A London-set psycho-sexual drama of lust and loneliness for the Tinder generation. Harriet plays a titillating game with Tim through Dating Apps, Social Media and – eventually – in person until hidden truths emerge.
Director’s Note
ASK ME ANOTHER was written very quickly. Single life in London (at least for me) had started to feel like a despairing peak into an ever-widening void and after one particularly depressing incident I thought best to exorcise these demons and wrote a first draft between 2am and 5am on a bitterly cold February morning. I’d wanted to write something for Sally for a very long time, and wanted to create a character worthy of her talents – so I experimented; I wrote ‘Harriet’ as a Man and ‘Tim’ as a Woman, and once I was done I swapped the names around – and as I’d hoped, very little had to change to accommodate. I’ve always been drawn to Female Led Stories – partly because I’ve never felt like a fit into a truly masculine ideal as presented to me by the media growing up, and partly because there’s more room to present narratives that feel unique on screen due to that very same media – and as people know, but rarely see men and women aren’t very different, including – and especially – in their attitudes towards sex, both with others and themselves. Working intensely with Sally to refine and deepen the character, we developed Harriet into a real person, one who’s every thought is in their head and not all are projected outwards to others (and the audience).
We only had 2 1/2 days to shoot the film, spread out over three months on a budget of less than £1,000. I always intended to shoot in 4:3, to allow the audience’s gaze to be as isolated with Harriet as possible, to create a claustrophobic atmosphere that forces them to engage with what she may (or may not) be thinking. It took a long time to complete, but it was worth it. Of all the Films I’ve made, this is the one that’s closest to what was in my head from the very beginning.