A FILM maker from Bucks is using his experience of depression and anxiety to create what he calls a 'Post Apocalyptic drama/thriller'.

Around a year ago Luke Mordue was at his lowest ebb and considered committing suicide before a snap decision to go and seek help turned his life around.

The 23-year-old is now using his experience to create the character at the centre of his film Sola, which is currently in pre-production.

It has an apocalyptic feel as protagonist Eden picks her way through the abandoned streets of London, having been left as the last person on earth.

But the central theme from the film is about fighting to stay alive when there's nothing left to live for - a metaphor for how mental illness and depression feels to people suffering from the condition.

Luke, now based in London after growing up in Aylesbury, said however: "At no point do I try to explain it. People with depression don't want sympathy, they want empathy. I want them to watch the character and see what she's going through.

"It's to empathise that feeling of loneliness - you feel by yourself when you go through depression. That, and the apocalypse theme, went hand in hand.

"Mental illness is a subject getting more and more talked about as time goes by, but it's still very much a taboo subject, or misunderstood.

"It's something that, growing up, I never fully understood and people around me didn't, and still don't. I wanted to tell a story that would help in some way."

He added: "I go through good days and absolutely nothing beats it, and there are days where I can't get out of bed because I can't face the day. I feel like I've just been given the worst news in the world and I regret the day before it's even happened."

That manifested itself last year with Luke seriously contemplating ending his life, before a last minute revelation.

He said: "I never really got help and last spring I got very down, hit rock bottom and nearly took my own life. I had to think about every breath I took - I couldn't breathe normally. I remember being frightened I felt this way.

"I had a sudden moment where I decided to get out the house and see my friends. I made that snap decision, got on the train and went and got help a few days later and started to get my life back on track."

But such is the nature of mental illness, Luke added: "Last week I felt on top of the world - I don't know how I'll feel next week."

Sola is the first professional production being created by Mordue Pictures, the company set up by Luke in 2011 after a lifelong interest in film making.

He said: "I grew up acting. I started writing as a child then as I got older I found myself getting more and more interested in directing."

Although Sola is set predominantly in London, Luke is hoping some of the scenes will be shot in and around his out stomping ground in the Aylesbury vale.

He said: "It's a beautiful area that a lot of people in London haven't heard of. I wanted to show England as a beautiful place, so what better place than Bucks?"

Keep up to date on the film's progress by going to www.morduepictures.com.

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