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Phantom

As a result of not taking his pills, a young man in a hallucinatory state is in pursuit to put an end to the antagonising drum sounds.

  • Hamza Qureshi
    Director
  • Hamza Qureshi
    Writer
  • Hamza Qureshi
    Producer
  • Armin Ghofrani
    Sound Engineer
  • Oliver Rausch
    Editor
  • Emmanuel Joseph
    Lead Actor and Voice
  • Emmanuel Joseph
    Music Composer
  • Armin Ghofrani
    Music Composer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Thriller, Mystery
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 27 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 7, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    50 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United Arab Emirates
  • Country of Filming:
    United Arab Emirates
  • Language:
    English
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Hamza Qureshi

Hamza Qureshi is a young aspiring filmmaker of age 18 and currently, resides in the United Arab Emirates. On the verge of completing his high school era, Hamza is determined to embark on a journey to the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom to attend a Film and Television course. Hamza is keen on directing and creating films on absurd topics linked to experimental themes which allow the audience to think and interpret in unique ways.

The creation of Phantom, his first short film in which he is the Writer, Director, and Cinematographer for, Hamza explores the various ways in which one loses him/herself and attempts to discover their identity. Furthermore, Hamza demonstrates how we are the root cause of all of the disturbances we come across in our daily lives.

As a filmmaker of such a young age, Hamza is yearning for valuable experiences and enjoys practising his skills whilst also overcoming vast amount of failures and obstacles, from which he learns a tremendous amount.

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Director Statement

The idea for Phantom surfaced when an associate of mine had undergone minor anxiety attacks for a brief period of time. It was then that I decided to investigate such moments in a person's life, but in order to project it on the screen, I had to develop the worst case scenario.

The protagonist in Phantom undergoes intense hallucinations in which he can see his physical body that disturbs him with the sound of drums. We note that the protagonist's attempt to end these disturbances are to no avail. His failure to discover peace places him in a pit of never ending and a self-perpetuating cycle of despair.

At first, the idea of making this film seemed daunting, as the crew I formed constantly doubted whether or not the audience would understand the primary message. We had to carefully craft the film to put forth our message and seeing that it was rather difficult, we decided to make it such that the audience will be empowered to interpret this however they seem fit. This was an essential step in the production of the film, as we understood that the anguish a person goes through from time to time differs from others, and thus one cannot fully understand another's pain. However, if we create a scene in which the pain is generalised, then the audience will better relate to the story.

The crew and I worked endless hours amidst our academic pressures, and managed to successfully produce a short film, that we are immensely proud of.