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I wanted to make this film a riff on AI’s ability to learn behaviour: What if it learns the ‘wrong’ behaviour? Amy has crawled from the wreckage of a gaslighting, controlling and toxic relationship with her ex-fiancé Rob. And she’s been pouring her heart out to MAIA on a daily basis all about it ever since. What if the behaviour her AI smart hub learned was not how to better serve her – but the gaslighting traits? And those v2.0 hubs are notoriously glitchy – what if having diagnosed isolation as the prognosis – MAIA then went to exceptional lengths to get her way..?
Visually, I wanted to nod back to classic Sci Fi aesthetics so shot on anamorphic lenses, complete with lens flares on MAIAs blue light and swathed the frame in red as the machines spin out of control.
Given this film is essentially a two-hander between Becca and MAIA, the inanimate Smart Hub, drawing Becca’s character was key – she’s headstrong, belligerent but wallowing. We see flashes of her spiky character that’s been blunted by isolation and I wanted to lean into comedy in these moments and in the rhythm and pacing – such as the stabbing, where we aimed to teeter on that tricky line between comedy and tragedy. Given the nature of the script, casting was crucial and Amy Beth-Hayes was a perfect fit given her proven record in both comedy and drama. Polly Maberly as MAIA has a large body of work as both an actress and, critically, in Voice Over work so felt an ideal choice for the clipped, polite-with-an-edge-of-menace disembodied voice of MAIA.
Screenwriter and Director with drama and comedy writing credits for platforms such as the BBC, Channel 4 and The Huffington Post. These include ‘Horrible Histories’, ‘Doctors’ and BAFTA-winning interactive drama ‘Bow Street Runner’.
Director of the award-winning feature documentary ‘South Coast’, Holli Dempsey -starring web drama ‘This Time Next Year’ and several short dramas including the BAFTA-longlisted ‘Man In Fear’, starring Luke Treadaway which was selected for the New British Cinema Quarterly.
Will wrote and directed the Film-Wales backed feature film thriller ‘Concrete Plans’ starring James Lance, Amber Rose Revah, Steve Spiers and Goran Bogdan which premiered at Frighfest and was described by The Hollywood News as “one of the most exciting British thrillers in years”. The film was released in multiple territories and is on SKY Premiere, Apple TV, NOW TV, Amazon and Film4.
He has also directed various music promos for artists including Skunk Anansie and was one of UK film makers selected for the BFI Think, Shoot, Distribute initiative.
He is represented by Peter Mac Farlane at Mac Farlane Chard.
Lee brings two decades of experience in creating Branded Content and running international digital content marketing teams. Having spent 18 years in the Middle East, Lee was the founder of a successful content marketing agency based in Dubai with global clients such as LG, Starbucks, Coca Cola, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Legoland and Atlantis The Palm, with offices in Amman Jordan and Cape Town South Africa. Based now in the UK as a Producer/Director, he has honed his craft, creating compelling content for some of the world’s most eminent brands.
His production house, Agility Films, specializes in branded film production, documentary film production, and most recently drama, committed to telling provocative, enthralling stories that inspire and educate. While his expansive portfolio encompasses a broad range of work, he has developed a particular expertise in corporate branded content and documentary production.
His recent documentary distinguished itself as a finalist among 700 films at the Smiley Charity Film Awards, signifying recognition at the pinnacle of the industry.
He is inspired by real life genuine stories that emanate from current or historical events and believes he brings authenticity to any cinematic story he tells.
Philippe is a Director of Photography based in the UK and in France. He has worked on award-winning narrative short films (Whitewater, Kid A), factual television shows (Great Paintings of the World with Andrew Marr, Food Unwrapped), documentaries (CB Radio: Life on Air, Call Me Joey), music videos and corporates.
He is French, American, and Argentine with a BA in Film Production, specializing in cinematography, and a postgraduate degree in International Law.
Amy was a teenage member of the National Youth Theatre and has since been a regular in TV and film roles. She played the major character of Kitty in ‘Mr Selfridge’ across all 4 seasons, had roles in ‘Bridgerton, ‘Three Little Birds’ and ‘Black Mirror’. She has played parts in more comedy pieces such as ‘Lilyhammer’, ‘Misfits’, ‘Shameless’, ‘Sirens’ and ‘Secret Diary of a Call Girl’. Her successful bittersweetly comedic one-woman show ‘Cracked’ returns to the London this year.
Six months ago Becca had it all. The high flying marketing job, the apartment, the close group of friends and the handsome fiancé. Maybe she’d been turning a blind eye to how Rob, her partner, increasingly questioned where she was, what she was wearing, until she felt her confidence being chipped away. She lost her edge at work and she was identified for redundancy due to the changing tides of advertising revenue in the internet age.
