In their short film Contact Hours, director Harry Richards and writer Rufus Love tackle the weighty and deeply personal subject of suicide with sensitivity and hope.
The story, inspired by a chance encounter Rufus had with a former university caretaker, sheds light on the emotional toll faced by those who deal with tragedy in their professional lives.
“We go into the dark so that, when we re-emerge into the light, our audiences are left with a renewed appreciation of the sanctity of life and a desire to hold their loved ones close,” Rufus explains.
The Atlantic Dispatch sat down with Harry and Rufus to explore the origins of the film, its production challenges, and the collaborative efforts that brought it to life.
Harry reflects on the emotional intensity of certain scenes, particularly one involving bereaved parents retrieving their son’s belongings. “It was so affecting for the actors and crew members on set, including myself. I found myself welling up behind the monitor,” he recalls.
“To make this film in a truthful and impactful way, it was paramount that we did not shy away from the pain and sorrow surrounding our subject matter, explains Rufus. “Having said that, we always wanted this to be a hopeful film.”
The conversation also examines the unique dynamics on set, from joyful moments—like nailing a complex one-take shot with celebratory cheers from the crew—to the deeply personal connections many team members had to the film’s subject matter.
Both Harry and Rufus emphasise the importance of fostering positive and open conversations about suicide, with plans to screen the film at universities across the UK to spark dialogue among students and communities.
“We have two more exclusive previews in London where we will be showing the film with a live Q&A,” Harry tells us. “Film festival submissions are also underway, and we will be starting to tour our film around UK universities from January 2025 onwards.
“This is where we hope to connect with students and university communities, to ignite more hopeful and positive conversations around suicide.”
In this exclusive interview, Richards and Love share the challenges, triumphs, and profound responsibility of creating Contact Hours—a film that doesn’t shy away from sorrow but ultimately seeks to inspire hope and connection.
Contact hours stars. Kris Hitchen (Ken Loach’s SORRY WE MISSED YOU / SPEAK NO EVIL)and model-turned-actor George Osborne (THE PENDRAGON CYCLE) and Ashleigh-Mae Schoburgh-Crooks
BRAVERY AND HUMANITY
Rufus: I have not personally lost a best friend to suicide but a number of my best friends have. I also have some friends who have struggled with suicide ideation, and I feel huge relief that they are still alive.
I had wanted to make something about this incredibly important issue for some time but couldn’t find a way into the subject matter that felt original and sensitive.
Then I had a chance encounter whilst working at a theatre bar. I got chatting to a man doing maintenance and he told me that he’d resigned his post as a university caretaker after finding two students who had taken their own lives.
We spoke for a long time about the responsibilities and difficulties of that job, how it feels to walk down the corridor with your keys jangling, not knowing what lies behind the locked door.
We wanted to make this film to start conversations about suicide but also to make people think about the bravery and humanity that caring professionals and frontline responders must show daily.
PROUD OF WHAT WE HAD CREATED TOGETHER
Harry: Normally, watching the first assembly of a film can be terrifying, but with Contact Hours, it was so exciting. I was drawn in from the film’s opening frames.
We then went through post-production watching the film over and over again as we worked on the sound, music, colour and visual effects. We were paying so much attention to the finer details that it was difficult to see the film from the perspective of a new viewer.
However, at the end of post-production, we tested the film at Genesis Cinema in East London, a couple of weeks before we held our launch screening there.
Watching the film on the big screen, writer Rufus Love and I were once again so drawn in by the actors’ performances and DOP Scarlett Gardner’s beautiful camera work.
I was no longer paying attention to the details or thinking about the post-production process, but I was submerged in the story. Rufus and I felt very proud of what we had created together.
I FOUND MYSELF WELLING UP
Harry: For me, a scene from the film that stands out the most is where the Caretaker accompanies the parents of a student who has died by suicide back to their son’s university room to collect his things.
We had originally intended to break up the scene into medium close-ups of each character, but once we were in the space, we realised that we could pull focus as a way to shift the viewer’s attention between the characters subtly.
