Sarah Griffiths - BA (Hons) Filmmaking
Echelon
My love for the elixir of storytelling and the creative arts has embedded a passion to pursue the alchemy of film, ranging from fiction fantasy to slice of life dramas. I have found an inherent inclination to embark in the producer's craftI with a particular interest in allegorical narrative pertaining to the intricacy of relationships, the boundaries of ethics and the issues of diversity. My line of thinking intertwines raw reality with symbolic storytelling through the cinematic lens.
Echelon has long been our passion project prompted by our phenomenal editor, Rogerio, upon learning that many Black ballerinas routinely pancake their pointe shoes to match their skin tone due to limited skin colour palettes in pointe shoe brands. Though this is definitely improving, the upper echelon of ballet remains a space that deserves more BAME representation. As a producer driven by stories that incite conversations surrounding social issues or human conditions, I knew Echelon was an important film to produce.
I believe that films like Echelon have the power to stir empathy and transcend cultural boundaries through cultural resonance. At the root of my practice is this desire to connect an audience through familiar and unfamiliar landscapes, be it physical or emotional. One major ingredient to my process of storytelling is authenticity. This being a shared value of our incredible crew and cast, most notably our lead actress Rachael and writer/director Jen who have both drawn upon personal experiences to evoke the genuine ethos of Echelon's core themes and narrative elements.
After this incredible collaborative experience, our Echelon cast/crew have become a filmmaking family and we plan on collaborating again.
I look forward to the future of filmmaking and our next project in the making - a musical!
Based in Liverpool, Manchester, UK.
