Saving Face
About the Film
Saving Face is a powerful twelve-minute film created in collaboration with Kestrel Theatre, developed through a series of workshops that explore the transformative work of restorative justice. Starring Sharon Duncan-Brewster and Ricardo, who discovered acting through Kestrel Theatre whilst in prison, the film tells the story of a grieving mother confronting the man who killed her son.
Set in a single room and unfolding over one charged interaction, Saving Face delves into forgiveness, guilt, and healing. Director Dorothy Allen-Pickard and writer Simon Longman draw inspiration from the real-life experiences of men whose stories shaped the film, challenging viewers to reconsider their perceptions of those who have been to prison and the paths that brought them there.
Director - Dorothy Allen-Pickard
Producers - Georgia Rose, Megan Benyon
Writer - Simon Longman
Edit - Dorothy Allen-Pickard
Director of Photography - Ruben Woodin Dechamps
Casting - Heather Basten
Music - Udit Duseja
Costume Designer - Amy Thompson
Colourist - Alex Gregory
Production Designer - Rana Fadavi
Executive Producers - Rosa Rogers + Elle Henderson
"We urgently need to find a new way of telling stories about prison, crime and restorative justice that comes from a place of lived experience and resists stigmatising views on people who’ve been in prison. One of the main reasons I wanted to make this film was to develop a way of telling stories that places people with lived experience at the centre of the creative process. The men involved in this project became narrators of their own stories, and through workshops and improvisations we constructed a collective voice that drew on a shared experience of the criminal justice system. The process of making this film not only helped the men with reintegration, it also uses storytelling and performance to give them a way of processing and expressing what they’ve been through." - Dorothy Allen-Pickard, Director.