Rewind

2009, 7 minutes

Short Film made for the Community Channel for Inside Justice Week

REWIND starts with a confrontation. A policeman and a young woman have grabbed hold of one another, and are yelling at each other, she's being aggressive, he's trying to calm her down – we don't know the details but, clearly, it's an arrest situation and the young woman is resisting it. Then the screen freezes on a shot of the police officer. Caption reads: Paul T., 35, Special Constable. The film starts rewinding until we see him with his wife, at home, just before going off to work. This ordinary morning coffee also quickly turns into an argument that is comically similar to the one of the young couple (even sentences get repeated verbatim – 'you say you will, but you never actually do it' or 'why do you have to always bring your father into everything' etc). It all leads up to him storming out. Then we return to the confrontation and this time the screen freezes on the young woman. Caption reads: Mercedes B., 20, student. The film then starts rewinding, again. Suddenly we stop and see Mercedes with Corry, her boyfriend. It doesn't look romantic for very long as an argument develops between them, leading up to her storming out. (the argument is classic relationship stuff, not drugs, or crime, both are 'ordinary' young people.) Using this device of rewinding and fast forwarding, we learn more about the lives of Mercedes and Paul, both experiencing the pressures of modern living and building up their frustrations. Gradually, it is becoming easier to understand how the confrontation in the park would have occurred. A situation misunderstood by two people under pressure. In the end, the film rewinds one last time and we see the two policemen approaching Mercedes. But then the other officer, Mike, steps forward and subtly takes over from Paul. He engages Mercedes with a calm tone - they're not after her, they just want to know if she's ok. Has anything happened? Though it takes a moment for both Mercedes and Paul to calm down, Mike's influence is very effective and the conflict is avoided.

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Companies involved in this production

• Media Trust