Synopsis:
Two people, separated in time, united through their love of The Walled Garden and their concern for its future.
1874 – Undergardener Matthew Lacy (Tom York) is proud to be foreman at Treefall House. Matthew’s passion is the estate’s walled kitchen garden he had worked on as a Garden Boy when he was a child. He has been away, travelling from garden to garden to learn his craft as a journeyman and now he’s back. On the verge of promotion, after the passing of his mentor, he begins to question is it worth ploughing his love into this soil, will the garden survive? 2022 - Fliss (Fiz Marcus) and the volunteers at Treefall House Walled Garden have worked hard over three decades to bring the garden back to life from disrepair. She’s been planning this fundraising day for months and everything needs to be perfect. Today is the day they find out its future. Matthew discovered soon after he returned to work at the house that his mentor, Albert Leeper had found a way, with his trusty pocket watch, to travel through time. On any day at 7am the gates can transport him to moments in the garden’s future existence: They’ve both seen it in two world wars, through the decline of the landed aristocracy and the industrial revolution – but never travelling further than the year Fliss reopened the gardens after they had fallen into disrepair in 1992. Neither Albert or Matthew have known if the garden continued to thrive…
…until today.
But can Fliss make him bloom again and safeguard the future of this beautiful plot of land they both love?
Our Review:
The idea of time travel is usually associated only with sci-fi movies where the protagonist is single handedly saving the Earth from falling apart or while a group is lost in time while travelling in an unknown planet or fighting the incoming aliens. It’s very rare to come across a concept such as time travel for script like the walled garden, the garden for which two people centuries apart who strive their best to keep it alive. Matthew is caught in the time loop. He will not let go until he has made sure that his kitchen garden has survived, the same garden he left behind in the late 1800. When he decides to return in 2022, after three decades, is it only Matthew who blooms after seeing the Treefall House Walled garden? Fliss has turned the plot into a paradise in the last three decades. What a lovely sight it is to watch this here heaven like garden. Brilliant picture quality, visuals & direction.
Director Biography - Emma Morley
Emma started her career as production runner for Peak Practice and has worked in TV, theatre & film archiving, for New Perspectives Theatre Company, the Media Archive for Central England, where she exec produced the award winning From Headlines to Tightlines - The Story of ATV Today, She was Production Coordinator (for 3 series) of Poldark (Mammoth Screen), Tina & Bobby (ITV Studios) and most recently Production Manager of I Hate Suzie (Bad Wolf) and The Curse (Shiny Button). As well as being a PM and Line Producer in scripted television, Emma has written, produced and directed The Walled Garden.
Director Statement
I'm delighted to introduce you to 'The Walled Garden', a beautiful story about a time travelling victorian foreman in a stately home garden and the start of his friendship, in present day with a retired volunteer - both with a common aim to keep their beloved kitchen garden alive. I wanted to create a story which explored the fragility of sustainability and to turned age on its head. To celebrate the richness of life in retirement. Many older characters on the screen have troubles in some way...In my story, Fliss has a full life, enriched by her love of the garden. It is Matthew who appears older. What Matthew and Fliss do have in common is their shared passion for this garden and a determination that it will survive for generations to come. Our social media pages are on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook: @twgshort
Credits
Emma Morley Writer
Emma Morley Director
Emma Morley Producer
Tom York Key Cast "Matthew" Poldark, Olympus, Agatha Raisin
Fiz Marcus Key Cast "Fliss" The King's Man, Pennyworth
Specifications
Project Type: Short
Genres: Time Travel, Drama, Friendship
Runtime: 12 minutes 31 seconds
Completion Date: March 1, 2022
Production Budget: 15,000 GBP
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Country of Filming: United Kingdom
Language: English
Shooting Format: Digital
Film Color: Color
First-time Filmmaker: No
Student Project: No
