A group of school friends come up with a novel idea to help a friend of theirs in urgent need of medical treatment following a racially motivated attack.

Inspired by the mood and style of Sam Levinson’s series Euphoria, my dad Nic Penrake wrote a dialogue-heavy yet dynamic and complex short script. My brother Jay collaborated in the writing by drawing on his struggles as mix-raced.

The script doesn’t confine itself to the issue of racism alone. No, these three friends seeking justice for Jamie are of a generation that is losing faith in politics, the police, the health system, such as it is in the UK at the moment. The ‘justice’ alluded to in the title is achieved by clever use of AI technology and entrepreneurial endeavour. You can’t help wondering by the end of the film if this sort of ingenuity might become a way of life for some people.

Some luck with the location

Part of the reason for making this short was to give Jay and the other actors a showreel piece that would help them land some decent parts on paid projects. Nearly the entire short takes place in a restaurant. Jay was waiting tables at a Japanese restaurant in Soho – but we’d never be able to film there, because it was prime real estate. Unless, that is, we did an all-nighter. Jay said he’d ask his boss. Not only did we get a clear yes, we could film there for free, as long as we shot during a Sunday night. Wow. Super generous. And a shot in the arm to our efforts to get started.

After one rehearsal at our place, we were ready to book a date for the night shoot. Prior to that, using the garden out back, my dad and I shot some of the scenes which feature in the restaurant scene but are played out on a phone. And Jay put together the artwork that you also get to see on a phone.

Shooting style

Normally our preference for shooting is handheld. But, as Will pointed out, this was going to be hard to maintain throughout given the limited space we had to work in. So we went on sticks, relying on the edit to give the film its pace.

We preferred prime lens, but Will had a set of cine zooms, so we went with those, partly to save on budget, partly to save on time. We got through about 12 pages in one night, which gave us about 2 takes per shot to work with in the edit. For sound design, I spliced together some library clips, which worked a treat. Then I did the grade and the sound production company SigmaSonics produced a final mix for us.

Making stuff is what it’s about

So often, as filmmakers, we’ll tell ourselves that we’ve done enough short films and deserve something bigger. And every so often that big breakthrough comes along only to disintegrate mid-flight.

That’s when you have to take the hit and focus your energy on making something that at least keeps you active and engaged. Although you won’t now be looking forward to a nice pay-check and perhaps a little limelight, you do get to do something creative with similarly passionate people. It may be just a short film, but at least you’re not at the mercy of network politics – it’s something you’re in control of. And who knows, it might even serve as the key to a door just ahead of you that leads to greater opportunities.

The video above is the film trailer.

✨ Click here for the full movie ✨

We’d love if you’d watch Justice For Jamie, like (if you do), and leave a comment on our YouTube video!