MIND CINEMA (Short Script)

FADE IN:

INT. HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM. DAY

 

MONTAGE:

(fast cuts, matched with noise creating a cacophonic rhythm)

 

DAPHNE, wearing Doctor Who hoody, is trying to stay awake in a busy hospital waiting room. The noise is too much for her.

 

Camera closeups to footsteps/footsteps loud noise, same with someone’s phone ringing, someone chewing loudly with their mouth open.

Daphne is picking up a spiderman backpack from under her chair. She unzips the backpack, takes her spiderman headphones out of the bag and puts them on.

 

Noise stops.

 

MONTAGE:

(fast cuts, matched with song bits)

 

Song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxDXTfnaLjY

 

Daphne is falling from a chair because she falls asleep. Song stops. Loud Hospital noises again. Cut.

 

Daphne is sleeping on 2 chairs. They split, and she falls again. Song stops. Loud Hospital noises once more. Cut.

 

Daphne sleeping on the floor using her backpack as a pillow. Camera gets inside her head.

 

FADE OUT

 

FADE IN:

INT. LONG CORRIDOR. NIGHT.

 

Song continues louder.

 

We are in a long, institutionalised, eerie, corridor.

Daphne is running like if she's been chased. She's trying to find an exit.

Daphne finds a couple of doors with see-through-windows and tries to open them, but they're locked.

 

In one of the rooms, she can see a group of nine people sitting on a circle, laughing creepily.

 

Daphne recognises in them her friends. She starts knocking the door loudly.

 

FRANKIE, one of the nine, looks towards her but acts as if she doesn’t see her.

 

Someone else is running behind Daphne, getting closer and closer. More people behind him. Seven in total. Men and women.

 

They all wear the same kind of teal hats, and purple t-shirts, each having their name on, printed with teal letters.

 

The names read:

 

AUTISM DAPHNE, ADHD DAPHNE, OCD DAPHNE, PTSD DAPHNE, DYSLEXIA DAPHNE, DEPRESSION DAPHNE, ANXIETY DAPHNE.

 

PTSD, the first one, when he sees OUR Daphne

pauses frozen and sits on the floor rocking.

 

Daphne now is also wearing the same hat and t-shirt. Hers read: ME.

 

PTSD

          It’s happening again.

 

AUTISM

I don’t understand. What is happening?

 

DEPRESSION

What’s the point of understanding, or anything, anyway?

 

ADHD

(With indifference)

According to my calculations, we fell in a coma!

 

 

DYSLEXIA

Could you explain that in a different way?

 

OCD

(Shouting each word slowly at Dyslexia)

We, are, probably, still, laying, on, the, filthy, hospital, floor, as, we, speak.

 

ANXIETY

I’m freaking out here.

 

DEPRESSION

Get in the queue for that girl.

 

ANXIETY

You keep assuming everything, like our gender. Maybe, that’s your problem. You just can’t get rid of your little, tiny stereotypes...

 

DEPRESSION

Whatever.

 

OCD

We need decontamination, at once.

 

ME

Stop it. All of you. Sit down and listen. We’re probably just dreaming.

 

ADHD

Can’t-wake-up-sleeping is what they call a coma.

 

PTSD

Shut up.

 

ME

Let’s gather the facts and the possibilities here. If we are sleeping, or even if we are in a coma, then surely, we are the creators of this world. This corridor. These doors...

 

ANXIETY

Fact number one: we’re fucked.

 

 

ME

Those people (pointing at Frankie) are just a memory projection. Mind Cinema if you prefer. That’s why they can’t recognise us. They’re not even real. So, fact number one: nothing can hurt us here.

 

ADHD finds a jelly baby on the floor, picks it up, shows it ostentatiously to OCD and eats it.

 

OCD makes a face of disgust.

 

ADHD

(Shrugs to OCD)

What? We just said it’s not real.

 

ME

Just stay still. All of you. Take a deep breath in, hold, breath out, repeat. If we do this properly, we might fly or teleport. We can do anything in here.

 

ADHD

If we do this properly, we’ll wake up.

 

OCD

(Dances and hams to the song)

‘♫♪ They say I’m OCD, but I’m just, so symmetrical, so original, mathematical. ♪♫’

 

Music stops suddenly.

