Private Project

Date Night

On a single night in a nearly empty cinema, four very different “date nights” unfold. A long-term couple settles into quiet familiarity, a first date trembles with nervous excitement, another relationship begins to quietly fracture, and one man sits alone beside an absence he cannot escape.

Observed only for the duration of the film, these fleeting moments reveal the many forms love can take, while the world beyond the screen remains unknown.

  • Simona Iordanova
    Director
    Grieved, Handkerchief
  • Simona Iordanova
    Writer
    Handkerchief
  • Jason T. Gaffney
    Producer
    Marriage of Inconvinience, The Perfect Wedding, Analysis Paralisys
  • Alexander Knipe
    Producer
  • Jason T. Gaffney
    Executive Producer
    Marriage of Inconvinience, Out of Body, Analysis Paralisys
  • Simona Iordanova
    Executive Producer
  • Simon Broadley
    Executive Producer
    The Ministry of Enigmatic Affairs, Bikini State: Zombie Apocalypse
  • Alex Sole-Leris
    Director of Photography
  • Dominic Carrington
    Key Cast
    "Simon"
    Sacred Beast, Mile End
  • Alexander Knipe
    Key Cast
    "Daniel"
  • Luanda Yasmin
    Key Cast
    "Jess"
    The 45, An Imaginary Western, Save Luna
  • Daniel Dunsmore
    Key Cast
    "Mark"
  • Gabriel Mansour
    Key Cast
    "Tom"
    Choke, A Pocketful of Bread, Monday Bloody Monday
  • Shivani Cassidy
    Key Cast
    "Anna"
    Quarantine Leap, Voidance, Follow the Dark
  • Neil Marchant
    Key Cast
    "Harold"
  • Simona Iordanova
    Editor
    Handkerchief, Easier Said Than Done, Debatable
  • Peter Davenport
    Associate Producer
    A Family Dinner
  • Lara Sugden
    Associate Producer
  • Dominic Carrington
    Composer
    Pickled, Left Behind, Still Standing, Fields
  • Arthur Polescuk
    Production Manager
    Hire View, The Doctor, Magpie, Racers
  • Louise Mear
    Production Coordinator
    The Ministry of Enigmatic Affairs, Bikini State: Zombie Apocalypse
  • Daniel Dunsmore
    Sound Designer
    When Al Met June, Unrequited, Circular Thinking
  • Dirk Berger
    VFX Artist
  • Diyar Akar
    Colourist
    What Could You Buy With Your Body Count, La Leyenda Y La Charra
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Romance, Drama, Dramedy
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 26 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 5, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    600 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - National Film and Television School
Director Biography - Simona Iordanova

Simona Iordanova is a Bulgarian writer-director trained at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, England. Originally working in theatre, she transitioned into film and television across both scripted and unscripted formats.

Her debut short film 'Grieved' won Best Short Film Director at the Golden FEMI Film Festival 2024. Her work explores human relationships through intimate, character-driven storytelling.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The idea for this film came from wanting to explore the many forms love can take and how radically different they can feel. From the quiet comfort of long-term partnership, to the nervous hope of a first date, to the beginning of the end of a relationship, and even to grief.

We focused on the perspective of the cinema itself. A space that witnessed countless of moments of intimacy, yet knows nothing about the people within it. It doesn't know how the stories started or where they're going. It will only know them for that brief fraction of time while they sit in the dark.

I wanted the cinema to feel like a character in its own right: a silent observer, holding these fragments of lives without context or conclusion. Each story exists fully in that moment, then disappears as the lights come up.

For the cinema, that fleeting glimpse is everything. And all it will ever be.