Private Project

Dao Hides, No Name

Daryl steals an ancient book from the Royal Asiatic Society. It unfurls the secrets of Daoism and propels her towards Transcendence - attracting the attention of gods and demons alike.

  • Xan Gilmour
    Director
  • Xan Gilmour
    Writer
  • Leoni Amandin
    Producer
  • Ning Lu
    Key Cast
    "Daryl"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 20 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 20, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    750 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:35
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Europe Film Festival UK
    Online
    United Kingdom
    August 1, 2021
    Best Fantasy / Sci Fi / Action Short
  • Fortean Film Festival
    Gloucester
    United Kingdom
    August 28, 2021
    Best Cultural Film
  • Cult Movies International Festival
    Online
    July 31, 2021
    Official Selection
  • London International Shorts Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    September 5, 2021
    Semi-Finalist
  • FROSTBITE International Indie Fest
    Colorado Springs
    United States
    August 2, 2021
    Finalist
  • Freewheeling Film Awards

    Best Fantasy Film
  • First-Time Filmmaker Online Sessions

    Official Selection
  • The Monkey Bread Tree Film Awards

    Official Selection
Director Biography - Xan Gilmour

My film journey started at Oxford University, where I made a student film about a superhero called ‘Flaming Unicorn’. After graduating, I shot NGO videos in Barcelona, London, Lesvos and Berlin, focusing on refugee camps and integration.

Now I’m working on scripted, visual, stylised stories about eccentric characters in extreme states of mind. ‘Dao Hides, No Name’, featuring a giant demon, has won 2 awards and number of official selections so far. My next two films involve murderous cockfighters and a mythic Celtic whirlpool.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The concept for this film was born of three main inspirations. First, the 'Dao De Jing', foundational text of Daoism, which made me think about wisdom in new ways. Second: 'Journey to the West', a classic Chinese novel about a monk's quest to overcome 'the monkey of the mind', as well as attacks by hungry demons, to diffuse Buddhism across China. And third was my own attempts at meditation, rarely revealing and frequently frustrating...

'Dao Hides, No Name' is about wanting to see beyond the immediate world, to look beyond the veil of 'reality'. But revelation, when it comes, is momentary, fleeting - leaving us merely to renew the search.