This meant that we didn’t need any other camera setups beyond the first wide-angle that we filmed.
It is a very emotional moment in the film, and cutting away to other angles would have reduced the scene’s impact.
Crucially, it was also important to limit the number of takes here as much as possible, as the scene felt so true to the experiences of real parents bereaved by suicide, that it was very affecting for the actors and crew members on set, including myself. I found myself welling up behind the monitor.
Rufus: At one point in the story, the Caretaker struggles to keep a grip on reality after a traumatising sequence of events.
He finds himself stuck in one of the accommodation corridors, hammering against the identical doors to escape this waking nightmare. We wanted to capture this in one shot, with the steadicam ducking, diving and twisting to underscore the Caretaker’s disorientation.
One of the doors that Kris tried was unintentionally left unlocked. When he grabbed the handle, he and the camera lurched into the darkness of the room. It wasn’t planned, but now that dizzying moment is one of my favourite parts of the film.
BEAUTIFULLY AND SENSITIVELY
Harry: The dynamic on set was very joyful – everyone worked hard and stayed positive despite night shoots and challenging subject matter.
We were staying in the residential block where we were filming, which made the late finishes easier. Warm and sunny weather kept morale high, and our wellbeing team regularly checked in on each team member.
There was a shared awareness of the importance of the film we were making. Many team members had personal experiences with suicide, which made them determined to put this story on screen as beautifully and sensitively as possible.
One shot required particular focus from all of our cast and crew. It’s a long take towards the start of the film, where we see the Caretaker walking towards the residential block when he passes a group of rowdy university students on their way to a night out.
The Caretaker throws a novelty hat onto the head of one of the students and it was scripted by Rufus that the student must catch it on their head.
I wanted to film this in one shot, so everything hinged on whether Kris (Hitchen – The Caretaker) and Kyle (Jennings – the student) would be able to execute this, all while our Steadicam operator Marcus (Albertson) skilfully moved around them to capture it.
The rest of the crew members crowded around monitors nearby as if watching a football game, to see if we could pull this off. And when we did, people were cheering and jumping in the air as if a goal had been scored – it was a big achievement and came to symbolise the happiness that we felt on set that week.
Rufus: We shot the film at Oaklands College in Hertfordshire and, on the final day of the shoot, their students came on set to shadow our Heads of Departments and form our supporting cast. Suddenly our crew size grew from 30 to 50, and the film set felt like an auditorium.
I felt a bit sorry for Ashleigh-Mae, who suddenly had to perform her first scene in front of a crowd!
ALL OF OUR THANKS TO HARRY RICHARDS AND RUFUS LOVE.
HARRY RICHARDS (Director/Producer of Contact Hours):
Harry is best known for writing and directing “SANTI”, which was selected for the BFI Future Film Festival 2022 and is now streaming on Minute Shorts. “SANTI” screened in person with a live Q&A to over 1,000 people, including students at 21 UK universities. Prior to “SANTI”, Harry wrote, directed and produced two shorts: “Glass People” (2019) and “Year 13” (2016). Harry has also worked as Video Director for a PR company and assisted on TV shows for Netflix and the BBC.
RUFUS LOVE (Writer/Executive Producer of Contact Hours):
Rufus is a London-based writer and actor, whose work has been shortlisted for the prestigious Lynne Gagliano Award at the Royal Court and nominated for an OFFIE. His plays have been mounted at the Gate Theatre, Theatre 503, Caravan Theatre, The Golden Goose and The Hope Theatre. Rufus is currently working on the screenplay for a feature film titled “YAMAS!” which is currently in development with Headrush Films with plans to shoot in early 2026.
If you’re experiencing suicidal thoughts, you’re worried about someone, or have been affected by suicide loss, here is a list of resources and crisis hotlines that may be able to help: https://bbc.in/3SSRdR8
FOR MORE DETAILS ON CONTACT HOURS, YOU CAN VISIT HERE:
Harry Richards (He/Him)Director/Producer – Contact Hours
Co-Founder – Headrush Films | Directors Roster – Blend Films