ELECTRONIC PRESS KIT
LOGLINE
After the suicide of her best friend at university, a guilt-ridden and heartbroken young woman hikes Scotland’s West Highland Way to find salvation.
BRIEF SYNOPSIS
After the suicide of her best friend, a guilt-ridden and heartbroken young woman hikes Scotland’s West Highland Way to find salvation. Unprepared and overwhelmed she embarks on a journey from the streets of Glasgow to the breath-taking scenery of the Scottish Highlands. As our heroine heals, she finds the courage to speak out against the everyday misogyny she encounters, and about her deeply personal struggles with self-harm. The end of her pilgrimage takes her to her lost friend's family home on the Isle of Skye. There, in the arms of his mother, her grief is transformed. She returns home released from her past and able to speak publicly about her trauma. Her brave public exposé of the mental health crisis facing young people sparks positive change and her new life begins.
LONGER SYNOPSIS
Student Ellie and her best friend Lewis study anthropology at a Glasgow University, and both harbour the secret of self-harm. Ellie is in therapy, but Lewis struggles alone. When Lewis takes his own life, Ellie’s world is ripped apart. Trying to navigate her pain, Ellie goes clubbing and ends up in bed with a classmate who then slut-shames her on social media. To try and make sense of what has happened, Ellie embarks on the journey that Lewis had dreamed of doing one day.
Unprepared and overwhelmed, Ellie sets out on the hike with the end goal of visiting Lewis’s bereaved mother on the remote Scottish Isle of Skye. Blaming herself for Lewis’s suicide, a guilt-ridden and broken Ellie wants to apologise to his mother. Through the breath-taking wilderness of Scotland, Ellie stumbles into situations and people that challenge her to the core. She comes up against toxic masculinity in the form of a father and son and finds her voice as a woman, their wilderness experience creates a huge change of perspective for all. A chance encounter with a mother and daughter offers wisdom that helps her start to think differently about her past.
Arriving at Lewis’s family home hoping for forgiveness, Ellie breaks down in the arms of his mother. Lewis’s mother Oliva shares dark secrets of her sons past that help Ellie understand why he took his life. In their shared grief, they both discover that nobody is to blame for his death. The redemption at the end of Ellie’s pilgrimage transforms her. Before returning to Glasgow, Ellie, by a bonfire, has a cathartic release. Coming home, she takes the vulnerable step of broadcasting live on social media her university presentation of ‘what it means to be a human being’. It goes viral, as she speaks for a generation dealing with high suicide rates and mental health challenges. Ellie’s brutally honest and brave exposé of the mental health crisis across the world sparks positive change and her new life begins.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
THE MAKING OF THE LOW ROAD
The Low Road was made for a budget of £85,000, it received no funding. Instead, the production team raised the money from small private donations and personal savings. Somehow we pulled off the impossible!
Shot over 4 weeks in a Scottish summer by a hardy crew of six, headed up by first time director and producer team, we still pinch ourselves at what we’ve created. Our vision was strong and our grit was steely!
Our mission was to create a beautiful, emotionally powerful piece of fiction that would move audiences. We saw the enormity of the mental health crisis in young adults and wanted to find a way to foster connection through the age-old art of storytelling. We believe we’ve achieved this part of the mission; the next part is to get it in front of people.
What we have managed to achieve in terms of production value alone is nothing short of incredible. Shot on the SONY Venice 2 our DOP Alan McLaughlin has created a film of depth and beauty. The up-and-coming cast sourced from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland give amazing performances, utilising their years of study. Supported by some strong mature actors such as Ewan Stewart (Titanic, Rob Roy) and Jane Paul-Getts, the cast have brilliantly brought to life the story of Ellie and Lewis.
Making a feature film has been the long-time dream of writer/director Stephen, who having completed 4 years at Edinburgh Film Academy, cut his teeth in documentary filmmaking. Our producer Sophie juggled managing the production, along with carrying out other roles, with being a full-time mum to a toddler. Said toddler thankfully loved being on set, and we only had to edit out one of her screams!
