TREACLE
18 mins
Directed by Rosie Westhoff
Written by April Kelley
Starring; Wilder Yari, April Kelley
In collaboration with the Bisexual Resource Centre
April Kelley was selected as 1 of 9 people for the 2019 BFI Network @ Flare in partnership with BAFTA mentorship
Treacle is the story of two friends, Belle, and Jessie, who go on a weekend away to help Jessie get over a recent breakup. Road-tripping through California, we follow them over the course of 24 hours as Belle convinces Jessie to not cancel the trip she’d originally planned to go on with her ex. Lines begin to blur between them when the always heterosexual Jessie in her drunken, post-breakup loneliness kisses bisexual Belle. Treacle aims to give a voice to the ‘B’ in LGBTQ.
“From screenwriter-star, April Kelley and Mini Productions is a delicately provocative, smartly orchestrated love story wrapped in a gorgeous colour pallet and played to a unique soundtrack that will ring through your ears long after the credits role. Without stigma or stereotypes, and without preaching too loudly, Treacle offered something new, something unique, and something great. This short film is a must-watch piece of cinema.” – The Film Magazine
“Treacle is a short film with a fresh outlook that depends a lot on its female-led team: Rosie Westhoff’s vision fused with April Kelley’s words and the chemistry between Kelley and Wilder Yari comes together as a beautiful whole that deserves our attention.” – The Simple Cinephile
“April Kelley and Rosie Westhoff have created something really special with Treacle. While LGBTQI+ stories are becoming more commonplace within cinematic storytelling, there seems to be a severe lack of representing the B in LGBTQI. But with Treacle, it’s portrayed with the utmost respect and great storytelling.” – What the Flick
“The film achieves its aim –to give a story to the ‘B’ in LGBTQ. The acting is strong, particularly from Kelley who also wrote the script and, if I may, is most likely drawing from her personal well. Treacle is sweet, sickly and lets the message lingers in your mouth after the credits roll.” – Battle Royale with Cheese
“This is the writing debut of April Kelley but I would be willing to bet a round drinks that she has been writing for a while now behind-the-scenes because this was a very capable script. Every line of dialogue needs to mean something in a short film, especially one with an emotional rooted message and Kelley accomplishes this with her script.” – Silver Screen Analysis