Logline:
A runaway teenager’s quest for freedom turns into the fight for her life, after she joins the home of a spiritual leader known as ‘Godmother’.
Genre/Format/Status:
Drama, Psychological Thriller (feature) (script)
Synopsis:
BRIDIE, an overwhelmed, middle-class teenaged girl runs away from home to avoid her life as a student. She meets a non-binary youth called KNOX, who shares an interest in art and graffiti. Knox invites Bridie to seek shelter for one night and takes her home to meet ROSE, the ‘Godmother’.
As a pseudo-spiritual teacher, Rose encourages the girls to seek their personal freedom, as they shack up in her home and run the streets for amusement. All merrily funded by social security, the household fulfills many unspoken deals with each other to keep the roof over their head and their various needs for acceptance and love met.
Bridie finds out very quickly she will need to choose between returning home and surrendering to the task of becoming a social citizen, or stay in this depraved place where she is able to avoid her life, but at what cost?
Bridie finagles her freedom at the cost of some of the hardest lessons for a young woman, until Godmother is killed by her own son, LUCAS. He then attacks Bridie in a rage of his possessiveness until Knox rescues her. Bridie then runs for her life.
After Rose dies, the youths are involuntarily freed to pursue their lives. We see Bridie and Knox develop an unlikely friendship and make a life around their artistic pursuits. Both are better for their friendship, and find acceptance in the mainstream for the individuals they are.
Godmother is set in western Sydney but could easily be rewritten for a US low socio economic status area or major Australian city.
Themes:
Creative avoidance. Freedom isn’t free. Motherhood and what it means to be a good mother and parent. Various forms of the negative feminine and how it plays out in families and society. What constitutes ‘normal behaviour’ and is it a choice?
Intended Audience:
15 – 25 year olds.
Tone:
Dark, edgy, leading towards the light, hopeful.
Comparisons:
Bad Boy Bubby, My Private Idaho, Kids.
Tagline:
How far are you prepared to go to get your freedom?