New year, new me, and for affable George that means getting in shape. But a jog on the treadmill and social media-inspired innocent aspirations spiral into a toxic obsession of self-flagellation and aggressive guilt-tripping. Exercise is good for the body and soul, well, that’s what they say… or has George fallen prey to a dangerous illusion?

Dis-Morph-Ick is based on Director Angus Castle-Doughty's experience developing disordered eating and muscle dysmorphia symptoms after losing weight for a naked scene in a major Netflix series. The scene was cut, but Angus' relationship with food and his body was changed forever. After speaking to charities and experts in the field however, it was clear that Angus' story was not a unique one. And so he set about writing this film.

For a more detailed breakdown on the the tone of the film itself, the vision, inspirations and charity partners take a look at the pitch deck below:

The reasons we're making this film are simple really:

• The largest barrier in early prevention of male eating disorders is literacy, we want to help change that and make a brilliant film that can help people to reconsider the potentially harmful ways in which they treat exercise and food. To further demonstrate our commitment to this, we are working with George Mycock of MyoMinds to explore ways in which we can use data to monitor the impact of the film. 
• We really believe in the script, cast and team we've put together for the film and believe it could have a massive impact not just in film/TV networks but with the wonderful, globally recognised charities we have partnered with for the film. 
• The state of the TV and Film industry in the UK isn't good at the moment. To be able to hire a host of talented crew and artists whilst also making something that could have a real, measurable impact in the field of male eating disorders is as fulfilling as it can get. 

Short film making is difficult; it's scary, it's overwhelming at times and it feels like you have a thousand things to do and no time to do them. Also,I think sometimes filmmakers can get trapped in their own self importance when it comes to their own work, and I'll always be the first to jump to self deprecation. But having met with countless charities and people with their own lived experiences over the past few months and learnt that because of the lack of discourse around men developing eating disorders, the problem only develops, its clear to me that more work like this film has to be made and I will do everything in my power to bring it to life. 

We are hoping to raise £15,000 to help pay for:

• Our wonderful cast, all of which you will have either seen in your favourite TV shows or on the West End (which is absolutely wild when you think about it)
• Our talented crew, who are the unsung heroes on a set... Genuinely, they only wear shorts and they do around 40,000 steps a day.
• Production equipment so we film the film, obv. 
• Post Production; I've learnt from all my previous experiences and secured the post production timeline already (and I'm buzzing). This even includes an original sound score composed by Richard Chance. Post production will begin alongside production as much is feasible to do so (you can't edit if you don't have anything filmed... duh).

We won't lie, that's a lot of money, but we like to think about it as 5,368 Oat Lattes with sugar free vanilla (which is the most pretentious and yet most delicious order you can make from a coffee shop). We also know this is a pretty rough time, particularly for those attached to any creative industry, so if joining us financially in this project isn't something you can manage, following and sharing our campaign on socials with your mates would be equally as wonderful.

We are also committed to making this film and paying our team full fees regardless of the investment we receive so please know... no investment is too small - every little helps! You can back us for the price of a coffee if you like or you can join the Team in a larger way. We are offering some rewards that’ll make things official, like changing your relationship status on Facebook:

• £10 - Monthly news letter updates on the film.
• £20 - PDF Of the script 
• £30 - MP4 of the finished film before public release 
• £40 - Joint package of a PDF of the script and an MP4 of the finished film
• £50 - Personalised thank you video from creator Angus Castle-Doughty
• £100 - Special thanks at the end of the film
• £750 - Associate Producer credit rolling at the end of the film
• £1500 - Executive Producer credit, we will bow down to you as our overlord and bend to your every will. 

We've already had an amazing response to the film. People have reached out to me personally to share their experiences with muscle dysmorphia and disordered eating and I am incredibly proud that we are fostering a safe space where people can see the things they're experiencing reflected in film. 

As much as we are asking for people to back Dis-Morph-Ick financially, equally as important is to get the word out, both about the film and male eating disorders. We hope that with the film we can de-stigmatise the topic, so even if you can't back the project simply following the campaign can have a profound effect. Spread the word on social media; tag us in your posts, share the campaign video on your stories, just get the word out! 

Risks & Challenges

My last film, Two's A Crowd was a tale of two halves; pre-production and production were amazing, post-production was about as comfortable as moonwalking on broken glass. Luckily though, I had that experience and have learnt from it. This time round we have surrounded ourselves with a team in all departments with award winning experience and worked backwards to mitigate the issues we had last time. 

A unique challenge on this project is measuring the positive impact of the film. We are working closely with First Steps ED, The BDD Foundation, The Laurence Trust, George Mycock at MyoMinds, The Full Of Beans Podcast, MIND and Andy's Man Club to make sure that the film is an accurate representation of the topic whilst limiting the potential for an adverse effect on people struggling. 

Other Ways You Can Help

Follow me on socials (@anguscastledoughty on Insta, @DoughtyAngus on X) and spread the word! Share the video and if you like us, tell your friends and family! If you don't like me, feel free to tell your enemies and nemesisisis. 

Also please check out the wonderful work carried out by our charity partners!