About  The  Northern  Line  Series  Creator  Jessica  Burn

The  Northern  Line  Series  was  created  by Jessica  Burn,  an  actress  and  circus  performer.  It is  produced  by  her  company  Fall  of  the  House and  was  born  of  a  great  passion  for  great stories,  all  things  mythologyrelated  and,  of course,  London. After  initially  training  as  an  actor,  Jessica  moved into  circus  8  years  ago,  training  in  aerial  skills, stilts  and  fire  performance.  The  circus  life  has seen  her  traveling  all  over  the  world;  performing in  festivals,  operas,  at  private  functions  and  an Olympic  ceremony.  She  still  performs  frequently as  a  stilt  walker  whilst  making  and  writing  films.

In  creating  The  Northern  Line  Series  Jessica has  chosen  to  drawn  on  the  vibrant  circus  world for  the  cast  of  the  short  films;  utilizing  performers she  has  had  the  pleasure  of  working  with  over the  years.  As  well  as  breathing  life  into  the well-known  characters  of  Greek  myth  seen  in  the films,  these  performers  also  have  skills  ranging from  aerial  silks,  rope,  stilts,  free  running, juggling,  physical  theatre  and  even  a  strong man! Jessica  has  big  ambitions  for  this  project  and sees  these  shorts  as  just  the  beginning.

Instead of mortals seeking the patronage of the Gods, right now it’s the other way around: The Northern Line Series is currently crowdfunding the fourth short film in the series, Medusa’s Kitchen on IndieGoGo. Medusa’s Kitchen re-tells the tale of Perseus, the mortal charged with tracking down and beheading the mythical Medusa. But instead of ancient Greece, Perseus is in hot pursuit across the streets of modern London.

So why tell this particular tale? “The way I see it, Medusa gets a really bad rap,” says The Northern Line Series creator Jessica Burn. “She isn’t out in the middle of the street mercilessly turning people to stone. She’s minding her own business. Perseus goes to her. Why? Because his stepfather tells him he couldn’t kill the gorgon. So we’re seeing the story from her perspective. I think it’s about time.”

To find out more about the crowdfunding campaign for Medusa’s Kitchen, visit the campaign on IndieGoGo: https://igg.me/at/medusaskitchen/x

Film Reviews :

Into the Labyrinth ★★½

This first film is a good introduction to the series. A glimpse of the Labyrinth of Borough Market and what happens inside. Although not as intense as I would have liked it but still it was effective. The score was great as well, giving more fright on a short chase.

A Gift from Aphrodite ★★½

This story is quite delightful, reminded me of the movie Ruby, where both stories revolve around a certain writer falling in love with his novel’s main character. To make it more interesting, the fictional character becomes a real person. However, with this particular short film, Aphrodite was the reason that made it all possible. She made the fictional character appear in real flesh as her gift to Pygmalion for Valentine’s day.

I like how Jessica, conceptualized the whole series, every character interrelated and interconnected within London as its venue. It’s like watching twilight zone but with mythological characters in a modern time setting. Very interesting!

The Guardian of Thebes ★★★½

Among the three short films in the series, this one is my favorite. There’s more intensity and depth in the content of the story. As far as the story telling goes, this film did it the best. Given that all of them are short films. This one didn’t feel like it. It felt like I watched a full movie altogether. Excellent execution and interpretation. Great cinematography as well as great acting from the cast. I would definitely want to see more of this film!