Expecting Rob to be supportive, she found him just the opposite. She didn’t know it then, but his head had been turned as he’d met Jenny. He became ruder, more distant to Becca until the whole thing came crashing down in flames. We meet Becca months into wallowing, licking her wounds and living badly. But the fighter is still in there and we witness Becca’s moment of determination to get her life back on track…
Polly started acting young as Kitty Bennet in 1995’s iconic ‘Pride & Prejudice’. She has since played long-running roles in ‘The Royal’ , ‘Doctors’ and ‘Eastenders’, as well as parts in ‘Gentleman Jack’, ‘Babylon’ and the recent indie Brit thriller ‘Muscle’. Polly is playing the lead in a feature film based on her work as a high end London Estate Agent that shoots this year.
MAIA is a Triforce Medtech Wellbeing smart hub V2.0 that Becca bought to make her life easier. Running hot baths, creating soothing playlists, ensuring the fridge and wine rack are always stocked, MAIA is the digital best friend we all wish we had. But that was all well and good when Becca had a normal work/life balance. But she has spent the past months barely leaving the house, leaning on MAIA way too much and pouring out her innermost thoughts, insecurities and regrets at not seeing she was being gaslit to MAIA’s cold blinking blue light long into the early hours. And MAIA has absorbed every word.
Part of MAIA’s programming is to diagnose the Optimum Wellbeing Pathway for their owner. Seeing how badly Becca’s interactions with others have tended to go recently in her frazzled, spiky and raw nerve state, MAIA has concluded that Becca doesn’t play well with others. Continuing this isolation really would be the best course of action. Unbeknown to Becca she has therefore been narrowing Becca’s horizons, screening her calls, reducing her interactions. Turning her into a hermit. These v2.0 models are notoriously glitchy – some even reported to have developed unhealthy attachments to their owners. When Becca resolves to get healthy and start her new office job in a few days, MAIA executes her Plan B to ensure her diagnosis is adhered to…
Cerys plays Gabby. Cerys has starred in over a dozen shorts including ‘Walk The Plank’, The Devil’s Harvest’, ‘Snake Pit’ and ‘Thinking Out Loud’ as well as her upcoming feature ‘Charlotte: The Movie’. She also worked in the casting department on Eva Riley’s feature ‘Perfect Ten’.
Gabby has a seemingly perfect life. Everything in her pastel hued home is relentlessly in its place and organised. She wants everything to be just right – not least at her upcoming Wedding. The random element here is her oldest friend Becca. The pair have spent messy nights out, cried, laughed. But Becca is always drama and often chaos. Gabby is uneasy about introducing that random element into her Big Day, especially as Becca’s toxic ex is going to be there and there is a Free Bar…
Fintan plays the dual roles of the voice of Roger and the unfortunate Masseur. Fintan played a returning character in ‘Schizo Samurai Shitzu’ in his native Ireland before moving to England where he has played roles in the features ‘Lost Angel’ and ‘Six Years Gone’ as well as in various shorts, including working with Will previously in the bleak dark comedy ‘Dead Flowers’ about two mourners at adjacent funerals who strike up a bond whilst sneaking a ciggy, only to discover there is a link between their bereaved.
Roger is the uptight head of HR at Red Sky Consultancy – a High flying marketing and advertising firm. The bane of his life is dealing with the whims of the flakey ‘creatives’ and given the number of messages he has had to leave for Becca to get back to him about pulling her start date forwards, he clearly identifies her as another thorn in his side.
Executive Producer:
Claire Russell
Executive Producer:
Peter Matthews
Producer:
Lee Mancini
Director:
Will Jewell
Written by:
Will Jewell, Lee Mancini & Mark Hurdle
CAST
Becca
Amy Beth Hayes
MAIA
Polly Maberly
Gabby
Cerys Knighton
Lyndsay
Fintan Shevlin
Masseur
Fintan Shevlin
CREW
Director of Photography
Philippe Thuery
1st AC
Ryan Tiernan
1st AD
Tobias Davies
Gaffer
Mark French
Best Boy
Adam Collins
Sound Recordist
Pierluigi Papiaz
Production Designer
Ruby Hamilton
Make Up
Lauren Judd
Runner
Leon Lanham-Glenn
Casting Director
Ollie Gilbert
Music Composer
Paul Hartnoll
Editor
Nick River
Assistant Editor
Adriana Sabau
Sound Design
Gareth Wood
Colourist
Jack McGinty
VFX
Ian Carley
Special Thanks to:
Brighton Screen and Film School
Neil Williams
Equipment Hire
Shift4 Ltd
Catering
Nicola Franze & Stefano di Lorenzo
Franze & Evans
Studio Location
Photostudiohire.com
28 Limehouse Cut
London, E14 6NQ
Agility Films and Fractured Films managed to put together a fantastic crew over a very tight 4 day shoot in East London.
