Sunday Short Theatre – Nightingale (2019)

Tragedy and grief sadly happens to us all at one point in our lives. There is no words that can describe that pain when we go through it, you can only feel it. When it comes to films of any length , any genre grief and in this week’s Sunday Short Theatre Nightmare parents face their worst nightmare.

This week’s film comes from Edward Palmer  who directed Hippopotamus his debut feature film (, the year before Nightingale). This one stars Sophie Hopkins and Stuart Mortimer a couple who are parents but there is no children. The pair sadly faced a parents worst nightmare, their faces say it all, Nightingale is an exploration of their guilt in the wake of the tragedy.

This 9 minute film has a shroud of mystery surrounding it. We know something heart-breaking has happened, but we don’t see it nor do we even see the baby. The tone of the film is relentlessly cold, and on the baby monitor we hear the baby cry reminds us both haunted by the event. The dialogue is minimal as that look on everyone’s face tells the story and both are struggling. No questions exactly what has happened or who is to blame leaving you empathetic to both parents.

An exploration of guilt in the wake of a tragedy.

The film also stars Jane McKell.

Source: Film Shortage