"Nearly Never"

3 July 2024

15 mins

Surgical scares.

'Nearly Never' from director Peter Franklyn Banks is fifteen minutes long, but stays with you for much, much longer. When amateur footballer Christian (Charley Palmer Rothwell) suffers a severe leg injury, surgery is unavoidable. The longer he stays on the ward, the sooner the cracks start to appear around him.

Staff are kind, polite, and helpful, but also rushed off their feet. As doctor Joseph (Mim Shaikh) talks to Christian, we see that his KN95 face mask has dug into his skin. Another nurse breaks down in tears, but holds her hand over her mouth as she does. Christian watches, Christian waits, and Christian worries.

Hours before his operation, he learns that another patient needs his foot amputated. It sends the poor man's brain into overdrive, right up to the moment he succumbs to the anaesthetic. Was that a saw on the table? It can't be. Please God, no.

The nightmare is unbearable, and the ambiguous final shot is even worse. If the worst has happened, it's a 'never event': a serious incident in the field of medical treatment that should never be able to occur. When hospitals are underfunded are staff are pushed to the edge, patients like Christian suffer. Politicians take note.

UK

Short Film