Private Project

RED MAZE

Life is a series of choices... until things get out of hand. On the verge of losing his family, a struggling boxer breaks into an apartment to score quick cash and makes an ill-fated discovery that forces him into a dangerous confrontation.

  • Thomas Gaunt
    Director
    DAYS END, THE NIGHT WATCHMAN, A PLACE CALLED HOME: AN ADOPTION STORY, ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
  • Thomas Gaunt
    Writer
    DAYS END, THE NIGHT WATCHMAN, A PLACE CALLED HOME: AN ADOPTION STORY, ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
  • Gary Czowiecki
    Writer
    DAYS END, UNSOLVED MYSTERIES, KISSING A FOOL
  • Thomas Gaunt
    Producer
    DAYS END, THE NIGHT WATCHMAN, A PLACE CALLED HOME: AN ADOPTION STORY, ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
  • Gary Czowiecki (Executive Producer)
    Producer
    DAYS END, UNSOLVED MYSTERIES, KISSING A FOOL
  • Don Czowiecki (Co-Producer)
    Producer
    RED MAZE (short), A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
  • Soni Sinha (Co-Producer)
    Producer
    RED MAZE (short), DAYS END
  • Gabriel Bartlett
    Key Cast
    "Joe Murphy (The Boxer / Thief)"
    RED MAZE (short)
  • Michael Larimer
    Key Cast
    "Suited Man (The Killer)"
    RED MAZE (short)
  • Soni Sinha
    Key Cast
    "Anne Murphy-Garcia (Joe's Wife)"
    DAYS END
  • Don Czowiecki
    Key Cast
    "The Body"
  • Thomas Gaunt (Cinematographer)
    Key Crew
    DAYS END, THE NIGHT WATCHMAN, A PLACE CALLED HOME: AN ADOPTION STORY, ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE, CORRECTIONS (Co-Cinematographer), HOWARD ZINN YOU CAN'T BE NEUTRAL ON A MOVING TRAIN (Additional Camera)
  • Thomas Gaunt (Editor)
    Key Crew
    DAYS END, THE NIGHT WATCHMAN, A PLACE CALLED HOME: AN ADOPTION STORY, ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Suspense, thriller
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 35 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    400 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • El Rey Network - The People's Network: Suspense Edition
    Los Angeles
    United States
    July 30, 2017
    World Television Premiere
    Winner - Most Online Views
  • WorldFest Houston (Houston International Film Festival)
    Houston
    United States
    April 21, 2017
    Texas Premiere
    Winner - Silver Remi Award
  • NCCC Film & Animation Festival
    New York
    United States
    May 6, 2017
    New York State Premiere
    Winner - 1st Place / Best Horror Film
  • First Friday Film Festival
    Kansas City
    United States
    October 20, 2017
    Kansas City Premiere
    Winner - Audience Award
  • Woodengate Film Festival
    Baia Mare, Maramures
    October 25, 2017
    Winner - Best Web Short
  • Planet 9 Film Festival
    Chicago
    United States
    October 14, 2017
    Winner - Officially Groovy Film Award
  • Los Angeles CineFest
    Los Angeles
    United States
    January 14, 2017
    Finalist
  • Frostbite International Online Film Festival
    Colorado Springs, CO
    United States
    April 1, 2017
    Colorado Premiere
    Finalist
  • Anatomy Crime - Horror International Film Festival
    Athens
    Greece
    October 29, 2017
    Greece Premiere
    Semifinalist
  • San Mauro Torinese International Film Festival
    San Mauro Torinese
    Italy
    May 23, 2018
    Italy Premiere
    Semifinalist
  • Palm Springs International ShortFest
    Palm Springs, CA
    United States
    June 20, 2017
    California Premiere
    Film Market Selection
  • HorrorHound Weekend Film Festival
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    United States
    March 17, 2017
    Ohio Premiere
    Official Selection
  • The Berlin Flash Film Festival
    Berlin
    Germany
    March 31, 2017
    German Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Halloweenapalooza Film Festival
    Ottumwa, IA
    United States
    October 14, 2017
    Iowa Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Fargo Fantastic Film Festival
    Fargo, ND
    United States
    September 21, 2017
    North Dakota Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Arizona Underground Film Festival
    Tuscon, AZ
    United States
    September 23, 2017
    Arizona Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Filmstrip International Film Festival
    Iasi
    Romania
    December 17, 2017
    Romanian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Northeast Film Festival Horror Fest
    Teaneck, NJ
    United States
    December 6, 2017
    New Jersey Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival
    Buffalo, NY
    United States
    November 4, 2017
    Buffalo Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Slash and Bash Horror/Sci-Fi Film Festival
    Topeka, Kansas
    United States
    October 14, 2017
    Topeka Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Halloween Horror Picture Show
    Tampa Bay, FL
    United States
    September 30, 2017
    Tampa Bay Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Fake Flesh Film Festival
    kamloops, British Columbia
    Canada
    October 27, 2017
    Canadian Premiere
    Official Selection
Distribution Information
  • GAUNT FILMS
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Thomas Gaunt

