The short film people told me not to make

About Our Film 

"Just Kidding, I Actually Love You" is a bittersweet romantic comedy about Sophie, a runaway fiancée who returns home to win her ex back with a surprise romantic gesture. Confronted with evidence that he’s happier without her—and a disturbing realisation she might be the asshole—she must decide between her selfish fantasy or his happiness.

This particular rom-com is pretty autobiographical. So, you know it’s gonna be juicy. Regretting your past behaviour is a universal experience. Having to own the fact that you were the asshole and you can’t take that back sucks. But this film posits, if you think you might be the asshole, it’s better to stop than keep going.

I wonder if that’s a moment you can pinpoint in your youth? And wrapping the experience in this sensational, outrageously flawed character, Sophie, doing the absolute worst things will make a satisfying rollick that ends in a gut-punch and a pat on the head to leave you in bittersweet introspection.

We Need YOUR Help To Make This Happen

We will be relying heavily on friends and family to help us make this but we do need some cold hard cash to bring this story to screen!

We need to hire camera and lighting equipment, make and source a few key props and costume, make sure the crew is well fed, hydrated & caffeinated.

Every little bit counts in helping us achieve our vision and tell this whacky story. Whether you can give a few dollars or a few hundred —every show of support is truly and gratefully appreciated.

Why this Film?

Director, Anna Duckworth, was told by multiple people that this short film does not need to be made*. So, with your help, we’re going ahead and making the damn thing. The world is full of the dark and depressing, we wanna bring some good old-fashioned (not in the sexist way) ENTERTAINMENT to you. Our aspiration is to create a high-class short film that will subvert audiences' expectations for what a romantic comedy should be, framing the genre for a modern audience. All the while maintaining the heart, and laughs, that make them so universally beloved. 

“I was never afraid to be ugly if it got a laugh.  Within my circle of weirdos, I was always the one with no shame, the one willing to be the most outrageous. Representations of raw and relatable female experiences are finally having their day - warts and all womanhood, the ugly stuff - audiences are craving it. We’ve pushed past the polished cliche shock value of Sex-and-the-City-era feminism, and now we’re down to the nitty-gritty that is oh-so-relatable and makes audiences feel seen and authentically reflected.”

— Director/Writer Anna Duckworth 

As a queer filmmaker, Anna’s approach has been to normalise the mundanity of queerness rather than focus on telling “queer stories”, she places queer characters in unrelated narratives - allowing queer characters to have rich and complex lives outside of their sexual orientation.

*because she ought to be focusing on making features, rather than making another short. She's a have-your-cake-AND-eat-it kinda girl.

The Team! 

Anna Duckworth: Writer/Director 

Worst Romantic Experience? Not the worst, but one time a boy on the school bus gave me a rose he had sprayed with Lynx Africa. 

Anna is a firm leader who never settles for anything less than meaningful collaboration in the pursuit of honest storytelling. She has worked in film and television for almost a decade, in both NYC and Auckland. A key player in production company Candlelit Pictures, Anna has written and directed several short films including PAIN screened as part of 2020 NZIFF’s NZ’s Best Programme, and MUM JEANS which screened at the 2018 NZIFF. PAIN was picked up by Italian distribution company Light’s On, and has gone on to be selected at over 30 festivals, including Busan International Film Festival, AspenShorts, Stockholm International Film Festival and Bogotá Short Film Festival.

Anna directed comedy webseries PSUSY S2, which screened at numerous festivals and won Best Episodic Jury Prize at the 2018 LA Film Festival. Directing comedy for online audiences again with her TVNZ-funded web series BUTT DIAL.

Anna’s work shows raw depictions of relatable feminine experiences.

Ali Burns: Writer 

Worst Romantic Experience? I helped a boyfriend grow a sunflower that he gave to the girl he “told me not to worry about”.

Ali Burns is an Auckland-based writer who completed her Masters in Scriptwriting with the International Institute of Modern Letters, Victoria University in 2015. On completion of her Masters degree she won the Brad Mcgann Award for best film script for her screenplay Adah. Ali has worked with the Talent Development team at the New Zealand Film Commission on Fresh Shorts, assisting and collating feedback for scripts. Her writing also extends beyond film, having written for several publications including the Wireless, Salient and Fightback Aotearoa, as well as smaller local publications.

Casey Latch: Producer 

Worst Romantic Experience? I once went to a musical festival with a guy and fell asleep at the back of the venue, needless to say there was no second date. 

Casey is a Production Manager and up-coming Producer with experience across a variety of television series, as well as short film and commercial work. Casey holds a Bachelor of Communications in TV and Screen Production, and Bachelor of Business in Market Insights from AUT. She graduated in 2018 whilst working full-time as a Production Assistant at Screentime NZ across a variety of factual and docu-drama series. Since then, Casey has moved swiftly through the production ranks, working as a Coordinator and Production Manager on a number of local series. Most recently Casey has been Line Producing commercial work and has celebrated the release of short drama ‘Waitress’ which she produced as part of the 2020 Outlook for Someday Series, along with award-winning short documentary ‘Young And... the Reckless’ for TVNZ Ondemand and NZ On Air.

Mikaela Rüegg: Producer 

Worst Romantic Experience? So many… but I’ll leave you with a PSA — NEVER get romantically involved with your boss. 

Mikaela Rüegg is a mixed-race actor/storyteller/political scientist and restaurateur who has lived half her life in the USA and the other half in New Zealand. She has been acting professionally since in New Zealand and the U.S.A., appearing in feature films, network television, TV commercials, music videos and a web series. After making and producing content for her showreel and some encouragement from her talent representation Mikaela has begun the journey to utilise her storytelling skills and experience from overseas to start making and producing her own work to act in. Mikaela’s latest scripted project is a  short mockumentary for Someday Stories (15k budget) that premiered on Māori Television, RNZ, Stuff.co.nz and Youtube Online.