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Don't Worry, Be...

"Don't Worry, Be..." is a short film about a woman's search for self-acceptance. Although the happy visuals and yellow tones indicate a light, fun story-- and there are certainly elements of that - Don't Worry Be... is also a meaningful story of a young woman's journey to self-acceptance, fertility, and overall happiness in the prime of her life.

  • Julia Schmidt
    Director
  • Julia Schmidt
    Writer
  • Simone Caroline Giel
    Key Cast
    De Belofte van Pisa
  • Noël Indra Oosterhof
    Director of Photography
  • Felix Dukker
    Producer
    The Color of Spinach
  • Thijs De Boer
    Gaffer
  • Julia Schmidt
    Art
  • Ghislaine van der Stroom
    Art
  • Iva Rosa Kliphuis
    Styling
  • Lara van Corstanje
    Make-up Artist
  • Sem Leuven
    Editors
  • Noël Indra Oosterhof
    Editors
  • Jorne Tielemans
    Grading
  • René de Vries
    Composers
  • Tijn van Londen
    Composers
  • Marcus Gehring
    Sound Design
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Experimental
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes 55 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 1, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Netherlands
  • Country of Filming:
    Netherlands
  • Language:
    No Dialogue
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital,
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Short Cutz Amsterdam
    Amsterdam
    Netherlands
Distribution Information
  • None
Director Biography - Julia Schmidt

Julia Schmidt is an all around self-taught director. Born to be social and raised by a persuasive father who worked in advertising (he who was also raised by a father in advertising), she had no option but to join the dark side – Advertising. With her big passion for film, she started working for a film production company in Amsterdam and learned the ins and outs of the commercial film industry. You name it and she learned it, from editing to production and beyond. But her passion for film didn’t stop there. It made her realize she wanted to tell her own visual stories. Although Julia focus is on directing, she is the definition of a multidisciplinary woman, who loves to do styling, art direction, and production (and if possible, all at the same time).

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Director Statement

With this film I want to rephrase the saying ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’, to: ‘Don’t Worry, Be...’ because when you accept the fact that life is not about finding happiness, but about accepting yourself and your fears, that’s when happiness will come to you.
I wanted to write and direct a film that visually tells a very happy, bright story, that's full of smiley faces hidden as easter eggs. But underneath these bright happy faces are heavier topics that many of us experience daily like loneliness, infertility, and mental illness.

The film accentuates the difference between our on-and-offline life. Throughout the film you see happy visuals, bright colored tones, and a lot of smiley faces, but behind these images there is a darkness and unhappy sense of feeling, full of anxiety and isolation. We act like we are supposed to be happy all the time. Our social media is covered with “smiles” and “likes” but in the end, who is happy all the time? Why do we constantly search for that feeling of completeness, togetherness, and happiness? The conversation on-and-offline should shift towards a more honest conversation. And most of all, It's OK to be sad and to express this sadness.