Moth is a short narrative film which explores the complex dynamic between a father and daughter who are trying to reconnect after years of estrangement. The film is centered around Emily, a young, mixed-race girl who uses her imagination to cope with the things happening around her. We were blessed with a brilliant cast of very talented actors who were a dream to work with. Sean McPherson is a farther in real life, so it was a real insight working through his character with him and having his perspective which informed his performance so well.

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'This film was made as my graduate piece for film school', said Myers.

'I graduated in the midst of Covid uncertainty. It was a difficult time for me - writing from a very vulnerable place, producing a film within strict covid-restrictions from the government and battling with the Uni to receive an education to a standard that we were paying. I was really inspired by social-surrealism and wanted to portray Emily’s mental state through the realisation of a Moth trapped under a glass. Although I’m still unsure if this fantastical element lands, I’m glad I wrote it in there. There’s something beautiful about sitting with your own thoughts and letting your imagination run free of judgement. Often this is how I cope with things in my own life that I cannot quite make sense of fully. The feeling will translate into a scene idea or a sound design element or something of use which is actually just a useful way for me to therapize.

There are many layers to the story that I would have liked to explore further with a longer runtime. Like the emotional complexity of being a mixed-race girl brought up in a white household - moving from the inner city to the suburbs and losing my relationship with my black father during this time also. I felt that not only my parental relationship was becoming lost but I grieved the lessons that only he could have taught me. There is a line in the film where she tells him that she misses the way he cooks plantain. This was my attempt at communicating that she has also lost part of her cultural identity through their estrangement. 

I was very concerned with developing the character’s with empathy. The film to me is about that loss of innocence that comes from those formative years. Realising that adults are just people dealing with their own shit that the world has thrown at them too. I just wanted Emily to gain a sense of autonomy by the end - for me, it’s not really about what will happen between the two of them next. It’s about the fact that’s he has learnt from this life experience and will now carry herself with one more lesson learnt.'