Still Life is about how life keeps moving after loss, the people that stay with you as you heal, and those who hold you when you shatter.
At the heart of this story are Jess and Max, played by Ophelia Lovibond and Jacob Anderson. They’re a young couple trying to navigate an unexpected step on their parenthood journey: a still birth at 24 weeks. And Kate Radcliff, the writer and producer of Still Life, drew from her own experiences following the loss of her son: Dexter.
For such a heavy topic, I do want to say that, yes, the still birth is handled with care, poise, and dignity. But my favorite part of this short film is that we see sparks of Jess doing what she loves in the middle of all that pain. She’s doing yoga, going to the supermarket with her partner Max, and she’s joking around with him even as this weight pulls at her. There’s humor to balance the drama. And there’s a clear love between these two people that speaks of choosing each other over and over again.
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The reason I wanted to emphasize this bit, this balance of the pains of life and the small joys with loss, is that this is life. It’s not one thing or the other. Instead it’s multitudes. It’s waves where you share a tender look with your partner and then turn away, the weight of loss still present. And as many miscarriage or still birth sequences that I’ve seen on TV and film, I don’t think I’ve seen one where I can see Jess’ pain go hand in hand with her joys and the love she still has in her life with Max.
Keeping that in mind, as much as it hurt to watch, Lovibond absolutely killed it when she broke in the supermarket. Let’s backtrack a little here.
Jess has a supportive partner in Max, a family that is involved, and she is trying her best. But lord, there were reminders of children everywhere, something that I love how subtly it was presented in Still Life. The main reminder is Jess’ body. But there’s also the children running around, the diapers in the supermarket, or even the yoga moves named “child’s pose. It’s everywhere. Combine that with a society that puts pressure to have children on women, and she was going to buckle under that weight.
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When it happened… let’s just say that in her scream I could hear everything. Her pain, her loss, her hopes, her dreams, but also the sorrow of what could’ve been.
And if there’s anything that you should walk away with when it comes to Still Life, it’s that you don’t know what someone is going through. They might be in the shop smiling at you, hands full of groceries, and you could never know that they have gone through a loss but are fighting for another day. So choose grace, choose humanity, and remember that you don’t have to go through this pain to understand it.
Still Life is making its premiere at the 2026 Hollyshorts Film Festival.
