THESE THINGS AREN’T MINE

Directed by Barney White and written in collaboration with former gymnast turned circus artist Gabbie Cook, These Things Aren’t Mine is a visceral, abstract and emotive exploration into the psyche of an ex-child athlete living with PTSD and hyper vigilance.

The ambition for These Things Aren’t Mine is to explore the impacts that abuse in childhood elite training environments can have on adult life; the invasions of physical and emotional space, imbalances of power that ripple through day to day life in both personal and professional environments, where victims often feel powerless to tell their stories and with little support available if they do.

Presented through abstract, poetic imagery, the film explores the day to day effects of living with trauma; to give voice, physicality and visibility to these experiences, and the process of how healing begins.

Stories like this need to be told, and by presenting it through an artistic medium we hope it will forge an understanding that builds empathy and enables people to share their stories - to know that they are not alone.

CREATIVE STATEMENT by Gabbie Cook

''The title These Things Aren’t Mine came about because, as far as my memory stretches, I have lived with a tension in my body which was created by someone else.

These Things Aren’t Mine is a very necessary opportunity to honour my experience, turning something traumatic into something creative; allowing me to publicly take hold of the narrative and tell it how I experienced it. We need to make this film because I wish someone had made it when I was little. It is ultimately a hopeful narrative about recovery, and a call for accountability.''