Make Up

Claire Oakley : 2019

19-year-old Ruth travels alone to a seaside holiday park in Cornwall to be with her boyfriend Tom. It's off-season, so the resort is mostly deserted, except for a few residents and a handful of staff who are getting the mobile homes ready for the winter. Ruth gradually settles into her new environment, finding work and making a new friend in the form of make-up enthusiast Jade. But one afternoon, while giving Tom's caravan a spring clean, Ruth finds evidence that he might be cheating on her. In the emptiness of this life, there is plenty of space for new emotions and her imagination, fed by inexplicable events. As her desire to uncover the truth turns into an obsession, while also struggling with her feelings for Jade, Ruth begins to realise she might be looking for something else entirely. Claire Oakley's feature debut premiered at BFI London Film Festival 2019, and screened in the Bright Future section at International Film Festival Rotterdam 2020.