Bethany Barr, a third-year BA (Hons) Film Production student specialising in editing, discusses her role as director on the upcoming Bournemouth Film School (BFS) graduation film, Limbo (2025), as well as creative challenges and the benefits of directing.
Limbo (2025) is a BFS graduation film produced by third-year students of BA (Hons) Film Production. Bethany Barr, a student specialising in editing, undertook the role of director on the production, for which she describes as a portrayal of “the nightmarish patient experience [which acts] as a cautionary tale to the future of the healthcare industry.”
“I was responsible for taking the script and crafting the vision of the film from that," she says. "This involved working closely with the other departments on the film. As well as this, I had the responsibility of working with the cast – to bring performances out of them that aligned with my vision and the story we were trying to tell.”
“Limbo brought challenges with finding a balance between portraying the nightmarish patient experience, whilst also still creating empathy amongst the audience for the characters we see, who are part of this system (doctors, reception staff, etc). This involved a lot of careful work with the actors – making sure that their characters were coming across in the 'right' way. We also worked through this by using different camera, sound, production design, and editing techniques – making sure that all departments were on the same page about what we were trying to portray.”
Bethany shares that graduation film directors will “gain a lot of people skills [and] a lot of confidence too.” She adds, “With Limbo, I was able to make something that I wouldn't have otherwise dreamed of, if it wasn't for the people around me.”
Since progressing through its pre-production and production phases, Limbo is now making its way through post-production. Reflecting on the wisdom gained along the way, Bethany offers some advice to directing students: “Dream big on your ideas, and go from there. It's always better to start big, and then listen to your team about how you can make things a reality.”
She stresses the importance of relying on your team, reminding “you can't do it all, and you shouldn't try to.”
