Suri Ellerton, Producer
Sarit Ben Yair, Producer

Sloan Grant(s) Received: 2024, Film Independent Fast Track

Project Type: Feature 

Genre: Drama

Length: 90 minutes

Field of Science: Engineering

Stage: Development

Synopsis: 

Wembley Park, London, 1924. A young May Savidge is sketching an ornate Indian pavilion at the British Empire Exhibition. She tells her father, Frederick, and uninterested sister Nellie about the manpower and tools required to build the pavilion. Frederick hands the girls a few pence for sweets and heads off to work. A tragic fire at his factory changes their lives forever.

1969. We meet May again, sharing extensive details of the craftsmanship and importance of her medieval house with the members of a local council. She is trying to save her home from the powers-that-be who have decided to demolish it to build a roundabout. The unimpressed council refuse her appeal. In defiance, May decides to take on the Herculean task of moving the entire house to a new location. Armed with her meticulous notes and the help of local scouts, she begins to disassemble the house piece-by-piece, documenting everything with extraordinary precision.

White hair billowing as she rides her motorcycle, May leads a convoy of trucks to small seaside village of Wells-Next-the-Sea, where her arrival causes quite a stir among the locals.

Settling into a makeshift home in a caravan on her plot, May begins the arduous task of reassembling her house. The Wells Town Council grants her ten years to complete the frame of the house and make it habitable. Despite the skepticism of her new neighbors, including the disdainful Mrs. Girling from the Women’s Circle Group and the Websters, who live nearby, May remains undaunted. She tirelessly pushes wheelbarrows through the mud, builds her own scaffolding, and lays bricks with her own hands.

Her plan is also met with disbelief and ridicule from her family, including her skeptical sister Nellie, and her nephew Tony and his wife Christine. They view May’s endeavor as an eccentric folly, but May is resolute.

Over time, Christine grows to admire May’s tenacity and ingenuity. Despite her failing health, May works tirelessly, her determination unshaken.

The media soon takes an interest in May’s story, transforming her into a local celebrity. Her perseverance and unique project attract tourists, benefiting the local economy and earning her an invitation to Buckingham Palace. However, May’s health continues to decline, and she collapses during her visit to the palace.

In a moment of reconciliation, Mrs. Girling invites May to speak at the Women’s Circle, where May shares her remarkable life story. She reveals her past as the only female engineer at de Havillands during World War II, where she contributed to the design of the Mosquito aircraft. She also recounts the trauma of losing her father in the factory fire and the subsequent loss of her childhood home, which fueled her determination to preserve her current home.

May completes the house just in time to meet the council’s deadline. Upon her death, she bequeaths the house to Christine, ensuring that her dream and her life’s work will be preserved for future generations.