Too Hot to Handle: Telling the Story Behind the Report

When brap released their report Too Hot to Handle, on racism in the NHS, they didn’t just want people to download it, they wanted people to feel it. To see the reality behind the data. To be moved enough to act.

That’s where this short film came in.

I started by sitting down with Professor Joy Warmington, one of the report’s co-authors, to understand exactly what brap needed. From there, I sketched out story outlines, suggested who we might feature, and began planning.

In the end, the heart of the film became the story of Michelle Cox, a race and equality consultant with her own lived experience of mistreatment in the NHS. Her journey, from the first moments of racism, through the exhausting process of a tribunal, to ultimately winning her case is a powerful reminder that even a “victory” doesn’t always feel like one.

During filming in London, Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham, one truth kept surfacing: racism in the NHS isn’t just about the most obvious, overt acts. It’s about the accumulation of smaller, relentless microaggressions, and the way institutions can make it incredibly hard for people to speak up.

Visually and emotionally, I wanted to make more than “a film about a report.” The focus was always Michelle’s story. By putting her experience front and centre, the film invites viewers to understand the human impact behind the findings, and why change is urgently needed.

For me, the project stands out because brap trusted me to tell the story alongside them, not just promote a document, but bring lived experience into the room where decisions are made.

You can read the Too Hot to Handle report here: https://www.brap.org.uk/post/toohottohandle