#Whatareyoudoing? was a short drama at the centre of a campaign about coercive control and abusive relationships, led by researchers, academics and survivor groups through the MESARCH project at Coventry University. The work was shaped alongside survivor testimony and thorough research to create an engaging and clear leaping off point for discussion around coercive control and abusive relationships.

It was developed with the aim to explore this sensitive topic in a thoughtful, considered and emotive way, using cinematic imagery to attract the eye and relatable situations to encourage empathy and upstanding rather than bystanding.

The captivating short film contained very little dialogue to highlight the subtle signs of coercive control and to allow a wider audience access to the piece.

We were privileged to work with charities, survivor groups and experts in the field to develop a concept which reflected a number of important signs, signals and behaviours that could indicate coercive control. From this a narrative script was developed and shaped to ensure that we reflected experiences within the groups and also the behaviours that the later released campaign hoped to encourage.

The talented actors and our dedicated directors worked closely and sensitively with survivors in rehearsals and on set to create the realistic and emotive piece of drama.