Nessa Wrafter’s Early Days selected for Raindance Film Festival

Writer/Director Nessa Wrafter and Producer Clancie Brennan’s Early Days tackles the difficult subject of postnatal mental health, based on the experience of anxiety and trauma that the director personally suffered with after the birth of her child. Having just begun its festival run, the film is already being selected for high profile film festivals including Cannes Shorts Film Corner, Galway Film Fleadh, Raindance Film Festival and Aesthetica Short Film Festival. The production was a predominately female crew and stars Maimie McCoy (The Musketeers) alongside Adrian Bower (The Last Kingdom).

Early Days is a short drama about a new mother, Kate, (played by Maimie McCoy). In the days following her return from hospital, she’s rocked by finding her world altered beyond recognition. Her partner Steve, (played by Adrian Bower), is aware of her precarious mental state — but his delight at their newborn makes it hard for them to connect. Though Kate knows she’s lucky to have become a mother, and her instincts toward her baby are fiercely protective, postnatal trauma and hallucinations make the world increasingly hard to bear. Can anything pull her back to reality — before it’s too late?”

Early Days Trailer 2018 from Tom Rudolph on Vimeo.

Nessa Wrafter studied film during her BA in University College Dublin, and for her MA at Reading University. This talented director has worked as an actor and presenter, and in production for ITV, Channel 4 and TV3. Earlier this year she was awarded the Papaya Bursary for emerging filmmakers and is currently developing various feature film scripts and a TV Series set in Ireland.

Clancie Brennan has worked as a producer in various advertising agencies and production companies for over a decade. With Tom Rudolph of Turn Buffalo and executive producer on Early Days she has made a move into film and they are currently in post production on her second short Who’s the Daddy? which is a co-production with Dark Energy Films.

The actress Indira Varma (Game of Thrones & Patrick Melrose) and Kate Magowan (Stardust), who suffered a traumatic birth and a form of PTSD, are both proud executive producers for the film. The beautiful cinematography was created by Sara Deane and edited by IFTA nominated editor Iseult Howlett.