We know all too well the difficulties of breaking into the industry, especially as parents with full-time care responsibilities. We feel incredibly fortunate to be able to present The Low Road to festivals, and incredibly proud of what we have achieved. We believe, that with much determination and passion, we’ve managed a small miracle – a micro-budget debut indie film that looks and feels like much larger production. This next part of our mission is to get the film out to audiences where it has the potential to open up conversations around mental health and hopefully create change, for the better.
WATCH TRAILER
PRIMARY CAST
RACHEL DICK
Rachel first met The Low Road’s director, Stephen Mulhearn, when he was a guest lecturer at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for the second and third-year undergraduate acting students. Synchronicity had them bump into each other in the street after the lecture. Rachel has a raw passion and talent that deeply moved Stephen. Rachel’s vulnerability and honesty really got to him. ‘I saw in her someone who was not filled to the brim with confidence. For me, confidence can be overrated, and having the opposite “hollows us out” and leaves an opening for a talented professional like Rachel to be filled by the spirit of a character.’ From the first audition to the final slate, she was Ellie’.
Adam already has a lot of experience both on stage and in film at a young age. Currently training at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, his previous theatre includes Starter for Ten at the Bristol Old Vic, Sing Street(Huntington Theatre) and Bar Mitzvah Boy (Upstairs At The Gatehouse). His film and TV credits include: The Effects Of Lying (ITVX), Genius/Picasso (National Geographic), Tolkien (Fox Searchlight Pictures) and Call Me Alvy (Turn The Slate Productions). ‘Adam just stole the audition, he has an energy and talent that made him our only choice for Lewis. His excitement and commitment to not only understanding the character but allowing him to “live inside him” during the shoot was an amazing asset and gift to the whole production of The Low Road.’
ADAM BREGMAN
JANE PAULGETS
‘I first met Jane when I was studying film at the Edinburgh Screen Academy, she came into a student short film we were doing and she stole the show. My jaw dropped at her performance. With experience on stage and TV and in film, I knew she had what it would take to play one of the most important scenes in the whole movie, as Olivia. Playing the bereaved mother of Lewis was never going to be easy. She “got me” over zoom for the addition, I cried so much at her one-take that I had to go and rewatch it to reconfirm her suitability for this pivotal role. There was no doubt, and in the most important scene in the entire film; Jane ripped every one of our hearts in half.
Ewan Stewart is perhaps best known for playing First Officer Murdoch in James Cameron’s Titanic (1997). In 2005, Ewan Stewart was one of the European actors considered for the vacant role of James Bond. He is well known to Only Fools and Horses fans for portraying Dr Robbie Meadows in the hugely popular television series. He also starred in The Cook the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, as well as Rob Roy, Who Dares Wins, Young Adam and Valhalla Rising. Ewan’s years of experience starring in international blockbusters brings a well-known talent to The Low Road. “I’ve known Ewan since we met on set of David McKenzie’s The Last Great Wilderness and his talent and heart are vital in our production. One of my favourite Scottish actors in my debut film, we lucked out”!
EWAN STEWART
PRIMARY PRODUCTION TEAM
THE FULL CREW FILMING ON TOP OF CONIC HILL LOCH LOMOND
STEPHEN MULHEARN – WRITER/DIRECTOR
Since graduating from The Screen Academy in Edinburgh with an honour’s degree, writer-director, Stephen Mulhearn has made two full-feature award-winning documentaries, Transcending the Storm and Eternity’s Sunrise. His goal as a filmmaker is to tell compelling stories that make a difference in the world. This latest step into feature films was always the end goal. Stephen cut his teeth in documentaries whilst holding a strong vision of directing movies.
‘I have a rather eclectic background, which I feel is of benefit to modern storytellers. For over 3 decades I’ve been a founder and Celtic shamanic teacher at one of Europe’s best-loved spiritual retreat centres, Lendrick Lodge in the wilds of Bonnie Scotland. I blend this passion with filmmaking.