 

FADE OUT

 

FADE IN:

INT. HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM. DAY

 

Back at the hospital waiting room. Loud hospital noises are also back. Then speaker announcement:

 

HOSPITAL RECEPTIONIST VOICE

‘Daphne Michle’, to the nurse room.

 

FADE OUT

 

FADE IN:

INT. NIGHT. LONG CORRIDOR.

ANXIETY

Did anyone hear that?

 

They hear the hospital speaker in the corridor.

 

HOSPITAL RECEPTIONIST VOICE

I repeat, Daphne Michle.

 

ANXIETY

(pushing ME) You need to get up. Now. You’re being called.

 

ME freezes. Then she falls on the floor.

Now she wears her spiderman headphones.

 

Everyone but ME gets up, and they all try to grab her and get her up to her feet. Anxiety takes ME’s headphones off.

 

FADE OUT

 

FADE IN:

INT. HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM. DAY

 

Daphne struggles to get up. Light is too bright to open her eyes. Noise is too loud to manage. She covers her ears.

 

Close up to her headphones that have been fallen on the floor while she was sleeping. A door opens.

 

NURSE

Daphne Michle?

 

Daphne is looking for something, groping the floor—while trying hard not to touch it. She picks up her headphones, puts them inside her bag, and zips the bag.

 

The nurse is impatient.

 

Then she finds her walking stick and uses it to get up. Struggling, she walks to the nurse’s door.

Door shuts behind her. Camera stays outside. Cut.

 

Door opens again. Camera stays still.

 

 

NURSE

You need to wait outside for the doctor to call you.

DAPHNE

I thought you were the doctor.

 

NURSE

I’m the nurse. I do the first assessments. You need to wait to be called by the doctor. Do you have anyone with you?

 

DAPHNE

(Nods ‘No’ and then falls on the floor dramatically)

 

NURSE

(takes a walky-talky out of her pocket)

I need backup here.

 

Sound stops.

 

MONTAGE:

 

Beeping continuing noise.

 

A second NURSE comes to help get Daphne up.

 

Daphne is falling through their hands, as if she was made from liquid, and she keeps falling. (Repeated shots, different angles.)

 

Second nurse holds her steady and starts punching her on the chest.

 

Beep stops. Sound returns.

 

NURSE 2

She’s just faking it, or she’s drunk. Her vitals are fine. (keeps punching Daphne’s chest rhythmically) Call social services if she keeps up like this.

 

The last punch makes a cracking sound.

 

With the last punch on Daphne’s chest by the Nurse, the seven other Daphnes pop out with a splash sound. Cut.

 

FADE OUT

 

FADE IN:

INT. SMALL CINEMA. NIGHT.

 

FAST MONTAGE:

No sound. Just song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcnTDmpsKp4

 

All seven Daphne’s and ME walk in the cinema, wearing the same t-shirts and hats as before. ADHD is holding popcorn. The sit down on the front row.

 

Lights out. A black and white movie starts. We see the movie screen. Camera zooms in the screen.

 

BLACK AND WHITE MOVIE:

 

EXT. OUTDOORS BEACH BAR. NIGHT. BLACK AND WHITE.

 

Daphne is working in a busy bar.

 

A man (MAN 1, the boss) walks in the bar, Daphne steps aside, the man opens the cash-machine and takes 50 euros and smiles to her.

 

Bar now empty, the man approaches Daphne with a ‘joint’.

 

They walk together towards his caravan, smoking the joint.

 

Camera stays out of the door frame. Caravan’s door shuts. Song stops. Cut. Black screen.

 

DAPHNE’S VOICE

No. I said no. No.

 

Cut

 

Door opens. The man half-naked, walks out trying to clean his torso and crouch by throwing a bottle of water on him.

 

MAN 1

That whore puked on me!

 

Cut.

FADE OUT

 

FADE IN:

INT. SMALL CINEMA. NIGHT.

 

Most of the seven Daphne’s are chatting, except ME, PTSD and Autism.

 

ADHD is eating the popcorn. OCD is counting her fingers.

