As a third year studying Drama and Theatre Arts at Birmingham, 20 year-old Cassiah is a role model to those of us working hard to reach our goals in life. With dreams of becoming a screenwriter and filmmaker, she became disheartened when every film talk she attended spoke about how impossible it is to get your screenplays produced. Instead of giving up, Cassiah decided to embark on turning one of her screenplays into a film entirely by herself. ‘I really wanted to have the experience to see how one of my screenplays would translate into film. I also wanted to make a film that had a positive message and represented a real, head-strong, interesting female lead character.’
Earlier this year Cassiah got hold of a camera and made her first short film, a mockumentary about a girl who wanted to be an actor. ‘It was sort of a parody of myself! But when I started planning ‘The Bridge’, I knew I would have to learn more skills in terms of recording sound, being more aware of lights and wind.‘
‘The Bridge’ is a coming of age story about 18 year old Lynn. Although she is from the working class poverty of East London, she doesn’t fit into any ‘box’. This is manifested through the fact that she is a ballet dancer, secretly teaching herself on Youtube. As Lynn approaches the end of her Sixth form exams, personal tragedy forces her to try and find her missing father. She goes on a journey which ultimately holds more revelation for her than she first realised.
Cassiah is an inspiration to young, female filmmakers. One of the most significant things she notes about the project is being able to work with Nicole Rixon as Assistant Director and Elisha Owen as producer. ‘The film industry is dominated with men, and we’re a team of women, and I feel it’s one of the great, even though small, steps into making it a fairer industry in terms of gender opportunities.’
‘The Bridge’ is due for release in March 2014.
For more information about any of Cassiah’s projects visit www.cassiahj-j.com.