YOOF Media is excited to share the first look at Stepping Stone, a new short film, starring Danny Dyer, which will be premiering on ITVX as part of Mental Health Awareness Week on 15th May 2023.
Stepping Stone was created by teenage filmmaker Noah Caplan, who wrote the film at 15 following a family tragedy. After securing UK acting legend Danny Dyer (Eastenders) to star, he made the film at just 17 years old.
The film follows four completely different characters, each from different walks of life, all placed at various points on the mental health spectrum. Some suffer with mental illness and others are just looking for support in protecting their mental wellness. Each character’s journey to seek help starts with the first all-important, pivotal step – speaking to someone.
Danny Dyer heads up Stepping Stone’s exciting ensemble cast which also stars Cush Berlyn (Trust), David ‘Sideman’ Whitely, Noah Caplan and Georgia Moncur.
Speaking about the project Danny said, “The power of this thing [the mind] is a mad old thing, so we’ve got to look after it.”
Premiering at the start of Mental Health Awareness Week 2023, Stepping Stone plans to address and provide support for people going through mentally challenging times. Stepping Stone will also screen on MYM on 11th May.
Furthermore, it looks to normalise conversations regarding mental well-being within friendship groups as a prevention method for mental illness. This is a task which has proven even more necessary following The Guardian’s recent discovery that the NHS has been unable to treat up to 250,000 children with mental health problems due to a huge surge in demand for care.
Director Noah Caplan formed a special connection to the world of mental health following his sister’s near-fatal car crash. Speaking about the film and his reasons for creating it he said, “It was an absolute honour to work on this film with Danny Dyer and this fantastic team. This is a passion project that I have been working on since my sister was involved in and survived a tragic accident and I saw the effect this had on me and everyone around me. I am so grateful that this experience led me to give back to the world, through the power of film.”
Excited about the release, Director Noah Caplan said: “Mental health is something very close to my heart and I hope this film can help other people. As a family, mental health has always been an open discussion, and I want to help bring that conversation into many other households and friendship groups. With this film we hope to put the subject matter in the limelight, using familiar faces and extravagant storytelling. My goal is to make mental health an open discussion.”
Craig Morris, Managing Editor, ITVX, said: “We are really pleased to bring this very special short film to ITVX viewers in time for Mental Health Awareness Week 2023.”
A special documentary called, Save Dom, will also be released via YOOF Media’s YouTube channel on May 10th. The documentary will also explore the making of the film and the reasons behind its creation and dives deeper into the film’s themes.
Stepping Stone will premiere on ITVX on 15th May
