A married couple said they wanted to use the success of their award winning short film to raise awareness of mental health following the death of the film’s composer.
Richard and Rachel Prendergast were first time film-makers when they produced Sylvia in Norfolk in 2018 after ploughing £10,000 of their savings into dramatising a true story.
The film’s composer Jonny Hamer, from London, was found dead in April aged 32 having “really suffered” with his mental health.
Sylvia was recently acquired by Disney+ and will be available to millions of subscribers across the UK and Europe for the next three years.Mrs Prendergast, 40, described the news as “bittersweet” for Mr Hamer’s mother.
“It’s a really lovely thing for her to have what he created, but at the same time, it’s very, very difficult for her,” she said.
“But she’s happy that it exists, and that his work will be listened to around the world.”Inspiration for Sylvia came after Mr Prendergast, 42, spotted a Facebook post about a man trying to reunite a car he had bought with its previous owner.
Kevin Duke, from Kentucky in the USA, had found an emotional letter in the vehicle, named Sylvia, from a woman who had been forced to sell it after losing her family in a house fire.
The movie, which was shot on location in the flat landscapes of Great Yarmouth and Acle, was described by The Prendergasts as “a true story about love, loss and a car”.
It went on to win 25 worldwide awards, which included qualification for an Oscar.The Prendergasts, who live in Old Catton, near Norwich, said it was “amazing” and “surreal” the film was now available on Disney+.
“Disney said they had chosen a small package of films, of which Sylvia was one, and that they were the best films selected, which is great to know,” Mrs Prendergast said.
“We had to keep the news quiet for a year.”The Prendergasts said they were now hoping to produce their first feature length film, and were seeking £500,000 of funding to get the project off the ground.
If successful, production could begin next year.
