18th british shorts, berlin
luke shelley
What We Wished We Could Be

FESTIVAL SCREENING
Sun 26.1. 19:00 / Sputnik Kino 1
CAST
Jamie Muscato
Anoushka Lucas
JAN, 23, 2025
A couple affected by the contaminated blood scandal face a difficult decision when an offer of life-saving treatment threatens their dreams for the future.
Hi Luke, how does it feel to be at the 18th British Shorts, Berlin, with your latest short film, What We Wish We Could Be?
It is so exciting that our film will be screening at this year's British Shorts. It is the team’s first time screening at this iconic festival, and we cannot wait to bring our short film to Berlin and share it with audiences.
What We Wish We Could Be has already had an incredible festival run, picking up multiple awards at the 2024 New Renaissance Film Festival, including Best UK Short. What has it meant to you and your team to get this type of recognition for your film?
You never set out to win awards and accolades when making a film. Still, it is hugely gratifying to be recognised by film festivals and filmmaking bodies like BIFA, mainly because it shows the film resonates with audiences. I’d like to give a special shout-out to the New Renaissance team for being so generous, awarding What We Wished We Could Be with its first two awards, and helping us gain momentum on our festival journey.
How essential are festivals like British Shorts, Berlin, in creating a platform for short films and filmmakers?
Short filmmaking can be a thankless task that often goes unseen. Platforms like British Shorts allow general audiences to connect with an exciting new world of up-and-coming filmmakers and see stories that might not be shown in a longer format, showcasing that there is more to cinema than what is playing at the local multiplex. For us as filmmakers, it gives us that chance to see our work with an audience, which is ultimately what all filmmakers want to do.
Short films are a vital medium in the film industry, yet there are few opportunities for them public, outside of festivals, to see them. What more can be done to make short films more visible and accessible to the wider cinema audiences?
It feels like an untapped market for shorts to move into the mainstream; with attention spans shrinking and social media becoming how most people consume entertainment, big providers have a glaring opportunity to showcase more short films. Streaming services are slowly catching on and buying more short films, but the next steps would be making them more visible to audiences. I would also love to see a world where short films are screened in front of features at the cinema again, but the space for advertisements is too lucrative.
Can you tell me how What We Wish We Could Be came about? What was the inspiration behind your screenplay?
It came from some very personal discussions with screenwriter Jenna Louise-Hawkins when we started brainstorming ideas for a short film collaboration. Jenna had written a spec script called Touch during lockdown about a couple dealing with an undisclosed medical crisis that stopped them from being intimate with each other. The script captured my heart, but I felt we could dive more deeply, which led to Jenna sharing her heartbreaking truth that her husband was a victim of the UK’s contaminated blood scandal. At the time, I had never heard about the scandal, and it was only through talking with Jenna that I learnt what it meant and how it changed their lives forever. We knew then that we needed to translate this story into a script.
You co-wrote What We Wish We Could Be with Jenna-Louise Hawkins, who you’ve worked with before. What was the experience like for you co-writing this screenplay together?
I can’t take any credit for the beautiful screenplay written by Jenna; however, developing the story was such a wonderful and, at times, emotional experience that I won't forget. Considering this was our first collaboration, we quickly became comfortable with each other's working methods. Still, I have to say that her work, writing this profoundly personal story, was truly inspiring, and I was fortunate to be part of the team that could help bring this important story to the screen.
When the film went into production, how important was this creative collaboration between you both?
Once we both were happy with the script and were ready to move forward into pre-production, we were very fortunate to have the script optioned by Slick Films. Once they were attached to the project, we welcomed our third missing piece to the creative team, producer Sophie Stacey. We became extraordinarily close as a three and worked closely to move the film into production. The on-set experience of having Jenna and Sophie by my side each step of the way made the shoot feel very comfortable and safe for me to deliver my role as director. With all the anxieties of telling a story so devastating and important, like the blood scandal, I needed that support network.
What were the biggest challenges you faced making What We Wish We Could Be, and what was the message you wanted to convey with this film?
I think the usual short film challenge arose on set, which was time, but we decided to amplify the intensity on set by shooting on 16mm 500T Kodak film. I want to caveat that shooting on film was a wonderful experience and one I am looking forward to doing again; however, it does add additional pressure to the shoot, mainly down to the number of reels you have preventing you from rolling too many takes of any one scene. My DP, Yannick Hausler, and I decided we wanted to shoot the film deliberately in long, very composed shots, which meant that our actors would often only have two or three opportunities to deliver their performances. As a team, we all found this process challenging but extremely rewarding.

