Shot on iPhone 12 Max with cheap $9 underwater casing.

A woman battles with whether it's morally right to be spraying cockroaches. Maybe they just want to be free like she does?

Director's Bio

Claire is a British-Australian actor, writer and creator with a flair for comedy. For 10 years she was a touring physical comedian and writer/producer in The Kagools (www.thekagools.com), which won 6 awards and imparted hours of silliness without saying a word. Their shows included multimedia sight gags, interactive storytelling and an immersive experience that included all ages and languages. Though the shows were written for adults, children loved them too.

Director's Statement

Making the film: I made this little film on my own during a period of writing (unemployment), inspired by the achievements of film makers who have been using their phones for filmmaking and creating wonderful things. I’ve always seen technology as a tool rather than the end result and smartphones now give billions of people access to making films and telling stories and experimenting where they usually wouldn’t. I had a quiet idea and used my phone and a small underwater case which I bought from Amazon for $9, and a flimsy tripod which kept falling down. There is an abundance of cockroaches in my apartment so I didn’t need to do a casting callout for the supporting role.

The story: I spend a lot of time on my own writing and my kitchen is often visited by these little Sydney cockroaches. I kill them of course. And then feel guilty. What's the difference between that and any other killing? It got me thinking about how we treat our environment and the animals we live alongside. Most people are in agreement that they're a pest. Sure. But where’s the line? Am I allowed to kill them because they're small? Or an insect? Or annoying? What about if they’re bigger? A large beetle? A turtle? 

We kill them with bombs and chemicals and traps and that was a poignant thought because these are the words we also use for larger ‘justified’ wars. Is a small act any different to a big one?