Wrecked is a 2012 short film directed by Hannah Butters that tells the true story of a young widow named Mary in 1920s England struggling to cope with the loss of her husband who drowned in a tragic lifeboat accident. Mary is shown having a mental breakdown as she tries to raise her young daughter Ruth alone without the love and support of her husband. The film focuses on Mary and Ruth's journey to overcome the grief of Mary's husband's death with the help of a social worker. In the end, Ruth helps her mother say goodbye by tossing a message in a bottle into the sea for her father.

1. Films
Wrecked
United Kingdom 2012
Director: Hannah Butters
With Lucy Butters, Becky Brown
Certificate: PG
“Although it's difficult today to see beyond the sorrow,
May looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow”
For young mother Mary (Becky Brown) this is the message
for which she needs to accept. Losing her husband in a tragic
life boat accident, she must single handily raise her six year
old daughter, Ruth (Lucy Butters) without the support and love Watery Grave: The Mary Stanford Lifeboat House
of him there.
"Wrecked" begins after the accident as CREDITS
We first meet Mary as she prepares for the day, awaiting the
we join the wife of one of the men and
arrival of a woman who will help her with her depression. To Directed by
how she copes without his presence.
her horror, Ruth has made a mess of the house. In a panic, Hannah Butters
The short ends on a peaceful note,
Mary loses her temper and screams at Ruth; this is the first Produced by
showing the daughter tossing a
signs that we see she is not mentally stable. Frantically Hannah Butters
message in a bottle out to sea to her
cleaning, the social worker arrives and during the session, Jules Becker
father; their way of saying goodbye.
Mary inevitably has a mental breakdown. Screenplay by
Both Rebecca Brown and Lucy
Based on a true story with prominent themes, such as Hannah Butters
Butters delivered a wonderful, touching
bereavement and faith, this heart-warming short by upcoming Becky Brown
performance that is sure to capture
director Hannah Butters is an atmospheric approach to Director of Photography
audiences. They managed to control
portraying a broken family that learns to move on. Hannah Butters
the variety of emotions and conflicts in
Set against the backdrop of the historic Hasting's coast, the Editor
a professional and realistic manner.
film sources it's inspiration from the 1928 Mary Stanford Hannah Butters
Lifeboat disaster which saw 17 men die out at sea when their Hannah Butters
lifeboat was destroyed in a storm. CAST
Becky Brown
SYNOPSIS After a tragic incident which saw young Mary’s husband drown in the midst of a
Mary, mother
horrific sea storm, she must learn to cope without him. Now the widow of a lifeboat man in the
Lucy Butters
little seaside village of Rye, Mary no longer has the mental or financial strength to adapt to her
Ruth, daughter
new way of living since his death. Their young daughter, Ruth, must also learn to understand
the actions and consequences of the accident; however, her innocence and naivety of the Emma Butters
situation cause a lot of tension and impulsive decisions. Wrecked presents their journey in Social Worker
overcoming the harsh acceptance within bereavement, and along with the help of a social
worker and friend, they are able to say goodbye in their own special way.