When love is lost before its time is out, the feelings left behind don’t diminish with it. Considering the complexities of young grief and love held for someone in the wake of their passing, London-based filmmaker Olly Fawcett directs short film Goodnight, Amelie. Situating viewers as a fly on the wall of grief, the film follows Leo as he mourns his recently passed girlfriend, with whom he relocated from France to London. Finding himself increasingly detached from friends and family reaching out with support, he retraces their steps through voicemail messages, attempting to maintain the closeness they shared through an open-ended trail of messages left unanswered.

Lensing the many facets of grief when experienced in youth, and the cycles entered to overcome loss, Goodnight, Amelie sees Leo roam the East London landscape on his skateboard, seeking catharsis by living out conversations from a time before Amelie’s absence. Captured on 16mm, his physical journey mirrors the process of grief, as he searches for understanding, and a way to move forward – consciously shot using a finite medium to document each biting emotion as a first take.

Working with cinematographer Caleb Johnston and a small crew, Fawcett explores the freedom found by escaping the city, and the associated thoughts born there. With his background in skating, non-actor Sparrow Knox takes the role of its lead, bringing a sense of comfort to his movements amid the sensitivities of handling loss. Offering a raw snapshot of grief, and the denial and deflection that can accompany its early stages, Goodnight, Amelie explores love’s ability to transcend the limitations cast upon it – extending far beyond the parting of ways forced by tragedy.