Private Project

Demon Amoureux

While her boyfriend is away, Ishtar encounters a mysterious neighbor who begins to haunt her. As her obsession with him grows, she spirals into a world of her own fantasies, blurring the line between dream and reality.

  • Maria Burkina
    Director
  • Maria Burkina
    Writer
  • Elena Burkina
    Writer
  • Maria Burkina
    Producer
  • Daria Kotelevich
    Key Cast
    "Ishtar"
  • Andreas Contogouris
    Key Cast
    "Demon"
  • Rima Haddad
    Key Cast
    "Elena"
  • Brittany Byrd
    Key Cast
    "Tamara"
  • Pavel Gazdyuk
    Director of Photography
  • Rahul Biruly
    Gaffer
  • Shelby Eames
    assistant director (AD)
  • Alejandro Flores
    Sound Recording
  • Hailey Sandoval
    Make Up and Hair
  • Polina Zakharova
    Editor
  • Dmytro Kyrylovets
    Editor
  • Art Miroshin
    Colorist
  • Oleg Chechik
    Sound Design and Mixing
  • Mimi Yunduoduo Li
    Music composer
  • Maria Burkina
    Set Design and Costume Design
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    drama, comedy, abstract
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 27 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 5, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    2,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Maria Burkina

Born in Moscow, Russia, Maria Burkina moved to New York City to study interior design. For the past 12 years, Burkina worked with renowned studios such as Karim Rashid and Romanek Studio in both New York and Los Angeles. A lifelong dream led her to pursue screenwriting courses at UCLA Film School and ultimately to direct her debut short film, for which she also created a comprehensive visual world through unique narrative, use of color, and sound design.

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Director Statement

This film is inspired by "Demon", the hauntingly beautiful poem by Mikhail Lermontov. In his work, the Demon is a tormented figure: powerful yet condemned to loneliness, yearning for love yet doomed to corrupt it. I was drawn to the poem’s themes of longing, forbidden desire, and the struggle between fate and free will, and I sought to reimagine them in a contemporary, cinematic form.

Ishtar’s journey is one of seduction - not just by another person, but by her mind. The presence of the mysterious neighbor is both an external force and a mirror to her inner turmoil, reflecting how we construct and deconstruct our sense of self through longing.