The Quiet After
Writer, Director & Editor – Marta Kleczek
Writer & Production Assistant – Ava Ragavelas
Producer - Millie Longhurst
Director of Photography - Scarlett Metalli
Camara Assissant- Timi G Olorunsaiye
Sound Engineer - Alexandra Barnes
April 2026
Coming in
Project Summary:
"In a world where grief is erased by law, one man remembers the woman he was forced to forget."
The Quiet After is about Noah, a man living in a world where grief is treated as a burden and erased by law. After an accident, fragments of a woman he doesn't remember start to seep through. As he rediscovers the truth of his past, he must choose between obeying the system or holding onto the one thing that makes him human - his emotions.
My Role and Responsibilities:
As Producer, I took on a range of both logistical and creative responsibilities, including:
Sourcing, managing and booking all locations.
Schedule and leading meeting
Managing budget, invoicing and payment.
Leasing with actors and agents
Creating and comparing all legal paperwork.
Development Challenges
Large Scale Production
The biggest factor that helped my development as a producer was the scale of this project. During it, I raised, managed, and allocated a budget; hired and auditioned professional actors represented by agents; and secured more filming locations than in any of my previous projects. These challenges pushed me to improve my professionalism, as I had to clearly communicate my project to business owners and investors through emails and meetings. This experience also helped me develop resilience and confidence when negotiating with location owners. Additionally, I gained a deeper understanding of how professional casting works and the crucial role agents play in film production. This was an invaluable lesson that expanded my curiosity about the industry so much so that I am now seriously considering pursuing it as a career.
Location Preparation
When planning to film at the Barbican, I tried several times to contact them and get their approval for our 8-hour shoot. I was sent back a copy-and-paste reply. Adamant on this location and understanding that we were going to receive very little disruption and were not aiming to make money on the project, I proceeded with the shoot at the location.
As expected, during the shoot, I was approached by a member of staff. I clarified that we were a small crew filming a non-profit film and were not inconveniencing anybody. I had also printed out our insurance to prove we were not going to disrupt anyone. Because of my preparation, the employee allowed us to continue filming.
This situation proved to me the power of preparation and having faith in the process of your project. Because I had run the set well and kept all the kit neat, I gave the employees no reason to remove me or ask me to leave. This anticipation is something I now value in every shoot or every day, as it can save the day if preparation or a backup plan is needed.
Prop Issues
As I mentioned above, the scale of this production was larger than anything I had ever created before. Not only was the overall scale bigger, but it was also our introduction to the sci-fi genre, which meant we needed to build an entire world for our characters. We achieved this primarily through the use of props.
On our final shoot day, we had planned to film a sparkler scene. We intended for this to be our last shot because it needed to be dark, and we felt it would create a strong and visually pleasing way to wrap the entire shoot. However, when we began setting up the scene, I went to look for the sparklers and realised that they had not arrived or been placed in the props bag.
As a result, we had to think quickly and adapt. We used a small light we had on hand and experimented with the “firework” function to recreate the effect. Although this initially seemed like a major issue, it quickly turned into a great and emotional scene.
This experience taught me the importance of carefully checking and ticking off a props list before filming. It also reinforced the value of always having a backup plan and being prepared to adapt when things do not go as expected.