Character Backgrounds

Emma's background is slightly troubled, she grew up on a nice council estate in Kent, however it wasn't a privileged upbringing, certainly nothing compared to her wealth now. She worked hard and relentlessly through her late teens and twenties, now age 36 she holds a top position in a central London   management company. She's head of international communications and speaks several languages, this is how she initially got the job.

Aged 24 she became pregnant with a boy, Jack who is now 12. The pregnancy was an accident but as the baby grew she became very attached and couldn't abort or give up the baby, so decided to keep it with a lot of help from her parents. The father was an old work colleague who she didn't want the boy to see, he was to immature for the child's own good. 

Somehow Emma managed to continue working and evolving, thanks to the help of her parents with childcare. Aged 5, Jack was diagnosed with mild-high autism, a form that means he is highly intellectual in some areas but in others has a mind of someone several years younger than him.

Now they live together in a substantial suburban house in Greater London, the house is a large, typically middle class house. The house is modern, newly designed and a statement of Emma's wealth and success.


Jack attends a local school, getting Jack settled here was one of the hardest things Emma's had to do, she had to stay with him in the classroom well into the first few lessons, every morning for nearly 6 months.

Now Jack is relatively settled but cannot really be left alone, Emma often has to deal with fits or outbursts that he has. She struggles greatly trying to balance him and work now that he is older, her parents are frailer and less able to help with looking after him. She employs a nanny but Jack doesn't like her very much. There's little connection between them and she has a lot to learn about Jack's habits, likes and dislikes.

Outbursts and situations like the one we experience in our Short Film occur weekly and are testing Emma to her limit.

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