Private Project

Don't Hate Me

When we meet Grace, she is doing... sooooo well. She is like, the happiest she’s ever been. Why? Not her good health or burgeoning career, no. Because of a man she met 3 weeks ago. A man called Jacob, who owns a fruit delivery app, who is “the love of her life”.

Grace is excited to tell her makeup artist this news but doesn’t have time for displays of romantic bragging. Grace is, as ever, running late. Grace is on stage in under 10 minutes, performing to a huge audience containing some powerful people she needs to impress.

Grace’s manager, Harry, and her stylist, Jack, try to wrangle Grace on stage. And then something seemingly small happens that sets the evening on a path of chaos: Grace sends Jacob a picture of herself, he opens the message… and doesn’t reply.

Grace has minutes before she is due onstage, but now her mind is an apocalyptic hellfire. Grace descends into a chaotic spiral of self-hate, self-loathing, and self-destruction. She considers why he could be ignoring her: Is he dead, in a k hole, or has he had a bike accident?

Harry and Jack have been here before, they are Grace’s oldest friends. But even they are at a loss on how to get Grace onstage. We are witnessing the downfall of a woman who is losing all sense of reality. And then, when all has been destroyed, her hair, her make up, her reputation, she gets a text back….

  • Grace Campbell
    Director
  • Grace Campbell
    Writer
  • ICONOCLAST
    Production Company
  • Olwyn Fagan
    Producer
  • Jean Mougin
    Executive Producers
  • Sarah Pearson
    Executive Producers
  • Grace Campbell
    Cast
  • Chris Hall
    Cast
  • Marina Bye
    Cast
  • Kiran Saggu
    Cast
  • Nancy Duval Smith
    Cast
  • Ben Cotgrove
    Director of Photography
  • Wet Studio
    Production Design
  • Jack Schokman
    Costume
  • André Rodrigues
    Editor
  • Richard Fearon
    Colourist
  • Joe Munday
    Music & Sound Design
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 25 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 2, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    18,496 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Grace Campbell

Grace Campbell is a writer, comedian, actor, and director from London. Her irreverent, satirical takes on sex and gender politics make her one of the hottest comedy voices on our screens. She is a fast-rising star with a quick wit and a sharp tongue. Her stand-up night “The Disgraceful Club” was launched in 2019, and it has proved a breakaway success, providing marginalised voices in the comedy space with an opportunity to perform to sell-out crowds, in one of London’s most famous comedy venues. In 2020 she released her book Amazing Disgrace, a book about “shame” to big critical and commercial acclaim. She’s built a loyal, doting audience of young women and gay men who relate to her vulnerable and promiscuous approach to comedy. In 2023 she took her Comedy Show “A Show About Me(n)” on a sell-out Tour around the UK and Ireland, including Alexandra Palace and the Clapham Grand, twice! Grace has harnessed her comedy career and is now excited to move into a writer director space. She holds a degree in Film Practice from London College of Communications, where she was awarded distinction for Filmmaking. So, now, combined with her comedy bones, she wants to put her directing to use, and begin to harness that part of her talent.

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Director Statement

The idea for this script came to me when I was being ghosted by a man. The protagonist is an untamed version of me in that situation, who acts in ways I could never. I have still wanted to react like that when my insecurities aren’t being validated by the man I like, but here they are allowed to run riot.

I want to make a film that shows the instability when you’ve just met a new romantic partner. One moment you’re in love and they’re the best thing since the internet, and the next, you’re convinced they’re ghosting you and you’ll never feel good again. That shift from calm to chaos is something is amplified through the music, editing, and camera work. We start the film with a serene feeling, wide stylish shots with cheeky music and then, when we enter Grace’s dressing room, the chaos starts to seep in. Each minute that passes where Grace isn’t ready, we amp up the chaos with faster cuts and messier camera movements. The shooting style follows a lot of rules from comedy dramas like The Thick of It, Veep, and Succession. A lot of the comedy comes from capturing the supporting casts reactions.