On the eve of his going away party, disgraced executive Bill goes into the bathroom to kill himself…
The office bathroom stall is always known to be a gossiping headquarter, but director Brian Phares takes it to another in ‘Bill’s Leaving’.It’s Bill’s last day at work, and he wants to kill himself. But before he can do the deed, a stream of his subordinates file in exchanging stories about him, each worse than the next. And he unfortunately has to hear them all. This unique thriller breaks the conventional structures and develops the main character with the most minimal actions on his part – however still displaying a marvellous performance.
I was inspired to make this film by my time spent in Australia where I was really struggling to make it as a commercial director and began to doubt I had what it takes, that doubt and paranoia about my abilities, that feeling that I was failing and maybe delusional in believing I could be a director was channeled into this short. I took it on as a challenge to see if I could put viewers in that paranoid headspace while simultaneously commenting on the world we live in today, one where ageism, sexism and misinformation run rampant. This film is for everyone who thought they didn’t deserve to be in the room, who felt like they were faking it and imagined everyone around them was talking about it behind their backs. Don’t worry, they’re not, and if they are, prove them wrong!