The Yorkshire couple opening up conversations around baby loss with animation film in memory of their son Isaak

“When you lose a baby, you start a battle to secure and cement your child’s place in the world. It is important not only to mourn a loss but to try and celebrate and share their life."

The York couple are determined to find ways to mark their son Isaak, to share his name and ensure their baby boy will not be forgotten. That was a key motivation behind their new animated film For Isaak, which explores how stillbirth can impact a family.

As Richard and Rebecca grieved during the pandemic lockdown, the pair turned to animator Richard’s filmmaking expertise to honour their son.

What started out then as a personal project to try to make sense of what had happened to them as a family is now a film that they hope will also help other people facing similar situations.

“It was quite a big decision because I wasn’t sure whether I was ready to cross my personal and professional life by so much,” says Richard, a lecturer in animation at York St John University.

“Initially it was a piece for us, to try to make sense of things and articulate what we were feeling. It’s a complicated set of emotions that come with baby loss.

"You’ve got all this grief but also you feel like you want to celebrate their life and their brief time here. We wanted to create a piece that communicated that.”

“It’s a very difficult set of emotions to deal with and a very specific type of grief, having a baby you’re having to say hello and goodbye to at the same time,” court clerk Rebecca adds.

“You’re not getting the chance to get to know your child properly. To be able to express that and get it across is important, for other families but also to try to make people who haven’t been through it understand a bit of what we’re going through.

"It opens up that topic - one that is still taboo. A lot of people found it very difficult to talk to us afterwards…For us, it’s very much about opening up conversation and making people feel more comfortable talking about [baby loss].”

Richard and Rebecca found that the support materials they were offered as bereaved parents were helpful in providing facts, information, and signposting to baby loss support. But they felt that what was lacking was something that made them feel they were not alone in the experience.

The film aims to fill this gap and is supported by the UK’s leading baby loss support charities including Sands, Petals and Tommy’s. It shows the impact of loss on a mother, a father and on a little girl, based on their daughter Evie who was two at the time.

Richard and Rebecca worked with a team of animators and designers, made up of close friends who offered their time for free.

“Film development helped us to share our thoughts with one another, and working on the script was a way to remember and celebrate Isaak while we were isolated during lockdown,” Richard explains.

“Animation has always been an escape for both creators and audiences alike and working on the film was a way to get out and explore our ideas within the confines of home.

“We hope that ‘For Isaak’ speaks to those who have experienced baby loss and articulates something of the complexity of the emotions parents and siblings feel.

"We want to say something about the need to mourn a loss but also to celebrate a life. We also want the film to open a wider conversation around baby loss and to start to normalise the discussion in places it has not previously existed.”

For Isaak was officially launched at York Theatre Royal on June 3 to an audience of cast and crew, friends and family, charities who have supported the film project, and families who have experienced baby loss.

Now, the film will be screened at selected festivals in the UK and at a forthcoming ‘Republic of Parenthood’ symposium at York St John before a wider release online.

For tickets to the symposium on July 7, visit: www.yorksj.ac.uk/events/upcoming/the-republic-of-parenthood.php