Father of woman shot outside pub ‘spreads message of hope' with documentary
Just days after Elle Edwards, 26, was killed in the shooting outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village, Wirral, on December 24 2022, her grieving father Tim got in touch with Liverpool actor John May, who was preparing to walk from Lands End to John O'Groats as part of a campaign to end gun and knife crime.
Mr Edwards, 53, joined him for the walk at Worcester, initially just to 'get out of town', but ended up accompanying him all the way to the top of Scotland, later travelling down south to complete the first leg of the walk.
Two years on from their challenge, documentary The Two Of Us is to be screened at the Raindance Film Festival, which starts in London on Wednesday, and the friends say it will tell a story of 'brotherhood', grief and strength.
Mr Edwards said: 'You'll see that when times get really tough, as long you keep going and you keep having that little bit of hope and a bit of strength behind you, and the willingness to carry on and never give up, then you will come out alright the other side.'
He took on the walk before the trial of gunman Connor Chapman, who was targeting rivals in a gang feud when he opened fire outside the pub, and was sentenced to a minimum of 48 years after being found guilty of Ms Edwards' murder.
Mr Edwards said walking with Mr May helped him to build a foundation for his future.
'I've been through the worst hell you can imagine, there's not a lot else that could really turn me,' he said.
'I can cope with the day-to-day now through those experiences of walking with John and walking through the country and being alone and having therapy and talking about your feelings.'
Mr May, 43, who produced the feature-length documentary, said he hoped people would be inspired.
The actor, soon to star as Wayne Rooney in a production at Liverpool's Royal Court, said: 'The documentary is not really about the walk, it's more about friendship and about men's mental health and grief and how we leaned on each other and perked each other up throughout the walk.
'It's about brotherhood more than anything I'd say.'
The film, put together from vlogs filmed by the pair at the time and interviews once they had returned, shows the highs and lows of the journey – which at one point saw them separating for 10 days after a falling out.
Mr Edwards said: 'I thought it would be wrong for us to not finish this together so we sorted it out and overcame that, our own personal battles against each other.
'I think you need to have that clash, that explosion has to happen so you can then work it out and come back together again. That's the testimony of a true friendship I think. '
Throughout the walk, Mr Edwards said he felt there were signs from his daughter – including a white dove which followed him as he walked around Ripon Cathedral one morning.
Mr Edwards said: 'You grab on to different signs that you hope is Elle watching over you.
'It was things like, there were always doves would randomly turn up or I'd be feeling a bit low and I'd be like 'give us a sign Elle will you, give me something to pick me up' and there'd always something random would appear. '
Mr May added: 'Elle's presence is definitely felt. There's things that happened along the way when he was at a low point and you can see it spurred him on.'
Mr Edwards said his daughter, a beautician, would be 'laughing her head off' to see what he had been doing.
He said: 'She'd be thinking 'my dad is absolutely mental, what are you doing?'
'She'd be proud I think, she'd love the friendship me and John have got and I think she'll be looking down on us going 'well done Dad I'm proud of you'.'
The film, nominated for best documentary feature and best UK cinematography awards at the Raindance festival, is accompanied by music from composer Patrick Bennett, 20, who has created Elle's Theme, which plays throughout.
Director Owen Ward said: 'If you're coming in for a true crime documentary, go see something else because that's not what it is. It's about how victims of these horrible crimes carry on in the aftermath.
'It's giving that sense of hope, of inspiration. If Tim can get through this horrible circumstance, you can get through anything. That's ultimately what it is, it's a film about hope.'
For Mr Edwards, the documentary is part of his aim to create a positive legacy for his daughter.
He said: 'It was always about keeping Elle's name alive. So whenever Elle's name was mentioned, it would be mentioned in a positive way and not about what happened to her. That was the goal and still is, it will always be the goal.'
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