Having been diagnosed with breast cancer, a woman finds herself in various scenarios where people talk to her about her disease. But instead of replying to the person, she breaks the fourth wall and tells us, the viewer, the honest and often ugly truth about how she’s really feeling, before coming back to reality in the scene and saying something far more anodyne and platitudinal to the person she’s speaking with. Only when she finds herself in a Breast Cancer Now support group, do the honest words she says in her aside, match the words she feels comfortable saying to the Breast Cancer Now counsellor.

The film concludes with a title: Want to talk more openly about breast cancer? We’re here.

People with breast cancer often hold back from saying how they’re really feeling about their diagnosis. Rather than speaking openly, they say what they think people want to hear, leading to feelings of isolation and despair.

Breast cancer charity Breast Cancer Now wanted to position themselves as a destination where people diagnosed with breast cancer can get support and have frank conversations with people who’ve experienced the disease first hand. We were briefed to create a TV commercial that positioned Breast Cancer Now as the first port of call for honest support around a disease that’s often hard for people to talk about.

Our objective was to use creative insight to create a compelling and powerful script, that allowed us to cut through the cliches of cancer advertising and speak in a relatable way to both cancer patients and their friends and families.

Breast Cancer Now are, rightly, obsessed with creating authentic portrayals of people with breast cancer. Clearly in a performance-led film such as ours, it’s a very difficult balance to ensure that the lead cast member has the acting ability to bring the script to life in a nuanced and emotive way, whilst also having the direct personal experience of breast cancer in their real life. We saw hundreds of actors, who had either been through breast cancer themselves or experienced it via a close friend or family member. Only once this criteria had been met, did we refine our list of potential leads, workshopping the script until we had a shortlist of people who were both performatively incredible, but also authentic. Finally, we made the decision to cast someone who did not look like a traditional commercial actor, in order to further enhance the relatability and rawness of the film.