Some projects just sound really interesting, and so we’re more than happy to share the news that LOLLIPOP, the fiction debut feature of writer-director Daisy-May Hudson, starring Posy Sterling (The Outrun), TerriAnn Oudjar (Top Boy) and newcomer , has wrapped after a five week shoot in London!

LOLLIPOP is described as an optimistic and life-affirming story that follows Molly (Sterling), a young woman who having just been released from prison struggles to regain custody of her children from the state. When she bumps into her childhood friend Amina (Ahmed) the two women soon realise their only chance is to join forces and take destiny into their own hands.

Writer-director Daisy-May Hudson filmed her and her family’s experiences of living in a homeless hostel over a year in 2013 and successfully raised £10,000 through crowdfunding, which she used to turn 250 hours of raw footage into her feature-length documentary Half Way. The film was nominated for a Best Documentary BIFA and a Grierson British Documentary Award, and she was awarded BAFTA’s Breakthrough Brit in 2016 for her work.

BAFTA nominated Casting director Lucy Pardee (Aftersun, Rocks, American Honey) was responsible for sourcing the non-traditional cast for LOLLIPOP. She says:

“I was drawn to working with Daisy-May because she is led by the heart and tells difficult stories with empathy and love. LOLLIPOP was a joy to cast. We brought together experienced actors and first timers, many of whom have lived experience of the stories we were telling. Nowhere was the collaboration more joyful than with Posy and Idil. Posy, an experienced actor long overdue the break she deserves, and Idil, a complete first timer, brave enough to step into the opportunity and make it her own.”

Cecilia Frugiuele and Olivier Kaempfer of Parkville Pictures on Hudson:

“Daisy-May is the kind of voice that comes along rarely. From the moment we saw her beautiful feature doc Half Way, we knew this was a special filmmaker. We have been so inspired immersing ourselves in her vision and unique approach to filmmaking, and we can’t wait for audiences to experience this life-affirming and empowering film.”

LOLLIPOP is financed by BBC Film and BFI (awarding National Lottery funding). 

Photos: Daisy-May on set, and star Posy Sterling.