It's My Party

Aim

Louisa's 22nd is miserable, and made much worse by chronic pain. But things look up when she meets a boy who gets her like nobody else.

It’s Louisa’s party and she’ll cry if she wants to. 

It should feel like the perfect night. But it’s miserable. Not magical. Having a self-obsessed wannabe comedian for a boyfriend, and a self-centered social climber for a best friend would be bad enough we’re it not for the chronic pain which the doctors are trying (barely) and failing (completely) to diagnose. And the last thing she wants when she’s exhausted, frustrated, and in pain, is a surprised masked ball birthday party to which none of her friends are invited. Louisa is 22, and she wants to ditch the whole scene. 

That is until Louisa bumps into Robin - an old acquaintance who is kind, funny, and an endearing impulsive oddball. Set over the course of one crummy birthday, 'It’s My Party' is a rom-com with a twist. It looks at what happens what a girl meets a boy who doesn’t pay the school band planning to sing “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You”, who doesn’t chase the girl through an airport to declare “I love you”, but who offers care and comfort and kindness when the world elsewhere does not.

I’ve always loved rom-coms. I love the cheesiness, the tension, the silliness of it all. So many of my favourite films are romantic comedies, or have something of the romantically comedic / comedically romantic about them - 'When Harry Met Sally', 'Bridesmaids', 'About Time', 'Rye Lane', 'Shiva Baby', 'Crazy, Stupid Love', 'Bridget Jones'… I could go on. There’s no moment I enjoy more in cinema than the flood of relief as those two characters inevitably find their way back to one another, whether it’s in the rain or snow, at a new year’s party or prom. I love the escapism, the simple joy, and the feeling of potential - maybe life could be as lovely as this, if only Elvis Costello blasted out in the background of my life more often. 

However, as we all know, life isn’t always as rosy, or as easy and straightforward as it is in the movies, and there are few people who know this better than those who live with chronic pain. Though there are a multitude of reasons someone might suffer from chronic pain, the end results usually look pretty similar - intense fatigue, frustration, a lack of desire/ability to socialise as much as you might otherwise wish, insecurities about a whole host of different things, worry that you are letting people down, worry that you appear pathetic, worry that you’ll never feel better, and sometimes an inability to engage in what to most people feel like the simplest things in the world. Conditions which cause chronic pain can often be invisible too, which adds another layer of difficulty and frustration to that list. 

I have personally lived with invisible chronic pain for as long as I can remember. Pain is an expected part of every day of my life; one which I wish would disappear, but one which also undoubtedly informs a big part of who I am. I was born with Klippel-Feil Syndrome, and will have it until the day I die, so while I may not want to embrace it, it is something I have accepted. There is undoubtedly a lack of conversation surrounding invisible, chronic conditions, and I personally have never seen a film (or any TV show, book or theatre show for that matter) in which there is a character who has chronic pain. Pain is isolating, and representation is important, and so for a long time I’ve been wanting to tell a story about chronic pain, and the experience of living with it as a young person. I want to make a film which addresses chronic pain - to spread awareness, to make invisible illness visible, and I suppose at least in part, to express my frustration. However, I want to do this with a light touch, to make it clear that chronic illness by definition exists alongside the rest of life - the good and the bad. So, 'It’s My Party' was born. 

At its heart, we’re telling a simple story: a girl (Louisa) is made to feel understood and seen, comfortable and normal by someone who cares for her. Combine this with the world’s worst party, thoughtless friends, some well-placed Taylor Swift references, and a Shiva Baby-esque pace and you have 'It’s My Party'. Working with Stepan on the script has been such a positive and cathartic experience, and I can’t wait to share it with the world. 

When Rosie first approached me and pitched a rom-com centering around a character who suffers from chronic pain, I spent a long time considering how to approach the script. Though I have not suffered from chronic illness myself, people I am very close to have, and I have seen how it can affect lives and relationships. I have seen friends of people with chronic pain who struggle to offer support and care and kindness, and I have seen friends who offer nothing but. And in a country with a poorly funded healthcare system, in a society which can treat invisible (and visible) illness with disdain and disregard, kindness and care and assurance is sometimes all you can offer. Sometimes what matters is just seeing someone, and believing them, and doing what little you can when you can. 

The other thing, of course, is fun and laughter. It has always been central to our vision that though 'It’s My Party' deals with serious themes, with important issues that are underrepresented in media, it is fundamentally a romantic comedy. Because pain and exhaustion and discomfort don’t exist in isolation, they don’t exist without moments of joy and laughter and absurdity and delirious giggly escapism. And I hope that rather than making a film about chronic illness which is sometimes funny, we’ve developed a comedy - a silly, weird, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy - where one of the characters just happens to suffer from chronic pain. And that is a fact about her, and it sucks, and a cute boy at a party can’t fix it, but Louisa can still have a happy ending. Because when chronic illness might not have an ending, or at least not an ending in sight, a happy ending can mean something altogether different. It can mean having a nice night with a nice boy who sees you, when nobody else — not even the people you thought you trusted — does.

Rosie Robinson (director)

Rosie Robinson (she/her) is a director and producer currently living and working between France, London and Oxford.

