Eventful day in the life of a helpline

While Terry Gilliam might be guest of honour, the 17th Bradford International Film Festival also hopes to provide a platform for those just starting out in the business.

Among the movies being premiered this year is a 10-minute locally-made short film, Misconnect. Scripted by Rawdon-based actor and writer Denise Cooke, it stars actor, author and stand-up comedian Rhona Cameron and Alison Carroll who since 2008 has been the official model for the iconic gaming figure Lara Croft.

Set in and around a Bradford helpline centre, Misconnect is a downbeat drama with a dark thriller twist and focuses on the complex relationship between a troubled young woman and the volunteers at the helpline who have been supporting her for some time. The script was one of only five that was awarded funding by Bradford City of Film and the movie was co-produced by Ilkley-based production company Trading Pictures and Cooke’s Uplift Productions.

“I am hugely thrilled that having names like Rhona and Alison attached has raised the profile of the film,” says Cooke. “They have been so supportive of the project.”

Formerly an English and drama teacher, Cooke became a professional actor some years ago while pursuing her interest in writing. “I’ve always written,” she says. “Helplines have proliferated over the past five to 10 years – there are over 1,000 in the UK and 55 in Bradford alone.

“I wanted to look at the complexities of the relationships between volunteers and callers and the challenges that the people working for the helpline might face. Also, I had always wanted to work with Rhona who has been a friend for many years.” Cameron, who plays Gill the manager of the helpline, is clearly very happy to have been involved. “I’ve always done bits and pieces of acting over the years and this is something we’ve talked about for a long time; it’s been great to finally see it coming together.” Cameron is currently developing her own writing projects for film and television, including adapting her autobiographical book, 1979 A Big Year in a Small Town, into a screenplay. While she hasn’t toured as a stand-up for two years, filming Misconnect in Bradford in early December brought back some happy memories. “One of my favourite venues in the whole country is Leeds City Varieties,” she says. “I have always had great gigs there.”

For Carroll, taking on the central role of troubled young helpline caller Jess, represented a great opportunity. “As soon as I got the script, I thought this is something completely different to anything I have ever done before; certainly very different to Lara Croft,” she says. “I think the film allows everyone to relate to it because we all go through tough times.” Carroll’s current projects are an action-adventure movie with Michael Madsen, Amsterdam Heavy, in which she plays a kick-boxing secret agent and Gridiron UK, a feature based on a true story about American football directed by Ed Bye.

“The performances from Rhona and Alison are both great,” says Cooke, who plays one of the helpline volunteers. “Rhona gives a really strong, compelling performance. Alison’s role as Jess was quite a departure; she is used to playing feisty, glamorous heroines and in this she is a young woman in crisis.”

The film was originally entitled Disconnect, but had to be changed when it transpired that Brad Pitt has a movie of the same name coming out later this year. “I like the title Misconnect,” says Cooke. “It gives the sense of the faulty connections between the characters.”

After the film’s Bradford premiere on March 19, the plan is to take it to other festivals and Cooke is aiming high. “I am dead keen to take it to Cannes,” she says. “And it would be wonderful to go to Venice, Berlin and London.”

Northern Showcase

As well as Misconnect, the Northern Showcase on March 19 will feature four other films.

The Bedlamites: Documentary about fell running at night in the Yorkshire Dales.

I Spy: Drama about a missing girl and the Bradford reporter following the case.

Petrified: Animation about a gargoyle on a Saltaire church.

Stay: Animated music video by local band La La and the Boo Ya, using archive footage of Bradford.

Bradford International Film Festival. March 16-27.

0844 856 3797. www.nationamediamuseum.org.uk