The birth of a mall goth

comedy short film

producer: Poppi Knight

Logline: May’s sister Gemma has become a goth overnight, causing May to explore the fantastical reasons for the sudden change, while also going on a journey of self-discovery. what causes someone to become a mall goth… Stained t-shirt? Hatched from an egg?

Starring Emily Carey (Geek Girl, House of the Dragon) and Lola Blue (Children’s and Family Emmy Nominee for A Kind of Spark)

The Birth of a Mall Goth is a high paced surrealist comedy exploring alternative identity, teenagehood, sibling connection, and the autistic need to make sense of the world around you.

DIRECTOR’s vision:

The idea for this film came from recently visiting a shopping centre where I saw some goths, and it transported me back to being a kid in the early 00s in a similar setting, when I remembered seeing a group of people who looked exactly the same. This got me thinking: how do people get into this subculture and trend? This type of goth: mall goth, always tend to be around the same age (13-17) and dress the same today as they did back then. I wanted to have fun with this exploration and make it silly but still conceivable.

My own goth phase only lasted about 2 weeks and was greatly inspired by St Trinians, but I’ve always loved the strong look and feeling of individuality they have. I wanted to explore this different way of a teenager finding themselves and show a strong sisterly relationship with punchy saturated colours inspired by early 00s films. The humour and outlandishness is inspired by BIG BOYS and WE ARE LADY PARTS. By adding in a late 2010s tv trope of voiceover/presenting to camera - inspired by a mix of FLEABAG and LADHOOD I wanted to give May a cheekiness inspired by teenage me.