Based on a true story. Sacha Parkinson and Meryl Griffiths star in Don’t See Me, a new short film from Beast Films and Fastback Films, directed by Lawrence Jacomelli.
Logline
After a humiliating panic attack is captured and shared online, a young woman retreats from the world. A hidden attic and an unexpected friendship with an eccentric older neighbour begin to challenge the fear that has come to define her life.
Synopsis
Maddy has stopped letting the world see her. After a panic attack in public becomes an online spectacle, the judgement that follows drives her into isolation and leaves her terrified of being seen at all. Her home becomes both refuge and prison.
When Maddy discovers a concealed attic space, she crosses paths with Dorothy, an eccentric older neighbour whose own circumstances have taught her to look at fear differently. Their unlikely friendship grows in the hidden spaces above the house, gradually unsettling Maddy’s certainty that safety means remaining invisible.
As the outside world intrudes again, Maddy is forced to choose between retreating further into the life fear has built for her or taking the smallest, most difficult step back toward being seen. Don’t See Me is an intimate drama about anxiety, shame, online judgement and the fragile courage required to re-enter the world.
Story by Victoria Taylor
Don’t See Me is based on something that happened to me when I was 21.
I suffered a panic attack in the street. At the time, I did not really understand what was happening to me. I only knew that I felt completely overwhelmed, exposed and humiliated. Afterwards, I became terrified of experiencing that feeling again in public. That fear gradually took over more and more of my life, until I stopped wanting to leave the house at all.
What stayed with me most was the shame. A panic attack can feel catastrophic from the inside, yet from the outside it can be misunderstood, judged or even treated as something strange or ridiculous. That difference between what someone is experiencing and what other people think they are seeing became the starting point for Maddy’s story.
The events of Don’t See Me are fictionalised, but the emotional experience behind them is very real. Maddy’s fear of being seen, her retreat from the outside world and the feeling that other people are constantly watching and judging her all come from experiences I recognise deeply.
I am no longer agoraphobic, but anxiety has not simply disappeared from my life. I still experience anxiety and panic attacks, and over the years I have learned that recovery is rarely a straight line. There are good periods and difficult periods. Sometimes you feel completely in control, and sometimes an old fear can return without warning.
That is why it was important to me that the film did not end with Maddy suddenly “fixed.” Living with anxiety is often about learning how to keep moving despite it, accepting setbacks without believing that they erase the progress you have already made.
The story has changed and developed in becoming a film, but the feeling at its centre remains very personal to me. I wanted Don’t See Me to say something about how isolating anxiety can be, but also about the difference another person can make simply by meeting you without judgement.
Key Credits
CAST: Sacha Parkinson · Meryl Griffiths
DIRECTED BY: Lawrence Jacomelli
STORY BY: Victoria Taylor
SCREENPLAY BY: Lawrence Jacomelli & Victoria Taylor
PRODUCERS: Victoria Taylor · Lawrence Jacomelli · Rick Carr
CO-PRODUCER: Lisa Francesca Nand
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Andrew Butler
PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Marina Terranova
EDITOR: Lawrence Jacomelli
ORIGINAL SCORE: Felix Lindsell-Hales
PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Fastback Films · Beast Films
RUNTIME: 19 min 20 sec
YEAR: 2026
COUNTRY OF PRODUCTION: United Kingdom
LANGUAGE: English
