Private Project

Seeing Read

Ever sent a text you wish you could unsend?

Zoey, a low-key chaotic girl in her early twenties, is plunged into stress when she texts Miles, the guy she likes, to ask him out on a date, and is left "on read".

Whilst Zoey spirals and does everything she can to distract herself from waiting for his reply, an oblivious Miles laughs and plays video games with his friends. A fun, comedic take on the anxieties of modern dating.

  • Beth Perkin
    Director
    Catherine, Called Birdy (BTS videography), We Are Who We Are (BTS videography)
  • Natasha Perkin
    Director
    Catherine, Called Birdy (BTS videography), We Are Who We Are (BTS videography)
  • Beth Perkin
    Writer
  • Natasha Perkin
    Writer
  • Beth Perkin
    Producer
  • Natasha Perkin
    Producer
  • Caitlin Griffiths
    Producer
  • Isis Hainsworth
    Key Cast
    "Zoey"
    Catherine, Called Birdy, Red Rose, Metal Lords, National Theatre Live: A Midsummer Night's Dream
  • Tessa Bonham Jones
    Key Cast
    "Jen"
    Wonder Woman, National Theatre Live: A Midsummer Night's Dream
  • Project Type:
    Short, Web / New Media
  • Genres:
    Comedy
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    May 2, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    7,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, ARRI, Phantom
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Beth Perkin, Natasha Perkin

Beth and Natasha Perkin are sisters and filmmakers. They got their start working as Behind the Scenes videographers for HBO and Amazon.

Now, they have taken the plunge into the narrative world with their first short, SEEING READ. Their second, starring Jack Dylan Grazer (It, Shazam, We Are Who We Are), will shoot later this year.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

SEEING READ is a painfully personal film based on real experiences of being left "on read" by the person you fancy - in this day and age, who hasn't been? We made the film as a way to process the absurdity of modern dating and technology.

Working with Isis, who plays Zoey, was a wonderful, collaborative experience - she is such an intuitive, warm and interesting performer. We met her on the set of Lena Dunham's Catherine, Called Birdy - she was acting, we were shooting BTS - and immediately hit it off. Seeing a bit of ourselves in Isis, we knew that she would be the perfect actress to capture Zoey's incredibly relatable panic.

Besides getting to work and collaborate with an actress, and friend, as talented as Isis, we were also lucky enough to use a Phantom camera for part of the film. From the start, we knew that slo-mo was going to be a crucial part of SEEING READ, so getting the Phantom - as expensive as it is - was a goal from the start. Luckily, a lot of lovely people helped us along the way; we couldn’t have made the film without the help of Jonathan at VMI who gave us some life-saving discounts. It was because acts of kindness like this that we were able to get our first narrative film off the ground.

Our main inspirations in making the short were Broad City - still the gold standard for capturing the chaos of your twenties - Dan Harmon's Community (especially the first Dungeons and Dragons episode) and classic, chaotic romcoms like 10 Things I Hate About You. Nicole Holofcener's wonderful Enough Said is also an important touchstone in terms of the way it manages to balance farce and warm relatability.

Through sheer gumption (read: cold emailing), we also managed to get editing notes from some of our post-production heroes: Gary Dollner (Veep, Fleabag), Steve Welch (New Girl) and Jon Philpot (Broad City), whose generous insights proved invaluable in pacing and tightening our story.