A MAN WHO CAN’T FEEL PAIN HAS HIS CHARACTER ASSESSED BY AN EXAMINER WHO HOPES TO DETERMINE HIS NATURE.
SYNOPSIS
Emrys & Elodie is an abstract film set in a period of time that doesn’t exist. The film revolves around an “official” interview (or, more accurately, an interrogation) between two characters: Emrys (the interviewee) and Elodie (the interviewer). Throughout the course of the film, Elodie asks Emrys a succession of seemingly random questions concerning his life. As he answers, we regularly see flashbacks as he mentally recalls moments from his past. Many of his flashbacks start to feature Elodie, and it quickly becomes obvious that they are far from strangers. The purpose of the interview is never clear. Nothing is ever explicitly stated, but as the story unfolds, there is a glimmer of her motive: Emrys can feel no pain. As the flashbacks start to show images of Emrys being taken against his will, there is the suggestion of Elodie, undercover, luring him in. A man who can feel no pain can be a powerful weapon as long as the risk of his volatile nature doesn’t outweigh the usefulness of his “gift”.
INFLUENCES
CHARACTERS
ELODIE
She would describe herself as eternally composed because she’s been trained to be that way. She wants to be the best at what she does and noticed for her tenacity, but there are cracks. Other people’s emotions aren’t supposed to get to her, but they do. She can feel it under the surface, creating tiny fractures in places that were once weak. At the same time, intense training, even possible brainwashing, has sharpened her focus into a weapon. She’s found herself in a situation where she can no longer see herself as separate from her position. Her mission was to make Emrys trust her, reveal himself to her, and, if her suspicions were correct, bring him in. Outwardly, she is cut-throat but never cold. In conversation, she is genial, and calm, with a gentle warmth. Inwardly, denial runs deep, and one day, she’ll find herself again.
EMRYS
Quick to feel, born to love, calm but troubled. Living in a world that wants to use and abuse him. He searches for solace in love, in nature, and tries to escape the darkness that seems determined to find him. Handsome and charismatic. Kind and gentle under it all. Easy to love but slow to forgive. Cards to his chest, yet repeatedly betrayed. He fell fast for Elodie, though undercover, the connection was real and intense. She made him trust her quickly. Thinking almost nothing of her penchant to play with pain, or letting the denial blind him. And this is where we find him. Angry, vengeful, hurt. Craving freedom in a way that only people who can never be free feel it. Wounded in a way that can’t heal. He’ll listen as you speak now, but he’ll never let you in.
CAST
EMILY BUTCHER
HARVEY QUINN
LOCATIONS
DIRECTORS STATEMENT
Emrys and Elodie first came to me as a question: what situation could two characters be in where they have such intense emotions in a setting where they can’t openly display them? Another question soon followed: What would it mean to be incapable of physical sensation yet overwhelmed by internal pain? This concept gripped me, quickly becoming a metaphor for my own experiences with depression, agoraphobia, and the loss of freedom. It evolved into a story exploring the complex relationship between physical and emotional pain.
At the heart of the film is Emrys, a character who cannot feel pain but is overwhelmed with emotional wounds. Emrys is cut off from fully experiencing life—numb to one type of pain but acutely vulnerable to another. His condition is paradoxical: his freedom to feel is restricted, yet his emotional world remains painfully vivid. Both Emrys and Elodie have different interpretations of pain, and through them, the film ultimately asks: What is pain? And how can something emotional hurt so deeply?
These questions saturate Emrys & Elodie, a story that explores the isolation of carrying invisible wounds and the struggle to connect when our deepest pain goes unseen. I wanted the audience to feel this struggle acutely, as they witness Emrys both needing to conceal and wanting to convey his immense pain to the person who has betrayed him.
A strong theme throughout Emrys & Elodie is the loss of freedom. As my agoraphobia progressed, I felt this intensely. Emrys’ captivity, coupled with his inability to feel physical pain, heightens the feeling of being trapped—physically, emotionally, and psychologically. His situation reflects the intense helplessness and loneliness of agoraphobia: physically confined, emotionally isolated, and longing for freedom.
While this film is, at its core, a philosophical exploration of mental and physical pain, it is also a deeply personal metaphor for my own experiences. Why tell this story now? Because the intense desire to make films was the reason I got better. Every time I forced myself outside, braving fear and panic, I reminded myself that if I didn’t get better, the films I so desperately wanted to make would never exist. So, this story feels kind of full circle: creating a film that symbolises years of struggle while, in the process, healing myself further.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH CINELAB
Shooting on film is incredibly important to me, and we’re lucky enough to have the opportunity to collaborate with Cinelab to make this a reality. Film forces intentionality by creating firm constraints, something I find helps me immensely when producing any creative work. As well as a personal love for the process of working with film, it will also lend itself to the timeless, nostalgic quality of Emrys & Elodie, furthering the inability to pinpoint the space and time of the story and creating an intimate atmosphere to get lost in.
IF YOU WANT TO BE INVOLVED, LET US KNOW!
If you think you’d like to advise, become a co-producer, an executive producer, or you know a friend of a friend who has an uncle that might be interested, we would love to hear from you! We’re open to all avenues and all possibilities, and no amount of involvement is too small.
felicityaspden@gmail.com