After completing the BFI Future Film Academy at the BFI Southbank and NFTS, Rosie embarked on a degree in French and English at the University of Oxford, during which she has spent 6 months working in documentary distribution at Java Films in Paris.  

In 2022, Rosie co-founded Accidental Donkey Productions, a female-led production company, involved alternately as director and producer. Accidental Donkey’s stories explore topics including friendship, love, filmmaking, grief, and ghosts, always with a focus on creating a positive experience for all members of the cast and crew. Their shorts have screened and won at festivals worldwide. 

Previous credits include EIGHTEEN (co-director, 2020), A MOSAIC OF ALL POSSIBLE GREENS (director, 2022), GHOST INSURANCE (producer, 2022) and JE VEUX DANSER (director, 2023). 

Rosie has recently taken on the role of Head of Access for OUFF, and was the chair of Oxford University’s first ever film festival. She is also working as producer on a Royal Geographical Society funded documentary about the Aral Sea Crisis, shooting in Uzbekistan this summer. 

Stepan Mysko von Schultze (writer)

Stepan Mysko von Schultze (he/him) is a writer, director and comedian from Hertfordshire. He recently graduated from the University of Oxford with a BA and an MSt English. Stepan is currently working at the National Theatre as the Staff Director on Beth Steel’s new play ‘Till The Stars Come Down’ which will play in the Dorfman Theatre in 2024, directed by Bijan Sheibani. He was previously Assistant Director to Bijan Sheibani on Stephen Karam’s ‘Sons of the Prophet’ at Hampstead Theatre. As a writer and performer, Stepan’s work often aims to blur boundaries between absurd comedy and grounded drama. Incorporating this style into his work as a character comedian, he placed 2nd in the 2022 Chortle Student Comedy Awards, was a Finalist at the 2023 Leicester Square Theatre Sketch Off, and has performed at Latitude Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the Leicester Comedy Festival. In 2022 he won the Oxford University Filmmaking Foundation’s Screenwriting Competition with the script for a comedic short. He also performs improvised comedy, and trained and performed with the Oxford Imps for 4 years. Currently, he pitches weekly satire articles to The Daily Mash, and is developing scripts for a TV comedy pilot, a stage play, as well as several short films. Stepan is also portraying the character Drew in 'It's My Party'.

Natasha Ketel (producer)

Natasha Ketel (she/her) is a writer, director and producer from London. 

Natasha recently graduated from Durham University with first class honours in BA English Literature. She works for Silver Salt Films (CENSOR | Sundance, Berlinale | Nominated for 9 BIFAs) as Development Assistant. Alongside her work in film, she also works at Jermyn Street Theatre in Piccadilly as Marketing Manager and was the Assistant Producer on Rafaella Marcus’ Sap, which just finished a UK Tour following a three-week run at Soho Theatre.

Natasha co-founded Accidental Donkey, a small, female-led production company focusing on celebrating the joy of cinema in all forms: exploring female friendship, sexuality and providing playful social commentary through comedy, horror and drama. 

Her short films have been screened at the BFI Southbank, been selected for BIFA-qualifying film festivals & received over 150k views on YouTube. She is currently producing two proof-of-concept shorts for feature films funded by the BFI which are currently in post-production.

Will Jensen (director of photography)

Will Jensen is a young new cinematographer from Oxfordshire. Primarily working and honing his craft in the lighting department as a spark, he has had the chance to learn the art of cinematography working alongside some of the best cinematographers in the industry. Credits include 'The Meg 2' and 'Silo Season 2'.

Lili Herbert - Louisa 

Lili is a performer, composer, and comedian living at working across Oxford and London. She trained and performed with the National Youth Theatre, and recently graduated from the University of Oxford where she read English Literature and Language. Lili is currently co-director of The Oxford Imps, as well as performing onstage with the troupe and accompanying their improvised comedy shows on the piano. She is working towards a singing diploma, and writing the score for a musical she hopes to take to next year’s Edinburgh Fringe. She dances regularly, and is learning how to hula hoop in her back garden. She is so excited to be making her on-screen debut with Accidental Donkey!

James Schofield - Robin

James graduated from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 2018 and has since worked across screen, theatre and radio. Credits include THE COURIER (dir. Dominic Cooke), ACKLEY BRIDGE (Channel 4) and Something in the Air (dir. Peter Gill and Alice Hamilton) at Jermyn Street Theatre. James is also on the creative team at The Living Theatre, Whitwell, an open air arts space in Hertfordshire.

Georgia Vyvyan - Poppy 

Georgia is an actor and theatre-maker based in London. She is graduating from Rose Bruford this September (2023). Before training, Georgia did her BA at Cambridge University. She most recently performed in Cowboys and Lesbians - a two-hander queer romcom written and directed by Billie Esplen at the Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh Fringe. Immediately before this, Georgia performed as an actor and musician in her Rose Bruford graduate show, 1972: The Future of Sex, (dir. Alexandra Spencer-Jones). Other credits include: Desdemona in Othello (dir. John Haidar); Penelope in We’re Few and Far Between (dir. Alexandra Sarmiento); Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing (dir. Richard Beecham); and Handmaiden in Mary Stuart (dir. Robert Icke).

This project successfully funded on 12th September 2023