A FILM made in Hereford has been recognised by an international festival for its deep backstory.

Cold by Hereford company Open Sky is screening online as part of the prestigious London International Mime Festival from January 12 to February 6.

Open Sky is run by award-winning Herefordshire artists Claire Coaché, a physical theatre director and performer and her husband Lisle Turner, a playwright and filmmaker.

Hereford Times: Claire Coaché and Lisle Turner are award-winning Herefordshire artists running Open Sky Theatre.Claire Coaché and Lisle Turner are award-winning Herefordshire artists running Open Sky Theatre.

In 2012 and 2014 the couple lost two babies, the first due to a genetic condition fatal to the unborn child and the second in a miscarriage with near fatal blood loss for Claire.

This heart-breaking experience led them to research the subject of baby loss and miscarriage.

The realisation that 1 in 4 pregnancies do not reach full term prompted them to develop Cold, a story based on their own experience and that of twelve other bereaved parents.

The resulting film Cold is co-written and co-directed by the couple and dedicated to their baby sons, Bodhi and Brock.

They hope to amplify conversation about this still taboo subject that affects so many families.

Hereford Times: Cold looks at baby loss and miscarriage and based on the own experience of it's creators. Cold looks at baby loss and miscarriage and based on the own experience of it's creators.

Gareth McLean, journalist for the Guardian and Radio Times, said: "To take pain and make something beautiful from it is extraordinary enough, but Cold goes even further than that. It is theatrically ingenious, bold and arresting, and unflinchingly addresses what might be the most defining and universal of all human experiences - loss."

Cold was filmed on the mainstage of the Courtyard Hereford whilst the venue was closed during the pandemic, then previewed at the venue in October last year.