I Can't Find You

We're students at Brighton Screen and Film school looking to raise funds for our Graduation film ‘I Can’t Find You’.

Tired of being single? So is Joe. Help him ask his crush out!

Synopsis

‘I Can’t Find You’ is about the addictiveness of dating apps, the toxicity behind them and how they’ve stunted our confidence when it comes to making real world connections. Especially for people in the queer community.

Joe, a hopeless romantic who wants to ask out his long-time crush Max, who works at the café Joe spends all of his time at. Joes lack of confidence is crippling, so his best friend Ollie tries to hype him up and bring him out of his shell.

As Joe works through his anxieties, His overactive imagination transports him into different scenarios with Max, all set on a theatre stage, depicting different types of genres.

Directors Statement

‘Whenever I was watching films growing up, I never felt like there were any characters that truly represented me. When coming to terms with my sexuality, I turned to film to try and find characters that were like me. This was when I discovered that representation of gay individuals was both sparse and poor.

The films I watched left me with zero confidence that my coming out experience would be okay, and even less confidence in my dating life. These films were exploitative. Depicting abusive relationships, failed coming out stories and/or had an uncomfortable amount of intimate scenes. These films never had a happy ending, leaving me more insecure about my sexuality than ever.

I think because the gay community has never properly had a relationship to root for, we’ve had no confidence to explore making real world connections. Which is why we stick to dating and hookup apps.

The vast lack of representation leaves me confused as to where my happiness fits in this world, or if it can even exist. I’m forever longing to see lead characters like me in genres like musical, fantasy, romcom, action and sci-fi, who have happy and healthy relationships.

The idea for this film came from a lot of aspects I’m unhappy with in gay culture. A frustration that I still can’t see anyone like me in films I love. A frustration at the way we behave on dating apps. A desire for it to get better. I wanted to make a film that shows despite every insecurity we may have around dating, we can and should remain hopeful that our special someone is out there, and we shouldn’t rely on an app to find him.

I hope you join us on this journey of bringing this story and its characters to life. Thank you.’ Lukas Bonilla, Director