Greensleeves- A Film To Satirise Influencers on Fashion

Greenwashing. It’s the art of presenting a product or a brand as eco-friendly and sustainable when, in reality, it’s anything but. As consumers increasingly seek out ethical and environmentally conscious options, the fashion industry has responded with a flurry of “green” initiatives. Yet, amidst the sea of organic cotton and recycled polyester lies a tangled web of half-truths and marketing gimmicks.

Greensleeves Inc. is a short comedy by Gatton Films that satirises the influencer space and the way that brands exploit others in order to appear green via “greenwashing”. It follows the story of eco-influencer Fleur as she heads to the studio for the launch of her new “green” brand deal, but she’s quickly met with the harsh reality of the corporate machine.

It’s a great script on a deeply important topic, this is how the conversations get started. It’s light hearted, but it gets us thinking. It reminds us to take care of the planet and do our part

Sean Murrough, associate producer

Co-written by director Guy Taylor and actor Fran St Clair, they took the approach that comedy is the best way to begin discussions around serious topics and that’s exactly what they are trying to achieve with Greensleeves Inc. The pair are very passionate about the environment and had been wanting to collaborate for a while on a project covering sustainable themes but without available budget, Guy entered VMI’s ‘Sustainable Film Competition, since the sustainability message was the central theme of the project and was delighted when he won first prize. 

Winning the VMI sustainability competition was a big boost to the project and allowed them to kick the project into gear immediately. The most difficult part of independent filmmaking is always the budget/financials and so, being given close to £20k of kit as a donation-in-kind from VMI is the only reason that the film could even be made! The decision was made to shoot on VMI’s Cooke Anamorphics/i SF 2x to help create that cinematic, high-end fashion look.

DoP James Handley and producer Bori Veszelák then joined alongside the remaining cast and other key crew members. Location was finalised at Tooting Film Studios in Tooting. An interesting aspect for this project is that we wanted to be able to see light, c-stands and monitors in shot to sell the idea that the film is set in a film studio. This meant that a lot of VMI’s kit doubled up as set design – presenting an interesting challenge for production designer Alice Gegere.

Greensleeves Inc. is an integral project to me, it’s a film that highlights key criticisms around sustainability and consumer culture. I’ve always been intrigued by the influencer space and the impact they have on our fashion climate. They undoubtedly affect consumer culture as a whole and hold power to shape the fashion industry. After knowing Guy for years and working as an actor on his previous projects, it was about time we finally put our heads together to get to writing! The VMI Sustainability competition gave us the perfect opportunity to get started and gather together a talented cast and crew to make something amazing – a film that handles the harsh realities of the fast fashion industry through a satirical lens. I can’t wait for everyone to see the final film and to meet Fleur the Vegan Qween.

– Fran St Clair, writer/lead

With the film still needing one half-day of shooting to complete, the main bulk has already been edited and so it should be a quick turnaround for completion. A fantastic group effort from the team combining excellent performances from cast and talented efforts from the crew means that this is one that Gatton Films is really looking forward to sharing.

Gatton Films