scars don't freckle

‘scars don’t freckle’ is a micro-short film based on a poem I wrote. It touches on the theme of madness, a word reclaimed and embraced by Mad people, often defined as the mentally ill. This film deviates from cliche portrayal of recovery as both linear and a final goal, instead exploring madness as constantly moving, overlapping and evolving. The poem itself references metaphorical scars, but I also want to be clear that it references physical self-harm scars too – despite the taboos and fragility around self-harm, we shouldn’t shy away from the topic. This film is a tribute to the struggle for Mad liberation, to my Mad friends and loved ones, and to myself.

written by
Molly Lipson

directed by
Molly Lipson

produced by
Molly Lipson & Helena Gonzalez

starring
Louisa Connolly-Burnham

voiced by
Ria Zmitrowicz

cinematography
Helena Gonzalez

music production
Rohail Javed

musician
Simon Appleson

sound design
Etienne Kompis

editor
Fred Ribergaard

colourist
Aiden Tobin

post house
Time Based Arts

supervising DI
Dan Kreeger

camera assistant
Becky Freeman

‘scars don’t freckle’ is a micro-short film based on a poem I wrote. It touches on the theme of madness, a word reclaimed and embraced by Mad people, often defined as the mentally ill. This film deviates from cliche portrayal of recovery as both linear and a final goal, instead exploring madness as constantly moving, overlapping and evolving. The poem itself references metaphorical scars, but I also want to be clear that it references physical self-harm scars too – despite the taboos and fragility around self-harm, we shouldn’t shy away from the topic. This film is a tribute to the struggle for Mad liberation, to my Mad friends and loved ones, and to myself.

We made this film on no budget, shot it in one day, mainly on a handheld Panasonic camcorder. After finishing my debut short film, which took many years, a lot of money and organising, I wanted to challenge myself to create something in a shorter time frame and without any funding. The end product is exactly the vision I had, and I’m incredibly grateful to all my collaborators who helped me bring it to life.