Logline

When her ex-lover shows up in Spain claiming she’s dying, a guarded English teacher is drawn into a reckless road trip that forces three former friends to confront the love, betrayal, and obsession that still binds them.

Synopsis

In a working-class suburb of Liverpool in 1995, seventeen-year-old Ellie is quietly adrift, having moved to a new town after her father’s death, until she meets Stevi, a bold, magnetic force who crashes into her life without apology. What begins as an unlikely friendship turns into an intense romance. Stevi opens Ellie’s world to chaos and colour. Through her, Ellie meets Flynn, gentler, steadier, a kind of refuge from Stevi’s intensity, but not without his own blind spots; he watches more than he intervenes, and his passivity carries its own quiet danger. All three friends get well and truly mixed up in each other. 

Seven years later, Ellie has built a quiet life in Spain. She’s engaged, an English teacher, almost happy, but on the brink of being trapped in a safe, predictable life. Her new life shatters when Stevi turns up on her doorstep, with Flynn beside her, claiming she’s dying. Drawn into one final trip together, the three embark on a journey laced with manipulation, memory, and long-suppressed love. As old wounds resurface and long-buried secrets finally come to light, Ellie is forced to confront the version of herself she thought she’d left behind, and face a truth she has always avoided.

Our Goal

We are seeking £10,000 to begin our journey towards bringing Stevi to life. 

This funding will support the film’s pre-production phase, covering essential elements such as location scouting, casting, industry networking and meeting spaces, script translation and language coaching, and targeted social media campaigns to build momentum around the project.

This includes investing in professional memberships and spaces that allow us to connect with collaborators, advisors, and potential partners, ensuring the project is developed within the strongest possible creative and industry network.

As a female-led, independent debut feature film, this early support is crucial in allowing us to build a strong creative foundation and demonstrate the project’s potential to future partners and funders.

Our aim is that, by the end of pre-production, Stevi will have gained the visibility and support needed to move confidently into production in late 2026 or early 2027. 

Director's Biography 

Charlotte Rose Ainsworth is an up-and-coming director and co-founder of Lights, Camera, Action! Productions, an all-female-led production company based in Liverpool, where she plays a key role across development, directing, and production.

Her work involves writing, directing, and editing multiple short films and music videos, which have been selected for and screened at prominent festivals and venues, including BFI Southbank, Galway Film Fleadh and Belfast Film Festival. Her recent project, Maybrick, which she co-wrote and co-directed, received a £10,000 production fund, reflecting strong industry support for her work.

Most recently, she was selected for the Northern Ireland Screen Director Shadowing Scheme, where she went on to direct second unit on the upcoming feature film No Way Off. With a Distinction in MA Filmmaking at Central Film School and a First-Class BA at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, she combines strong academic achievement with promising industry experience, positioning her as an exciting new voice in independent film.