Penny Evans: The Rehearsal

Penny Evans is a filmmaker based in Bristol who has worked with a range of community groups and is experienced in developing scripts from people’s lives. Her work has been shown at Brief Encounters Short Film Festival. The Rehearsal was commissioned by Picture This and Knowle West Media Centre, and supported by the Lottery through the Film Council’s First Light initiative and Aardmans.

Evans began this project by meeting with 20 young girls from The Zodiacs, a local cheerleader/majorette troupe. After several months of planning and three days before shooting was about to start at Aardmans, Georgina, daughter of the troupe leader, fell seriously ill and everything stopped. The final film is very different from what was initially planned. Edited together from research and development footage, it is a snapshot of the hard work and dedication that was to have been a central theme in the original film. George has subsequently improved in health and the film is dedicated to her full recovery.