Private Project

Cursed

Jon Tiedemann discovers his new family's home in upstate New York, has a sinister history, and only an act of kindness can lift the curse.

  • Neville Elder
    Director
  • Neville Elder
    Writer
  • Neville Elder
    Producer
  • Jon Tiedemann
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Documentary, True Crime, Thriller
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 25 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 20, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography - Neville Elder

Neville Elder is enrolled in the Integrated Media Arts MFA program at Hunter College in New York City. He started working as a news photographer in the 1990's for Newspapers in London, UK. He moved to New York in 2001, where he continues to freelance as a photographer and writer. In 2010 he started to produce and direct music videos and digital content for start-ups. He's a songwriter as well, two of his songs appear in the new film 'The Incoherents'.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

"Cursed" a non-fiction folk tale.

As the filmmaker I'm the storyteller, but so is Jon Tiedemann. In the film, the charismatic New Yorker relates the history of his newly purchased farmhouse in upstate New York, he becomes aware it may hold lingering traces of a legacy of violence.

Jon, holds our attention through the first half of the film, but there are two characters here, Jon and the house. Initially the house is partially obscured in the snowy rural landscape with long, still shots setting the mood. As Jon tells us the tragic stories of the former occupants, the house appears, looming in the background. In the second part, I switch to a vérité style to allow Jon to disappear into his family's Thanksgiving celebrations and become a participant in his own story. I leave the story open: could Jon be the next victim of the the old homestead?

"Cursed" is my first film generated from the IMA-MFA course at Hunter College, in New York.