We Keep Going - Short Film

Two lovers on the run from conscription seek refuge in the tranquil forests of Aotearoa New Zealand. Their hidden existence is not only under constant threat from military patrols hunting down shirkers, but also shaped by an internal conflict of how far they are willing to go to survive.

We Keep Going is Director Annabelle Snelling’s new short film production following Hush Little Mouse (2024) which was successful in being selected for a number of international film festivals and Dance The Light Away (2025) which premiered at New Zealand’s Terror Fi Film Festival and now being submitted into overseas festivals.

Joining Annabelle are a team of established filmmakers supporting the delivery of this exciting new production.

THE TEAM:

Starring:

Izzie Newton-Cross as ‘Alessia’

Thomas Smith as ‘Isaac’

Sarah Penny as ‘Cami’

Sarah-Jane Chaplin as 'Young Girl'

Ben Waggottt as 'Young Boy'

Crew:

Annabelle Snelling - Writer/Director

Leslie Reid - Producer

Georgia Hurley - Production Manager

Tom Sweeney - First Assistant Director

Nate Ormsby - Director of Photography

Hayden Smith - First Assistant Camera/VFX Advisor

Miles Wilson - Second Assistant Camera 

Ella Kenna - Third Assistant Camera

Brad Jessop - Grip

Luke Otley - Gaffer

Aria Coleman - LX Assistant

Kade Martin - Sound Recordist

Daniel ‘Sully’ Sullivan - Production Designer

Kate Silcock - Intimacy Coordinator

Tessa Saunders - Costume Designer, Graphics

Tuesday Howery - Special Effects Artist

Lorian Baker - Hair and Makeup Artist 

Sherise Ho - Props Master

Sam Abudu-Davis - Script Supervisor

Jack Thompson - Locations Manager

Richard Waggott - Health and Safety Officer

James Kiesel - Stunt Coordinator

Shuxin Luo - Directors Assistant

Maia Bradley - Production Runner

Adam Gregory - Production Runner

Max Woolfe - Production Runner

Minty Fletcher-Dobson - Unit Assistant

Janette Waggott - Unit Assistant

Michael Kenna - Editor

Nell Barrington - Colourist

Liam Reid - Composer, Sound Designer

Rebecca Halton - Stills Photographer 

We’re raising $3,500 to cover key production costs, including prop design, costumes, travel, catering, locations, makeup, and our cast and crew’s health and safety. 

This film carries an important message, and with your support we can make sure this story gets the creative care and attention  it needs. 

We are living in a moment where the world feels increasingly fragile, where war is no longer a distant memory, but a constant presence in our collective consciousness. Conflict feels closer than ever, and with it comes a growing pressure to choose sides, to obey, to justify violence in the name of survival or duty. 

Isaac and Alessia are not heroes or martyrs; they are ordinary young people trying to hold onto each other, and to their conscience, in a world that demands they surrender both. 

We Keep Going explores resistance not as spectacle, but as refusal. Refusal to kill. Refusal to obey blindly. Refusal to give up love. Alessia’s journey, in particular, reflects the devastating truth that sometimes survival demands actions that fracture us forever. 

In our story, we dive into Alessia’s consciousness and the thoughts that circle her quietly, persistently, especially when in love: What would I do to protect the people I love? Where is the line I draw for myself? What part of myself would I be willing to sacrifice? These are questions women often carry internally, but are rarely given permission to voice or explore onscreen, as in general, war and violence, have been dominated by the male perspective. 

We believe that love is political. Choosing to protect another person, choosing not to kill, choosing to keep going - these are radical acts in a world structured around obedience and fear. This film is both a reflection of the anxiety of our time, but also a quiet assertion of hope. Not hope that the world will be fixed, but hope that even within it, we can still choose each other. 

We would greatly appreciate any financial support you can offer to help us to bring this new feminine take on an anti-war film to life.