 

FADE OUT

 

FADE IN:

 

INT. BUILDINGS’ CORRIDOR. NIGHT. BLACK AND WHITE.

 

BACK IN THE BLACK AND WHITE MOVIE:

 

No sound. Same song starts again, where it was left

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcnTDmpsKp4

 

Daphne walks in her flat’s building with a man (MAN 2). They are laughing. She seems to be expecting that to be the end of their night.

 

Daphne delays opening her door and waives goodbye. He’s still there.

 

Daphne is looking for her keys in a TARDIS purse. she takes out a LGBTQ+ rainbow pride lanyard with her key chain. Daphne opens the door.

 

He seems to insist getting in. Man 2 walks in. Door shuts. Song stops. Cut. Black screen.

 

DAPHNE’S VOICE

No. I said no. No.

Cut.

 

FADE OUT

 

FADE IN:

INT. SMALL CINEMA. NIGHT.

 

PTSD is crying. ME gets up and hugs her.

FADE OUT

 

FADE IN:

 

INT. HOSTEL ROOM. NIGHT. BLACK AND WHITE.

No sound. Same song starts again, where it was left

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcnTDmpsKp4

 

 

BACK IN THE BLACK AND WHITE MOVIE:

 

Daphne is sleeping in one of the bunkbeds. A man (Man 3) walks in the room.

 

Man 3 is watching Daphne sleeping.

 

Man 3 is putting his hand in Daphne’s cookie-monster-trousers.

 

Song stops. Cut. Black screen.

 

DAPHNE’S VOICE

No. I fucking said no. No.

 

Noises of Daphne falling of the bunkbed.

 

FADE OUT.

 

FADE IN:

INT. DAPHNE’S BEDROOM. DAY.

 

The phone rings seven times. The seven Daphnes pop up from Daphne’s head, one with every phone ring. Phone stopes.

 

The seven Daphnes try to wake Daphne up.

Daphne is kicking and pushing them, with her eyes shut, mumbling:

DAPHNE

No. I said no. No.

 

Phone rings again.

 

ADHD pushes Daphne harder.

 

ADHD accepts the call and puts in near Daphne’s ear. We hear noise of someone speaking through the other side of the line.

DAPHNE

Hmmm. What? Who is this? (puts it on speaker)

 

KATIE

Are you ok?

DAPHNE

Why?

KATIE

You were supposed to be at the rehearsal in Maidstone 20 minutes ago? Should we wait for you longer, or not? Are you ok?

 

PTSD grabs the phone.

 

PTSD

(speaks maniacally) No. I’m not ok. I got a panic attack because I couldn’t do my paperwork. I had these stomach problems again. after the fourth day that I couldn’t keep any food or liquids, I went to the hospital. There... a nurse physically attacked me!

 

KATIE

What do you mean? Did you call the police?

 

PTSD

No. Yet, if I remember correctly, she almost called social services on me.

 

KATIE

I don’t understand. What if you do take the train to see us today? We’ll be happy to see you after the rehearsal if you just need to talk. Don’t worry about the play. We still have many weeks for rehearsals.

DAPHNE

Sure, I guess. (Daphne gets up wearing a Beetle-juice t-shirt.

 

End of call.

 

 

 

PTSD

(to Daphne) We can ask Katie to make a formal complaint at the hospital, or something. She is a safeguarding support worker after all. She’ll be happy to help.

 

Cut.

 

FADE OUT

 

FADE IN:

INT. THEATRE REHEARSAL AREA. DAY.

 

Camera from Daphne’s perspective.

 

The nine people that Daphne had seen in her corridor dream, that couldn’t see her, are sitting in the same positions as they were in Daphne’s dream.

 

Now they see her, they greed her, and smile at her.

 

FRANKIE

Are you ok?

 

KATIE

Hi Daphne.

 

DAPHNE

Hi.

 

Camera turns. All the seven Daphnes follow timidly behind Daphne.

 

Daphne nods ‘No’ to Frankie.

 

Frankie walks towards Daphne and hugs her.

 

As the hug gets more squeezy, the seven Daphnes return inside Daphne, and Daphne becomes whole again.

Song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxDXTfnaLjY

 

FADE OUT

 

THE END

 

CREDITS