A surrealist, psychological drama about a mild-mannered woman whose daily encounters with her increasingly unrestrained neighbour instigate a drastic change in how she lives with cancer.

Miranda, a mild-mannered woman with impeccable taste and an immaculate appearance, is living with lung cancer. A diagnosis that is invisible to all but her. As her disease progresses, she finds solace sitting on a bench in the courtyard outside her London mansion block with her charismatic friend Gus, who has a penchant for the pleasures in life, not least his daily fix of freshly baked pastries.

Each day, they meet and watch their neighbours through the windows of the building as if they were a quirky array of characters on a TV show – the young woman intent on making the perfect cocktail, the young man struggling to learn how to cook, the little girl left to play alone and the middle-aged couple that can barely stand to be in the same room as each other.  Their friendship grows as they learn more about each of the residents and, in the process, learn more about each other.

But one day, after a neighbour barely acknowledges her, Miranda begins to realise that Gus is purposefully trying to overshadow her, and their relationship starts to deteriorate. Soon, what was once charming becomes infuriating and Gus’s overbearing nature forces Miranda to snap.

Everyone knows someone who has cancer.

My story takes place in the UK, where 1 out of every 2 people will get cancer in their lifetime. My husband is the 1 out of the 2 of us. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2023. At the end of 2024, I began writing KARKINOS. The term itself was used in ancient Greece to describe deadly tumours. It is the Greek word for crab, and the origin for the word cancer.

KARKINOS is a personal project that is deeply important to me. At its core, it is an exploration of a woman going through cancer, grappling with her identity and loss of control. From the outset, I wanted to tell this story in an unconventional way. Miranda doesn't look like an archetypal cancer patient, and I chose to anthropomorphise her tumour into her neighbour and friend, Gus. I felt it was essential to make him a character; to give him a face and a name. I wanted to make him visible, and a constant presence in Miranda's daily life.

We've seen so many films where people beat cancer, so many where they die from it, but we don't see enough stories about people living with it. KARKINOS is a glimpse into Miranda's life living with cancer. It focuses on the internal - the psychological, bizarre, and brutal nature of what is happening inside her. 

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Initially inspired by Rear Window and Fight Club, I envision KARKINOS mixing the dark comedy and surrealist atmosphere of Yorgos Lanthimos with the drama, tension, and suspense of David Fincher.

With this surrealist, psychological drama the cast, sound design, and cinematography are all crucial. Miranda and Gus may carry this film on their shoulders, but KARKINOS couldn't exist without the bench, the building, and its residents. Each a character, each essential to the life of this story.

The accuracy of sound/the precision is also vital to this piece. The exaggerated exterior sounds, the silences, the chewing, the music, dialogue in some sequences (and not in others) all add to the tension.

Creating powerful images that resonate with the audience is incredibly important to me, which is why I've teamed up with James Friend as my cinematographer for this piece. We’ve chosen to shoot on 35mm, drawn to the fragility of film and the nature of it – the grain, the light, colours, the surprising, unexpected and beautiful elements are all fundamental to this story. 

In life, I have always been drawn to the extraordinary, the non-conventional, the darkness and light in everything around me, and I want to make films that challenge stereotypes and entrenched views society holds.

I hope to tell this story through that same lens.

Vanessa Demme, Director/ Writer/ Producer

Vanessa is a British-American filmmaker. She studied Dramatic Literature & Film at The George Washington University in D.C., where she concentrated on writing, directing, and acting for the theatre. She moved on to hone her craft as an actress at The Stella Adler Studio in New York before relocating to London.

Vanessa previously starred in and co-produced the independent feature film Here One Minute (Dir: Eleanor Gaver, EP: Lydia Dean Pilcher). Over the last few years, she worked for Idris Elba, including producing his short film Dust to Dreams in 2024. She is currently Executive Assistant to producer Nira Park at Complete Fiction (Nira Park, Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish & Rachael Prior).

James Friend ASC BSC, Cinematographer/Co-producer

James is a BAFTA and Academy Award winning cinematographer (Ballad of a Small Player, All Quiet on the Western Front, Patrick Melrose, The Acolyte). He's worked in the industry for over twenty years and frequently collaborates with director Edward Berger.

Marnie Gore, Producer

Marnie is a graduate of LAMDA. She is Producer's Assistant at SunnyMarch (Adam Ackland and Benedict Cumberbatch). She previously worked as a Location Assistant on several feature films and television shows, including Wicked Little Letters, We Live in Time, and Black Mirror.

Willa Hope, Creative Executive

Willa has previously worked in development at Two Brothers and Complete Fiction. She is currently Development Executive at Astral Projection (Polly Stokes and Rachel Weisz).

Sacha Garrett, Casting Director

Sacha works in casting across film and television. Projects include Too Much, Conclave, 1917, Baby Reindeer, and Andor.

With this film, we have an opportunity to re-define how cancer is portrayed on screen and open the door to more unique stories and perspectives of people going through this disease.

Thank you for your support.