Private Project

Crossing the Dead Sea

Crossing the Dead Sea is a dark fantasy/horror short film based on the folklore of the Middle East.
The crew of an Arab ship which take on an illicit cargo from a terrified man.
Something is moving in the locked box they bring onboard.
As the night voyage progresses, curiosity gets the better of the crew who open the box…
Inside is a Jinn, a being with a pure hatred of Mankind.
On a ship between the devil and the deep blue sea, there is no escape but death…

  • Dewi Griffiths
    Director
    High Stakes, Home Front
  • Dewi Griffiths
    Writer
    Home Front
  • Dewi Griffiths
    Producer
    High Stakes, Home Front
  • Ahmad Khatib
    Key Cast
  • Baha Othman
    Key Cast
  • Maruan Manaja
    Key Cast
  • Yanal Kassay
    Key Cast
  • Aladdin Qaraqish
    Key Cast
  • Rebecca Flores
    DOP
  • Paul McFadden
    Sound
    Sherlock, Dr Who, Da Vinci's Demons, Outpost
  • Taimur Khan
    Editor
    High Stakes
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Horror, fantasy, arabic
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 56 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    15,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    Jordan
  • Language:
    Arabic
  • Shooting Format:
    HD
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Dewi Griffiths

Dewi Griffiths is a native Welsh speaker from the coast of Pembrokeshire in West Wales.
Pembrokeshire is the setting for many of the stories from the Ancient Celtic Myths written down a thousand years ago in the Mabinogion. This scenery, remoteness, mythology and the supernatural were strong early influences on Dewi. Combined with a love of story telling and photography, Dewi entered a career in feature film and high end television drama, working worldwide.
Dewi climbed the production ranks as Assistant Director, Production Manager, Line Producer, Director and Producer. Dewi worked on four continents for such production companies as BBC, S4C, ITV, Sky, Merchant Ivory, and Full Moon. His feature film credits include Jinnah, The Feast of July, Twin Town, Dragon World, Summer Scars and Mortal Kombat. Dewi’s TV credits include The Flint Street Nativity, Dream Team, Mile High, England My England, Sea Dragon, The Bill, and The X Files.
Dewi was then head hunted by the AFI and USC Film School to head up Producing at The Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts in Jordan, where he taught award winning film makers from across the MENA region.
Today Dewi runs Garland Stone Productions, which builds on his connections and experience, to produce horror and dark fantasy films and TV: - contemporary stories grounded in folklore.
Home Front & Rhyfel Cartre are TV dramas, while High Stakes is a vampire feature film. Garland Stone are currently in advanced development on further feature film projects. Crossing the Dead Sea was shot in Jordan, and post produced in the UK by award winning post team.

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Director Statement

All of my films and stories revolve around contemporary stories based in ancient folklore. Crossing the Dead Sea is no exception.
When I worked for the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts in Jordan, I had a strange dream, about being on a boat at sea alone – except for a malicious presence stalking me. I woke up and wrote the story down, which quickly became the script for Crossing the Dead Sea.
My colleagues told me I was being troubled by Jinn – sometimes know as Genies in the West. But these are not beings of servitude, they have a pure hatred of Mankind, and are feared by all those living in the Middle East.
Crossing the Dead Sea is an amalgam of those ideas – a dream like film blending the supernatural, shot on the Red Sea off the coasts of Jordan, Israel/Palestine, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The cast and crew were drawn from my students and colleagues at RSICA, talented students from right across the MENA region, who are now carving out careers for themselves.
Crossing the Dead Sea is a snapshot of a time living and working on the shores of the Red Sea in Aqaba - its unique – I hope you enjoy it.