Set in a rural Australian town, I Like You is a short film that addresses the devastating ripple effect that an incident of sexual assault has upon its victim and their surrounding community. Grace, a woman in her early twenties, is comfortably living in her hometown after graduating from high school. The routine of country life dictates Grace's day to day, and we find that she is just like her friends and family, partaking in Australian social norms of sports and binge drinking through boredom. In this close-knit community, your friends are your family, your door is always open, and trust is a common thread that ties the community together. However, when Will, friend of Grace and golden boy of the town, takes advantage of Grace one evening, he cuts the thread and the community unravels. As Grace battles with her own understanding of the rape, we learn about a socially-constructed grayness that surrounds such an incident; an incident that should be as simple as black and white; right and wrong. This grayness, fueled by fear and even feelings of self-blame, causes Grace to struggle to come forward. However when she does, her fears become fact - the story spreads through the town like wildfire and she experiences rumors, false accusations and doubt. The perceived grayness acts as a fog over the town; a mist that oddly enough has a clarifying effect, revealing flaws of ignorance and small-mindedness within members of the community.