When creating a short, how much flexibility do you give yourself and your cast with the material?
I was extremely blessed to work with the brilliant Jamie Muscato and Anouskha Lucas on What We Wished We Could Be because not only were they extraordinary actors, but they also really understood and respected the script and what Jenna had put on the page. There wasn’t a need to improvise on the set, but we did have a chance to rehearse the script before the shoot, and we were able to sit down and discuss how we translated the script to the screen, which led to some minor line tweaks.
Was there any one scene that was particularly tricky for you to shoot?
The most intense scene to shoot was the argument in the kitchen. As I mentioned, the shoot ratio meant we could only run the scene three times to be able to finish the whole film. This means we had one take for the wide shot and one for each of our actors’ singles. We had to rehearse the scene several times with the entire crew, ensuring the camera and sound teams knew precisely what the actors would be doing. Jamie and Anoushka are acclaimed West End actors, so they channelled their stage skills to deliver the scene in limited unbroken takes. You can positively feel the energy of that scene in the finished film, and although it was challenging to shoot, it was so rewarding.
What do you think you discovered about yourself as a filmmaker during the making of this, What We Wish We Could Be?
For the first time in nearly 10 years of making short films, this film allowed me to showcase how I want to be seen as a filmmaker going forward. It felt like my first grown-up film, as if all the work I had done before had led to this. I feel immensely proud to have been given the opportunity to tell this important story about the blood scandal. I was hesitant initially to take on something so real, but working with Jenna and Sophie allowed me to focus that nervous energy on making the best film possible.
Going back to your debut short film, what would you say has been the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt on your filmmaking journey so far?
From making my first short film to now, I learned never to rush the script process. Too often, I made films fast and rushed the script development stage, only for those films to not translate on screen as well as I envisioned. Working over a year with Jenna was a wonderful experience and set the precedent for my work moving forward. We both agreed that we would not move into pre-production until we were happy with the script. This made the moment we were confident with the script more gratifying, as those with whom we shared the script were passionate about getting involved.
Have you always had a passion for filmmaking?
Yes, I’ve also been passionate about making films. It’s been a journey that started when I was very young, being exposed to films like Raiders of the Lost Ark and the James Bond series that captured my imagination of what I could do in the future. I’ve not thought about any other path in my life, I am so focused on telling stories through this medium, and I can’t wait for what the rest of my future holds.
What are some of the themes you like to explore with your filmmaking?
I care very passionately about the human experience, warts and all, which I hope comes across in What We Wished We Could Be. It's not really a theme, but across my work, I always like to tell stories within the genre space; for example, the film I made during my final year of film school was a full-blown spaghetti western. My approach to What We Wished was to subvert what people might expect with a medical-orientated drama. I wanted to infuse the story with romance, music, and horror to drive home all the complex emotions felt by our characters and capture the pain and anger of the community of those infected and affected by the blood scandal over the past 40 years.
How much of a role does London play in your filmmaking and storytelling approach?
London is my home, so I felt comfortable setting the film here. London is a culturally rich environment in which to make a film, and you have access to some of the best crew in the business. From a story perspective, it was essential to set the film in a city like London because of the medical needs of Aidan, a haemophiliac at the heart of the story, who needs to be close to a hospital with a haemophilia centre, to attend his medical clinics.

"Just because a shot is beautiful or complex to shoot, if it doesn't work, it has to go."
Moving forward, what themes, genres, and subjects are you looking to explore with future films?
I am passionate about coming-of-age body-positive stories like Bo Burnhams’ Eighth Grade, and I am looking to explore this in my feature film debut. To be specific, I want to change the perception of plus-size men on screen, as the majority of the time, these characters are often portrayed as comic relief. Growing up as a plus-size in my teenage years helped me develop a thick skin and a self-defamatory mindset. This should not be the case; these years should be about having fun and feeling unfazed by the world around you, and that is what I hope to say with this film.
Is there a filmmaker you’d love to spend the day on set with?
I re-watched the brilliant The Apartment and saw Sabrina for the first time over Christmas, so although this could never happen, I would have loved to spend the day picking the brains of Billy Wilder.
What has been the best piece of advice you’ve been given as a filmmaker?
I’d say not being overly precious during the editing process. Just because a shot is beautiful or complex to shoot, if it doesn't work, it has to go. It is hard, but sometimes you have to kill your darlings.
And finally, what message would you want your audiences to take away from What We Wish We Could Be?
I would love it if audiences would come away from the film with a more excellent knowledge of the blood scandal and how it impacted so many innocent people, not just in the UK but worldwide. I hope people can see themselves in the film and relate to the couple's journey because, at its heart, it is a love story.