Annabel Scholey to lead Ash K Halliburton’s short film ‘Grief part 001’

By Natalia Albin Legorreta

Production designer and art director Ash K Halliburton has lined up her first project as writer and director, Grief part 001,  a surreal short film exploring how grief ebbs and flows in unrelenting, unpredictable and everchanging ways.

Leading the cast is Annabel Scholey as Daughter, recently seen in BBC’s The Split and Disney+’s Rivals, with other credits including The Salisbury Poisoning, The Sixth Commandment, The Serial Killer’s Wife, Dead and Buried and Being Human.

“Annabel has an extraordinary presence; she brings such depth and quiet power to the project. Her presence grounds the emotional world of the film and makes even its surreal landscape feel deeply real,” says Halliburton.

“Grief part 001 is a blisteringly intense and private dive into grief in all its complexity and pain,” Scholey tells Short Stuff. “I found reading the voice of Daughter incredibly emotional and at times it took my breath away. The overpowering feelings of loss and love are delicately and bravely knotted together by Ash. It was a privilege to be a part of this beautiful piece of work.”

Joining her is Blair Plant (Emmerdale Farm, The Gathering) as Father. “The first time I watched Blair’s audition tape, it stopped me in my tracks,” Halliburton says. “He felt like he’d already lived inside this story. His ability to embody it with such rawness and humanity was undeniable.”

Plant says the film’s themes resonated on a personal level: “The unfathomable power of a parent-child bond and losing a family member prematurely have been topics which have often touched and moved me, so to replicate them with truth and realism was a challenge I relished in this film. Battling the elements of surf, pebbles and cold were just more obstacles to navigate as I tried to do the subject matter justice and give it the respect it deserves. “

Shot entirely in open water, Grief part 001 is a meditation on love, loss and what lingers after – rooted in real events witnessed by Halliburton herself.

The short film is presented by Humble Media and Selfish Studios, produced by Natalie Lauren with executive producer Jamie Neal. Adam Barnett is director of photography and Roberta Bodoni is editing.

“We were blessed to have such a fantastic, collaborative casting director in Sydney Aldridge,” Lauren says. “In the weeks leading up to production, she helped us find the right duo of actors and offered guidance along the way. We really functioned like a tag team: her negotiating with agents while I juggled dates, budgets and locations to lock everything into place.”

Now fully shot and in the final stages of post-production, Grief part 001 is aiming to be completed next month.