Private Project

It's Not A Wonderful Life!

Spending your Birthday alone is literally the worst!

When an unemployed, twenty-something year old Sasha finds herself sat alone on her birthday with no one else to celebrate with, in an empty cafe screening calls from her parents just so that she doesn’t have to lie about how crap her life is, rock bottom really doesn’t seem too far away.

Barely holding herself together, a painfully awkward yet overly cheerful barista slides over to ask her to put her laptop away as he’s trying something new: to get people talking more…

Cue a full-on meltdown in front of a complete and utter stranger: sobbing, snotty tissues, runny make-up – the lot. Her resilience leaves without a moment’s hesitation, and that empty feeling of failure takes over quicker than you can say the word “bleh”.

Completely out of his depth, the awkward barista sheepishly approaches in the hope of offering some form of support.

As they find out more about each-other, they realise that life isn’t so very different for these two strangers.

Perhaps all they needed was just to talk more. But will it all end in roses? Will the birthday be salvaged after all? Or will life return to its usual disappointing self for Sasha?

  • Nathan Hamilton
    Director
    Répétition, The Reckoning
  • Sasha van Diepen
    Writer
  • Nathan Hamilton
    Producer
    Répétition, The Reckoning
  • Sasha van Diepen
    Producer
  • Bobbie Buckingham
    Producer
  • Theo van Diepen
    Producer
  • Sasha van Diepen
    Key Cast
    "Sasha"
    The Reckoning
  • Henry Leroy-Salta
    Key Cast
    "Barista"
    The Reckoning, The Yellow Birds, Mulch, The Hoist
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Romance, comedy
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 32 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 12, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    8,300 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Nathan Hamilton

Nathan Hamilton is a Kent-born, London-based commercial and film director whose work is recognised for its exploration of nonlinear storytelling and morally complex, flawed characters. His films frequently challenge conventional ideas of morality, inviting audiences to question society’s ethical frameworks.

Hamilton began his creative career as an actor. He graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) in 2015 and went on to work predominantly in theatre.

Seeking to broaden his creative and technical skill set, Hamilton later retrained as a producer, working within the advertising sector on content films for global brands. Through this experience — alongside a year working in the finance sector in the City of London — he acquired the industry contacts and funding necessary to independently finance his own film projects.

Hamilton is also an accomplished pianist. His first film, Répétition (2020), which he wrote, produced, acted in, and composed the piano score for, won Best Short Video Soundtrack at the 11th China International New Media Short Film Festival and received Best Short Film nominations at multiple international festivals.

His directorial debut followed in 2023 with The Reckoning, a period drama set in the early to mid-20th century. The screenplay was adapted from a poem written by his father in 1976 and starred acclaimed television actor David Hargreaves in the lead role of Aleksander.

Hamilton lives and works in London, where he founded his production company, Safe Hands Productions, in 2016.

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Director Statement

'It’s Not a Wonderful Life!' is a quietly reflective film that invites us to examine where we stand as a society, and question whether it is really where we want to be.

The story follows Sasha, a young woman at the height of her loneliness, forced to spend her birthday alone in a coffee shop. At a time in life meant to be filled with friends, family, and celebration, she instead finds herself out of work, emotionally adrift, and isolated. Those who might once have been by her side are absorbed in lives of their own, leaving Sasha with only her laptop for company.

When this carefully constructed distraction is abruptly taken from her, Sasha is compelled to confront the feelings she has been working hardest to avoid: her loneliness and her sense of failure. Yet in facing them, she begins to shed the need to bury her pain and pretend it doesn’t exist.

It just so happens, that the person who inadvertently removes this smokescreen, the barista, is quietly wrestling with similar emotions. What follows is an intimate and searching conversation, one that allows both characters to recognise they are not alone in their struggle, and that connection can emerge from even the most unexpected moments.