Poole documentary Red Herring to be released this May

The award winning documentary by Poole man Kit Vincent follows his journey after being diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. 

Red Herring will be released in selected cinemas on May 3. 

Kit said: “When I was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour, I decided that I needed to make a film about what was happening to me.

"The project began as an instinctive response to the medical implications of my diagnosis but evolved to become an intimate exploration of my family’s relationships.

"My parents are separated, and I no longer live in the same town as them, so making the film has been a way to make sense of my identity, my uncertain future and how we all relate to each other.

"It’s been a cathartic process of self-reckoning for everyone, as the camera became a tool that gave us space to grieve our old lives out in the open."

Kit was told of the tumour when he was aged 24 and said his first instinct after the news was to turn his camera on document those closest to him.

Premiered at Sheffield Doc Fest before screened at Raindance Film Festival 2023 where it won best feature, Kit directs the documentary which shows his divorced parents struggling with the news while marking his father's conversion to Judaism. 

Kit said: "It’s vital for me to express my experience visually in the hope that it will be more widely understood. I suffer daily with seizures, take multiple medications (some with severe side effects) and I support myself financially with government subsidised disability benefits.

"But I never wanted to make a sad, observational, medical film - I want my personal story to explore these existential questions cinematically and in an uplifting way."

The film is said to capture the absurdity of the things we do find solace in times of inexplicable tragedy. 

The documentary walks the line between grief and humour in this 'love letter' to the relationships that keep us going through the dark stages of life.