Thomas C. Gaunt is an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter whose work has been recognized by film festivals and competitions (CineStory, ScreenCraft, Austin, Heartland, Nashville, Nicholl, and Slated) and has aired on television and streaming networks (PBS, El Rey Network, Netflix, PIVOT TV (Participant Media), The Documentary Channel and The Sundance Channel).

The eldest son in a large family, Thomas spent his first ten years in northern Indiana farm country before moving to downtown Indianapolis. This rural/urban duality has informed his writing immeasurably, allowing him to imbue stories with a wide range of characters from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. Thomas is also influenced by his parents fostering dozens of special needs children over the years (adopting twelve), all with unique personalities and character traits. It took a big imagination, artistic ability, and captivating storytelling to stand out in a family so large. As a result, his talents won him acceptance to the School of The Art Institute of Chicago where he received a BFA in filmmaking. He won a highly coveted internship spending three years learning the craft of documentary filmmaking from Kartemquin Films (HOOP DREAMS, MINDING THE GAP). After stints producing a public affairs program for Chicago’s Public Access TV Station (CAN TV) and teaching production classes at a local alternative high school, it wasn’t long before he set out to write and direct his own films.

Drawing from his vast interests and life experiences, Thomas has written many feature screenplays and TV pilots – placing in the Finals, Semifinals, or Quarterfinals of over 30 screenwriting competitions. His crime thriller THE NIGHT WATCHMAN has received recognition from all major competitions/platforms (a Finalist in the upcoming Nashville Film Festival, a recent Austin Film Festival Quarterfinalist, and rated in the Top 1% of screenplays on Coverfly). Thomas' social justice heist drama, CIRCLE OF THIEVES, was a Semifinalist in the 2021 CineStory Foundation Retreat & Fellowship and his Sci-fi Adventure Pilot, WORLDS APART, was a 2021 ScreenCraft Drama Competition Semifinalist and rated in the Top 3% of screenplays on Coverfly.

Thomas’ first feature documentary A PLACE CALLED HOME: AN ADOPTION STORY, about his parent’s adoption of nine siblings, won a ‘Crystal Heart Award’ at the 2004 Heartland Film Festival and the ‘Audience Award’ for Best Documentary Feature at the Indianapolis International Film Festival before premiering on PBS in 2005. Thomas went on to write, direct, and produce many more shorts and docs including the 2017 short thriller RED MAZE which premiered on Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey Network – winning six festival awards including a ‘Silver Remi’ in the suspense/thriller category at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival. In 2012, Thomas produced, photographed, and edited the PBS Illinois Arts Council-funded documentary ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE, about five aging artist families navigating the rocky path to first-time home ownership. He has also contributed cinematography to the Sundance Channel / Netflix documentary HOWARD ZINN: YOU CAN’T BE NEUTRAL ON A MOVING TRAIN (narrated by Matt Damon) and the Slamdance Film Festival premiering documentary CORRECTIONS about the business of privatizing prisons and profiting from prison labor.

For more information, go to Thomas’ production company website (http://gauntfilms.com).

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