Monkey See, Monkey Do

A Short Film by Martha Wilson

Executive Produced by Ella Burns, Justine Lepic & Jen Smith

THE STORY

When Martha reluctantly attends a house party of male PhD students, what starts as a satirical observation of social rules and mating rituals becomes a realisation that she can’t have sex ironically, she can’t control the night’s narrative, and she can’t always have the last laugh.

But it doesn’t really matter - because what she can do is leave.

THE MISSION

Monkey See, Monkey Do rebels against the impossible mission of doing a party ‘right’. The film will use the specificity of a mid-20s “soirée” and the autofiction genre to present any social commentary as one woman’s very subjective interpretation of it.

Along with Martha, the viewer will discover that class and culture don't always mix with alcohol. But, in stripping its protagonist bare (wink wink), this film will enable its audience to feel that little bit more seen.

THE VISION

The aesthetic will match the film’s focus on observing and copying - Monkey See-ing, and Monkey-Doing. It will ape (ha.ha.) iconic touchstones of European Cinema and playing with a female filmmaker’s interpretation of it; exploring what a contemporary film’s version of late 60s cinema looks like. Think the Antoine Doinel series if it was made by Nora Ephron. Because that makes sense as a comp.

A.K.A just a little bit shitter.

Avoiding the sepia hue of a ‘vintage’ style, the film will be drawn in blues and browns, black and white. Images will be high contrast, cool toned, with a feeling of equal refinement and hostility. It will look like the person at the party you are too scared to talk to.

Our lens will be wide and our perspective warped. Using birdseye view, split diopter shots, and highlighted details, the party will feel grand and alluring, but fundamentally uncanny and artificial.

The party-goers will be aspirational but not exactly attractive. The dressing will be minimalist but curated, beautiful but harsh. Most people will be wearing rollnecks, and choreography will keep them in organised clusters, forming crowds to throw Martha’s solitude into relief. They will mingle, rather than chat. They like to say it’s a gathering, not a party.

Aware of the fact she sounds like an arsehole, Martha’s narration picks up the Brit-specific batton of self-deprecating humour and dead-pan delivery. A film with experimental techniques and starring a fictionalised version of the writer/director, the feeling of heightened reality and farce will walk the knife’s edge of being annoying.

We hope.

POWDER ROOM PRODUCTIONS

The core team making Monkey See, Monkey Do is rooted in genuine, supportive friendship, shaped by drive and collective admiration.

Ella Burns, Daisy Carlisle, Justine Lepic, Jen Smith and Martha Wilson all met while working for some of the UK’s top producers and directors. Their respective independent production companies; Moonriver, Popcorn Storm, Seven Stories and Fable Pictures provided the team with a wealth of experience.

Striving to make great stories rooted in friendship, introspection and female identity, and coming from a joke about the beautiful and often fleeting friendships that happen between women in the ladies room, a “Powder Room” is the place where a conversation starts, an idea takes shape, and it will transform into something unexpected. Although we thought we’d never see each other again, we built something wonderful from an unexpected encounter.

More than just a platonic love story, as a group we wanted to collaborate on a project we cherished, each with our own skills to bring to the table. Monkey See, Monkey Do is the start of that, and we are really excited to get up and running.

So this is where we need your help. We would be incredibly grateful for any contribution from friends, family and colleagues to help finance our short. If you are keen to support the project, and believe in us (you should!), then please donate, share, and help us tell this story the way it deserves.

Thank you for any and all donations!

Love

Ella, Justine, Jen, Martha