Rob Munday
A deeply moving tale of an expecting mother and how she deals with the possibility of having a child with Down’s Syndrome, Carolina Giammetta’s I Don’t Care is an impressive short full of assured performances and relatable themes. Featuring a character-driven storyline that really encourages its viewers to give great consideration to its subject matter, Giammetta’s 14-minute short resonates strongly without ever feeling forced or sanctimonious.
“I wanted to make a film that may help change new parent’s perspective”
Commissioned by Film London as part of their London Calling Shorts Scheme, the short was shot over three days with what the director describes as “a small and sensitive crew”. Eager to discover what motivated the decision to make a film centred around Down’s Syndrome, Short of the Week spoke to Giammetta to get an insight into the root of her storyline:
“I was inspired by an amazing photographic exhibition, Shifting Perspective I went to see when my friend had a baby with Down Syndrome and I wanted to understand it more. As a mother who had feared having a child with Down Syndrome, it totally transformed the way I felt and I wanted to make a film that may help change new parent’s perspective of it. I worked with the curators of the exhibition Richard & Fiona Bailey and cast their daughter Billie-Jo Bailey, who had never acted before, to play the lead”.
Here at Short of the Week HQ I have somewhat of a reputation as a man that’s hard to move, but I’m not afraid to admit that I Don’t Care left me gently sobbing in front on my computer screen when I first viewed it. As a parent it feels like it utterly encapsulates that unconditional love you have for your children, but more importantly, it really highlights the preconceptions we can all have about things we don’t fully understand and forces us to take a reflective look at how we ourselves may judge others.
Now working on developing not one, but three feature-length productions and a play called Ripple, Carolina is also about to start directing for television. You can keep up-to-date with her work through the website below.