About Us

The Creators of This Chaos

Hello! It's Lauren and Willow here (well, mainly Willow because she's the 'writer' but Lauren set her up with Wix, so she produced it) from the post-production haze of Eat Me! We wanted to set up this website to give an insight into our short film, detailing all aspects of the process as well as the final product. So, where better to start than an introduction of the Frankensteins behind this pastel-pink monster?

Our Story

Lauren and I met at Central Film School in 2023, and from the outset, we were eager to create something together. I wanted to write, and Lauren wanted scripts to make. So, when a prompt for a course-project sparked the idea for Eat Me! and a chance to collaborate, we took it and ran. Both of us are keen to tell stories about women and mental illness, in a way that feels honest, nuanced, heartfelt and most importantly, respectful of the complexities that come with exploring people's internal experiences. Also, we're a couple so support the queer women of film (you know you want to!) Our next project will undoubtedly be gay, I promise.

Producer

Lauren

Working on Eat Me! was the most chaotic, whimsical yet batshit experience. From conception on a very random Wednesday afternoon in Cafe Nero, to scrubbing cake off the floor of the studio post shoot thinking what on earth have we made?

This short film has taken it out of me for sure, from working out how we will make some of Willow's brilliant (but crazy) ideas a reality from icing sugar being sprinkled over someone's head (that is the picture you see next to this caption) to a vomit sequence I had to practise myself. The risk assessments were long but every moment I spent thoroughly discussing with Willow was a moment that made it so worth it in the end: every action or prop was necessary and makes it the best film I have made... so far.

Being able to see the complete development of this messy short has been a privilege and I am so extremely excited for people to finally see it!

Love,

Lauren x

Writer & Director

Willow

In a lot of my writing, I have a strong desire to explore mental struggle in a close and intricate way, and 'Eat Me!' has been no exception. Our brains are complicated, whimsical and frightening, so I constantly find myself desperately trying to find a story that can do the chaos justice, with a medium to match. I think it's only right that this desperation found me at the bottom of a rabbit-hole, wanting to see Alice in Wonderland, the drug-trip, with a cake as a central character. When Lauren and I came up with this idea together, I've never been so excited to dive into writing before. It felt like it was all on the tip of my tongue (or fingers.)

Before I knew it, we had a ten-minute psychological horror on our hands that did all the strange things our minds do - it goes in weird directions, it gets loud, it gets confusing and overall it gets messy. There's nothing like a massive messy montage, and messy set-piece to portray the mess of one own's thoughts.

When it came to who would direct this piece, I definitely wanted to have a hand at it myself but I was unsure of whether I could. Lauren encouraged me with a slight sidenote of, 'I don't think anyone will quite get this like you do,' and I was won over! It was too weird for me not to put my insecurities aside and make a directorial debut! (As pretentious as that may sound!) But I'm so glad I did.

It was a whirlwind experience that I will treasure forever. Seeing the world come to life, seeing countless interpretations and ways people had made sense of the nonsensical was truly surreal. Suddenly, all these things that I thought were cool in my head were being realised - and not only that, but taken so seriously too. "What direction do you want the cake crumbs to fly?" and "Can you throw the tictacs at your own face, slower?" were some of my favourite quotes of the day. Lauren practicing a vomit sequence into a bucket on the set-floor was another highlight. It was a ridiculously fun shoot, with stressful moments (like a one-take shot that took an hour and a half to block) and I genuinely had the time of my life.

So, in the hopes that I survive the gruel of colour-grading and windowless editing suites, I cannot wait for people to see what we have made. It's batshit, but it's our batshit, so we hope you love like we do!