Do No Harm

Leading scientist, Dr Beth Anderson, breaks into a high security facility in the dead of night. Why is she there? Is she a thief? A terrorist? A threat to national security? None of the above. Risking her career rather than admit the truth that she has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and overwhelmed by a fear of causing harm to others, she has been compelled into her most critical mission yet - to steal an out of date sandwich, in order to save a pregnant colleague from eating it. Just as Beth is about to lose everything, she finds connection and understanding from an unlikely source.

This BFI Network and Screen Scotland supported OCD heist thriller is directed by BIFA nominated Douglas King, produced by Alysia Maciejowska and written by Rosy Barnes, inspired by many of her own experiences of living with OCD.

Driven by a pumping score from composer Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, DO NO HARM is a tense, amusing and ultimately hopeful film about the absurdity and pain caused by living with the monster of OCD.

  • Douglas King
    Director
    Super November
  • Rosy Barnes
    Writer
  • Alysia Maciejowska
    Producer
    Bunny
  • Claudie Blakley
    Key Cast
    "Dr. Beth Anderson"
    Flesh & Blood, Pride & Prejudice, Gosford Park
  • Sharon Rooney
    Key Cast
    "Shauna"
    Dumbo, My Mad Fat Diary
  • Alison O'Donnell
    Key Cast
    "Kirsty"
    Shetland
  • Gilly Gilchrist
    Key Cast
    "Executive Director"
    Outlaw King
  • Andrew O'Connor
    Director of Photography
    Super November
  • Nazia Mohammad
    Production Designer
    I Was Here
  • Martin Alison
    Editors
    Gothic Boy
  • Florian Nonnenmacher
    Editors
    Dirt Road To Lafayette, 1745, Iona
  • Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres
    Composer
    Mockingbird
  • Simone Pereira Hind CDG
    Casting Director
    Outlander, Elizabeth, Hilary & Jackie
  • William Aikman
    Sound Design
    Be Still My Beating Heart
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    thriller, heist, comedy, drama, science fiction
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes 7 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 18, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    18,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Arri Alexa
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Raindance
    London
    United Kingdom
    October 28, 2020
    World Premiere
    Best UK Short Nominee
  • Aesthetica
    York
    United Kingdom
    November 4, 2020
    Official Selection, Thriller
  • Glasgow Short Film Festival
    Glasgow
    United Kingdom
    March 22, 2021
    Scottish Premiere
    Scottish Competition
  • Underwire
    London
    Best Production Design
  • Scottish Mental Health and Arts Festival
    Glasgow
    Official Selection
  • British Short Film Awards
    London
    Best Supporting Actress - Sharon Rooney
Director Biography - Douglas King

Douglas is a Glasgow based writer/director whose debut feature film was nominated for a BIFA Discovery Award. Element Pictures (The Favourite, Room) have optioned the TV rights to Super
November and Douglas is currently developing the project with the company. He also has a TV series and a feature film in development with Various Artists Ltd (Sally4Ever).
His short films have been nominated for three BAFTA in Scotland NT Awards and have been shown at festivals around the world, including the BAFTA qualifying London Short Film Festival, Glasgow Short Film Festival and Aesthetica.

The ‘Let’s Go Adventure’ tour of his short films with his writing partner Josie Long are currently the most financially successful theatrical release of short films in Europe. The tour was facilitated by Picturehouse Cinemas and screened in 28 cinemas across the UK.
The shorts were also the basis of the BBC Radio 4 series ‘Romance & Adventure’, which Douglas co-created.
In 2017 he was awarded a John Brabourne grant from the Film & Television Charity and was selected for the Edinburgh International Film Festival Talent Lab.

Super November became his debut feature and was premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival in 2018. The film was nominated for a BIFA Discovery Award and was well received by critics (Peter Bradshaw, Sight & Sound) and audiences (currently has an 8.2 on IMDb).
The film was supported by Screen Scotland, who awarded a Distribution and Exhibition Fund to the film, which was screened across cinemas in England and Scotland.

The BFI / Scottish Film Talent Network have developed and funded his latest short film Do No Harm which he is currently in post-production with. The film stars Claudie Blakely (Gosford Park, Lark Rise to Candleford) and Sharon Rooney (My Mad Fat Diary, Dumbo).

Douglas is on the panel for judging Best Debut Screenwriter at this years BIFA Awards. This year he is a participant of the BAFTA x BFI Crew talent programme and was awarded funding from Screen Scotland to attend the Stowe Story Lab in Vermont.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Do No Harm places the audience inside an OCD attack. We wanted to reflect the horrible urgency and desperation, but also embrace the humorous absurdity of Beth’s upside-down priorities.

The film is very much told from the subjective perspective of our hero Beth. Our badge of honour is having audiences root for Beth in her absurd sandwich capture mission.

Rosy Barnes, our writer, has poured all of her experience of OCD into the script. For my preparations as director I read books on the condition but drew mostly on understanding Rosy’s lived emotional experience.

Claudie Blakely (Gosford Park, Pride & Prejudice) instinctively inhabits our main character and Sharon Rooney (Dumbo) perfectly pitches her performance as the unlucky security guard who crosses her path.

Our film was made for the cinema and we were lucky to have been supported by the British Film Institute and Creative Scotland to ensure we delivered the experience we desired. Please wear headphones if not watching in the cinema!

Thank you very much for watching our film.