Dan Baugé

When Rat, the lead guitarist of a failing post-punk band meets his idol, he rallies his bandmates together for one final gig. However, Rat’s last desperate attempt at stardom threatens to cost him the only friends he has.

In August 2024, British-Bangladeshi actor and filmmaker Islah Abdur-Rahman was working on a short film, when riots stemming from the Southport incident fell on the same day as his shoot, deeply affecting him and many of his crew. In response to the riots, he created another short film titled 'Go Back To Your Country', a fictional drama against the backdrop of these riots. 'Hated By Default' explores Islah's deep history with racism and Islamophobic behaviour in Britain, and how he uses his creative sword to fight against injustice, even when it seems like a losing battle.