Director Ben Lankester - alongside wife and fellow Progress partner Bophanie Lun - launches a powerful advocacy drama for pregnancy charity Tommy's.
Inspired by his and Bophanie's own experiences with the subject matter, Ben wrote and directed 'Who's Counting?', telling the story of a couple who experience the mental and physical trauma of successive miscarriages.
The film led to a wider campaign created by Progress in collaboration with Tommy's and our friends at healthcare communications agency Mind+Matter. Inspired by the concept of 'Who's Counting?', Tommy's launched the UK's first 'Record of Loss', where women who have experienced miscarriage were invited to add their names to the register and be part of the very first attempt to record the number of miscarriages in this country.
'Who's Counting?' had a successful festival run throughout 2022 and picked up multiple awards along the way including Best Video Campaign and the Chair Award at The Drum Awards for Social Purpose, Best Drama at the Performance Short Film Competition, Best Short Film at both Manchester Lift-Off Festival and the London Independent Film Awards, and a Silver at Ciclope International Festival of Craft.
'Who's Counting?' illuminates a painful human truth with authenticity. Every decision points to realness and veracity. The craft is very moving: the acting, the script, cinematography, even the silences point to engagement. I profoundly believe that creativity can illuminate, can bridge, can connect, and this film does so.
This entire project was made possible by the generous support of a dedicated cast and crew and partners in post production, many of whom had experience with the subject matter and were fiercely passionate about helping to bring to life a film for such an important cause.
