to write, regardless of budget or practicalities. The freedom it gave me to prioritise story and creativity above all else has changed my world. Since then, I’ve approached all my other scripts with the same kind of non-confinement, and I can safely say that my writing has never felt more alive, and the response to my various screenplays has never been better. Of course, if these films were to actually go into production as Siren is, being adaptable is incredibly
important. Maybe not everything will ultimately be possible. But it’s always easier to pull back, than it is to add more.
Do you have any thoughts/preferences on camera format, aspect ratio, crew, location, and anything else for the production?
We’re still in the very early stages of pre-production, and have only just started crewing up and location scouting. But we definitely want to film on-location, as much as possible. We’re currently looking to film in Dorset, given that it is somewhere both I and Raphaela have a personal connection to, while also still being on the English Channel, where these small boats tend to make the crossing from mainland Europe.
We know that we want the general look and feel of the film to have a timeless, storybook quality, without neglecting the present-day setting of the story. This is not a film set in the past, just like its political backdrop isn’t set in the past, which means we need to take particular care in regards to the costumes and set designs, so that despite being set in a coastal, Catholic children’s home, the modern day is still reflected. For the underwater sequences, we hope to play with silhouettes, the obscurity of slightly murky water, as well as slow motion to help create a dream-like atmosphere. What started as a child’s twisted memory of a capsizing boat, has turned into a soothing, positive imagination; so vivid, it might just be real.
Just like the mermaids, Bilal as a character has something ethereal about him on land, something that sets him apart from the rest. We intend for the camera to reflect that. To have it move gently and smoothly, and always at Bilal’s eye level, to help our audience to see the world from his perspective. The editing should have a slower pace, allowing the images to breathe. It’s the other characters, children running around Bilal, adults ushering them to their chairs, that bring a liveliness to the picture.
Where, in an ideal world, would you like to shoot your short film?
As part of our location scouting, we discovered a magical little island off the coast of Poole in Dorset called Brownsea Island. It’s beautiful, ethereal, and completely unique to anywhere else we’ve yet discovered. The island is owned by the National Trust and is home to an array of rare wildlife species, which help to give it this otherworldly quality which we think would be perfect for our film. There’s a string of small stone cottages engraved with religious iconography, just metres away from a sandy bay, that literally feel like they were ripped straight from the pages of the script. If we can make it possible, filming there would be a dream!
What are your aspirations for the film once it’s completed? Certain film festivals? Help with getting a feature off the ground, etc.?
Like any filmmaker, we’re hopeful that the film will get the chance to play and find success in some of the larger festivals, such as the BFI London Film Festival, Berlinale, Tribeca, Cannes… And we imagine that it could easily travel, especially around Europe and countries that deal with many refugees, such as France, Greece, Italy or Germany. So we’re really excited to get the opportunity to work with festival strategist and programmer, Kimberley Browning, as part of the Shore Scripts prize.
Eventually, it would be amazing to find distribution to get the film in front of as many people as possible, as ultimately one of our key goals for the film is to create further awareness as to the ongoing crisis and to help encourage a shift in public opinion. We’ve also discussed trying to create some worksheets and additional content that could be offered to schools alongside our short film to be used for educational purposes.
As for features, I currently don’t have any plans to develop To Catch a Siren into a longer film, but the tone and themes are definitely ones I have been exploring in my upcoming feature screenplays. Using fantasy as an allegorical tool to explore contemporary social issues is something that I hope to make a staple in my work, and I’d definitely like To Catch a Siren to serve as a calling card for my future screenplays.
Are there any lessons you’ve learned from your previous projects that will help you going forward with making your short film?
The major lesson I’ve learnt from my previous films is the importance of having a good team around you. When I was first starting out, I tried to do everything, which would often lead to easily-avoidable mistakes being made, or burnout. Although, at the time, it felt like a necessity as my network was very small and I didn’t know many other filmmakers, I’ve learnt the importance of not making myself into an island. Moving forward, I want to make sure that I share the work and get the best people for the job. I love the collaborative nature of making a film, and I’m extremely excited to assemble a really dedicated and talented team to bring this film to life.
To Catch a Siren has so far been one of the most exciting, special, and rewarding projects I’ve ever had the privilege of working on, and so I also want to make sure I keep that sense of gratitude and joy moving forward!
Harvey is a London-based filmmaker from North Yorkshire, England, who seeks to tell allegorical stories that tackle important social themes. He is the founder of The Developing Room (a film company committed to helping emerging filmmakers break into the industry), a current member of the Raindance Industry Committee, and a past British Short Film Awards judge.