With a strong belief that filmmakers are part of the spectrum of modern shamans for the 21st century, I feel we all have a spirited duty to illuminate storytelling. Our ancestors told myths and magical tales around fires in the dark of the night to help their youth fill with power, and now filmmakers have the same potential to conjure new myths in darkened movie theatres.
I am so committed to sharing the modern myth of The Low Road. It has so many truths entwined in its story from our research, lived experiences and the loss of people we loved to suicide. The passion of everyone involved in this film, and its subject matter, can be felt in this co-creation, that gives voice to so many today.’
SOPHIE MARSH – PRODUCER
‘As a first-time producer, I wanted to make sure my first project had heart and had personal meaning to me. So, I dived head-first into this insane project (not-funded but enough passion from all involved to pull off the impossible).
The personal meaning came from my own ‘lived experience’. Back in my late teens I self-harmed. I felt an enormous sense of relief self-harming, it was an outlet for my emotions that I could (just about) control. The Low Roads’ story about a young woman trapped by her secret of self-harming and her quest into wilderness to find answers is partially my own truth.
I wanted to make a film that touches that tender heart, a film that gives a glimmer of hope to those suffering, and I believe The Low Road does that.
​
A little hope, a little relief. We wanted to make a beautiful film; we have. All along the way and every day of production I have been bowled away by the support from people who know the pain and suffering that suicide and mental health difficulties brings. This a story of and for our times, and I am very proud to be a part of it.’
ALAN C. MCLAUGHLIN – DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography, Alan McLaughlin, is a double BAFTA-award winning cinematographer. Alan has been collaborating with director Stephen Mulhearn since 2012. Alan has worked on multi-million dollar productions such as Outpost 2. He was awarded a BAFTA New Talent Award for Cinematography in his debut film Lost Serenity. In 2017 his work on ‘ISOLANI’ saw him selected as one of Camerimage’s debut cinematographers. His resume also includes Sundance Award-Winning feature Difret.
Alan’s collaborations with Stephen Mulhearn have taken his talents to the snowy mountains of Nepal and to Brazil where Alan’s craftsmanship as a D.O.P. contributed to award-winning documentaries. The pair have schemed and dreamed about this first feature film together and are excited to bring their co-creation to the big screen.
TECH SPECS
Project Type: Narrative Film
Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes 49 seconds
Completion Date: January, 2024
Production Budget: 75,000 GBP
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Country of Filming: United Kingdom
Language: English
Shooting Format: Sony X-OCN LT
Camera: Sony Venice 2, 8K
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Film Colour: Colour
PRODUCTION STILLS
SOUNDTRACK
‘The Low Road has a driving soundtrack. Working with almost the whole album, of The Ballads of Peckham Rye by Blue Rose Code was a must in driving our narrative forward. In addition to being one of the most unpretentious albums I’ve ever heard in my life, it literally could’ve been written for this film.’
Photo. courtesy of Blue Rose Code
The raw emotion of Ross Wilson, lead singer of Blue Rose Code, is an important voice on this redemptive journey of reclaiming self.
Martha Wainwright is a legendary troubadour from a dynasty of talented musicians within her family tree. Martha got what The Low Road was all about and when her management said how committed she was to have in her song in the film, Bloody Motherfucking Asshole, it was a celebration all-round.
Photo. courtesy of Camila Lundbye
Beth Orton provided the ‘growing-up-soundtrack’ to both the director and producer’s lives. There is no other song we wanted for the closing of The Low Road. When Beth’s management asked for us to send the visual rough draft with Beth’s song, Feel to Believe included we were terrified. The relief and joy when she said ‘she was in’ blew us all out of orbit!’ The power of this song matches the breakthrough of our hero.
ORGANISATIONS IN SUPPORT
We were so cautious in the telling of this tale and wanted to be super sensitive to the tender material we were working with. We cannot thank the Samaritans enough for the support and help with the script development, to ensure both accuracy and a wee ray of hope for so many people in the world.
ADDRESS
SEEING THE MAGIC PRODUCTIONS
BRIG O'TURK, CALLANDER, SCOTLAND
FK17 8HT
​
T: +44 (0)1877 376 337
M: +44 (0)7917 846484