Hand to Hand Combat released highlighting domestic violence rise

Short film to be released online on Tues 15th December

Filmed remotely during lockdown with a cast of 45 women, Hand to Hand Combat is a seven-minute short film told from the perspective of an observer to domestic violence.

The film has been produced in the hope of raising public awareness of an important issue that directly affects almost one in three women according to the ONS, and which recent reports indicate have been further exacerbated by the lockdown restrictions.

It has been written by Jayne Marshall and directed by Paul Blinkhorn, with a company of actors and non-actors. Jayne and Paul assert that “If just one person is able to find comfort and safety from the film then we will have achieved our goal.”

Prior to being reconceived for film Hand to Hand Combat was one of the winners of the Manchester Monologues and was performed at the Royal Exchange Theatre and aired on BBC Radio Manchester.

Writer Jayne Marshall wrote the piece following something that she herself witnessed: “I recalled an incident I witnessed on a busy street one Saturday afternoon. A man was hurling abuse at a woman and no-one stopped to intervene, in fact one or two were filming it on their phones.

I was too scared of whether this man would then attack me if I said anything, so I went off and found a police officer. This has bothered me ever since and I wondered what I could have done differently. This woman was so scared and I wished with all my heart that I could have put up some kind of protective barrier and this is where idea of the Women of Manchester came in.”

The film will be being released publicly online on YouTube on Tuesday 15th December and can be viewed Hand to Hand Combat - YouTube

#DomesticAbuse #HandToHand #WomenOfManchester #NotAlone #MakeItStop

Published: 17-Dec-2020: (6081)