"The Struggle Inside" follows a voice in distress; the inner monologue of someone suffering through their final moments. A man lies in bed, dreaming. As surreal dreamscapes and moments of his life flash by, the voice becomes increasingly distorted and resigned to its fate. In the final moments of his dream, the voice's true nature reveals itself - it's his cancer. His daughter bursts into his bedroom and, finally, there's joy. The voice is silenced.

This film was created to promote a pharmaceutical drug. It’s branded, which means it can only be seen by healthcare professionals. It can’t be viewed publicly. Tasigna is a pill that can stop cancer cells from growing and spreading. It specifically treats chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). Studies have proven that Tasigna can switch CML off in some patients, which means they can eventually live without needing treatment. To tell this story, our client planned to run medical meetings for doctors in several markets. This film was created to open those meetings. It’s also being shown to doctors by sales representatives during face-to-face sales calls.

To tell the story properly, the camerawork had to be raw and abstract. Filmed using a single camera, the unconventional, jarring, uncomfortable angles and framing, very close-up shots of the protagonist all help the film feel intimate yet uneasy. Until the reveal, the viewer has to believe the voice they hear is that of the cancer. But they should also sense something is up. The cinematography helps lead the viewer into feeling uneasy about the true nature of the voice they are hearing. The director was central to making this work. Tony Kaye's visceral, surreal artistic vision enhanced our original story. His super close-up camerawork and direction, particularly for the final sequence, aims to draw the viewer in. Black & white dreamscapes added another layer of uncertainty to the film, while adding real photos of the father and daughter helped authenticity.