St Albans actress to debut story about a dementia sufferer and his carer at film festival
Leigh-Anne Gilbert in 'Kayla'. (Picture: Leigh-Anne Gilbert) - Credit: Archant
An actress who grew up in St Albans is debuting her short film about a man with dementia at the St Albans Film Festival.
Leigh-Anne Gilbert in 'Kayla'. (Picture: Leigh-Anne Gilbert) - Credit: Archant
Leigh-Anne Gilbert, 32, wrote and starred in the short film ‘Kayla’, which is the story of a young carer looking after an elderly man with dementia. Stanley, the elderly man, believes that the protagonist Sarah (played by Leigh-Anne) is his granddaughter Kayla, and Sarah does not correct him.
Leigh-Anne, who grew up in Sandridge and attended Sandringham School, said: “[Sarah] needs love and affection just as much as he does. She’s had a tough life as well because her nan died some years ago and she has a bad relationship with her mother.
“She gets found out by his daughter that she’s pretending to be his granddaughter. I really wanted to explore what would happen if she did the wrong thing but for the right reasons. It’s got an ambiguous ending - there’s a lot of discussion to have after the film.”
Leigh-Anne had never written or starred in a short film before, and drew inspiration from her own relationship with her grandmother. She said: “When I was a teenager my grandmother was in a care home and I didn’t visit as much as I should. I still carry that guilt with me.
Leigh-Anne Gilbert in 'Kayla'. (Picture: Leigh-Anne Gilbert) - Credit: Archant
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“I’ve always had a good relationship with the older generation. I’ve worked at the Alban Arena for about six years and we have had a lot of care homes that come and visit and they were some of my favourite people.
“Stanley, played by Alan Rothwell, is mischievous and hilarious and brilliant.”
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The film was directed by John Dower, who previously taught Leigh-Anne at East 15 Acting School in Essex. Leigh-Anne said: “We just worked very well together, we’re very much into improvisation, and three or four years down the line we finally got this film done together. I wanted some more footage for my show reel.
“As soon as we had Alan come on board we knew we were really going somewhere.”
Leigh-Anne Gilbert in 'Kayla'. (Picture: Leigh-Anne Gilbert) - Credit: Archant
‘Kayla’ will be shown in the main short films category at St Albans Film Festival, on Sunday, July 1 in Torrington Hall on Holywell Hill.
The film will be played as part of a selection of short films between 11.30am and 2pm. To buy tickets go to http://www.stalbansfilmfestival.com/
