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A Cursed Desire

A horror story about a woman's desire to be reunited with her deceased lover. With the aid of an ancient spellbook, she opens a world of evil and is submerged in a nightmare with a Demon.

  • Michael Silva
    Director
  • Michael Silva
    Writer
  • Michael Silva
    Producer
  • Drew Smith
    Producer
  • Lola Cote
    Key Cast
  • Kris McRonney
    Key Cast
  • Ioan Sebastian Tirlui
    Key Cast
  • Chris Horniblow
    Director of Photography
  • Kris King
    Production Designer
  • Jordanne Eggie
    SPFX Make up & hair
  • Megan Robinson
    First Assistant Director
  • Fraser Muir
    Sound Design
  • Michael Silva
    Editor
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Horror, Psychological
  • Runtime:
    3 minutes 41 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 26, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    912 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital DSLR
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Vancouver Short Film Festival
    Vancouver
    Canada
    January 26, 2018
    North American premiere
    Official After Dark selection
  • Little Terrors Short Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    June 7, 2019
    Toronto Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Canada Shorts - Canadian and International Short Film Festival
    New Brunswick
    Canada
    December 14, 2019
    Award of Excellence
Director Biography - Michael Silva

Michael started his journey in the industry as a Camera operator and Editor in his homeland of Scotland. He made his directorial debut with short film ‘Remains of Time’ in 2013. Michael moved out to Vancouver, Canada, in 2014 and set out to build an international connection with the North American market.

Michael’s passion for producing content, led to him working on projects with artists from the UFC, and to teaming with Page Break Productions in 2017. Michael has continued to produce film, and has won awards in Europe and North America. He now resides in Scotland where he continues to Produce and write for film and television.

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Director Statement

A Cursed Desire takes a look at the theme of a love that can never die. Add this theme into a horror setting and we get a tense, psychological game of survival. Can the power of love save you against a Demon?

The aim was to keep the story world quite contained; this was reflected with the tonal choices made during production. The purpose was to not only follow the journey of our protagonist, but to pull the audiences psyche into the story for a more personal experience.

Cinematography was important in working with the talent on screen, helping tell its own story. Keeping with the contained feel, the camera kept mostly framed for close up subjects, rarely punching out wide; unless critical story world information was being told.

Our lighting used a mixture of warm and cool tones, playing with the mood of the story as we progressed. We played with different levels of contrast to help set the mood and used spot lighting that were attached to a lighting grid for the dramatic moments.
The Special effects Make-up team were essential in bringing the distinctive style I had envisioned for the project. As a big horror fan, I wanted to pay homage to a classic horror film and we created this in our version of the book of the dead.

When stripped down, this film is a love story; albeit a twisted tale. An exploration into how far someone will go to spend one last moment with that true love.