Scrub me, daddY
"I don't really understand what's going on" - Paul Ayers, father of the director, in reference to Scrub Me, Daddy.
Scrub Me, Daddy follows a girl and her best friend; her loyal kitchen sponge. Together they embark on an adventure that is as mystical as it is unhinged. This short film was created for Straight 8 2024, and premiered at the BFIMAX as part of their top selection.
Scrub me, daddY
UK PREMIERE 25.05.24
LSFF
written and directed by Robyn Faye for straight 8 2024
The process
Straight 8 began in London in 1999. it’s now a global filmmaking challenge every filmmaker should try…
The goal is to make a great film on just one roll of super 8mm, with no re-takes, no editing, no grade, no post-production at all. You make all your final visuals only with each pull of your camera's trigger, you even make your soundtrack ‘blind’ and Straight 8 line it up to the first frame of picture. The first time you see your own film is when the audience does, if it's strong enough to be selected.
'Scrub Me, Daddy,' a short film written, directed and shot by Robyn has made the top 25 selection of the Straight 8 competition for 2024. Her film will premiere on the biggest screen in the UK, BFI IMAX, on the 25th May alongside 24 other amazing films.
Screenings and awards
ST8 8 Top 25 (Premiere) BFI IMAX, 25th May 2024
Online World LiveStream, Straight 8, 1st June 2024
Folkestone Film Festival, Folkestone,
Watch Shorts, Arthouse Crouch End, 7th August 2024
London Movie Awards, Cinema,
Sunday Shorts, Lisbon Portugal, 3rd November 2024
Paris Film Awards, Paris, 4th November 2024
London Festival of Cinema, London, 7th November 2024
25th Recontres Cinema Et Video, Nice, 29th November 2024
Sunday Shorts, Strongroom Bar, Shoreditch, 1st December 2024
ST8 8 Porto, Cinema Trindade, 19th December 2024
Cibemateca Portuguesa Lisboa, 20th December 2024
London Short Film Festival, Rich Mix, 23rd January 2025
Thimble Collective: Fables&Fallacies Expo, Cambridge, 14th-20th April 2025
Sunderland Film Festival, Sunderland UK, 16th May 2025
Sunrise Film Festival, Suffolk UK, 18th-25th May 2025
Film Night NY, Brooklyn, 30th October 2025
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Straight 8 | Top 25 (Winner)
Sunday Shorts | Best Experimental Film (Nomination)
Paris Film Awards | Best Micro Film (Winner)
London Movie Awards | Best Super Short Film
Folkestone Film Festival | Best Micro Film (Winner)
Sunrise Film Festival | Best Experimental Short (Nomination)
Sunrise Film Festival | Best Micro Short Movie (Nomination)
Watch Shorts | Best Short Shorts (Winner)
Director's statement
I'd know for a while that I wanted to make a Straight 8, so in many ways the style of the film was influenced by the limitations and joys of the competition's regulations. However the story began forming when I was doing the washing up one evening and made awkward eye contact with my sad, overworked kitchen sponge. From there the film felt like it wrote itself; my one priority being to lean into the playfulness of the film-making format. It was important to me that the film had a vibrancy to it - both in the colours and in the performances. The lead characters of The Girl and Poppy were very much created with Charly Faye and Emma Brunet-Campain in mind, and I believe they've done an excellent job of bringing the story to life. The main challenge with this film was the lack of post production, and we combatted this through vigorous rehearsals. As often happens with these things, what started out as a limitation turned into a positive, allowing us to really lean into the theatricality of this project.
