Private Project

Devil Bean

After gifting a coffee machine to their father on Christmas, this picture-perfect family is thrown into the jaws of a horror-come-anti-drug flick as their dad’s addiction tears the family apart.

Playful, melodramatic and impishly entangled with cult classic horror, Devil Bean is a modern fable that plays with storytelling conventions and examines the strength of family bonds and courage in the face of addiction.

  • Jessica Nipperess
    Director
  • Sam Paine
    Writer
  • Sam Paine
    Key Cast
    "Dad"
  • Stella Morgan
    Key Cast
    "Stella"
  • Reneé French
    Key Cast
    "Mum"
  • Charlie French
    Key Cast
    "Charlie"
  • Kyls Burtland
    Composer
  • Alison Nipperess
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 36 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 29, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - St Matthews Catholic School
Director Biography - Jessica Nipperess

Jessica Nipperess is a 16 year old director based in regional Australia. Her films have swept the screens of Tropfest, ACMI’s ScreenIt and Focus on Ability. After finalisting in Tropfest Jr (2017) with her film HUED, she was motivated to take her passion seriously. The following year, her film SANE placed third in Tropfest Jr. Maths of the Mind, Introspection, Monsters of the Mind were produced across 2019 - 2020, making the rounds of film festivals including ACMI ScreenIt, Stuffit and Focus on Ability.

Off the back of these award-winning shorts, Jess received a government grant to direct horror-comedy Devil Bean, her first funded film. Though she gains most of her skills and knowledge through experience and self learning, she is fortunate to have mentorship with Cadance Bell, and is also studying at Lights Film School.

While her brain is constantly overloaded with story-matter, life would not be complete without impulse buying house-plants and attempting to read dense classical literature.

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Director Statement

For me, this film represents a massive personal and creative journey. I've learnt and acquired so many new skills through the process of making this film, while also creating a hilarious and bittersweet short (one that I feel truly represents my current skill level).

I received a $5000 Arts Restart Grant from the NSW Government to make this project. This allowed me to further develop my professional communication skills and take this film next level. I was able to hire a composer, Kyls Burtland, to create original songs and scores. What ensued was a massive learning curve: feeling my way through how to direct another creative under my vision. I spent a lot of time working through my thoughts to find the best way to express them to Kyls, and draw out the right material through her work. I feel more comfortable now in bringing my vision to life after having had this opportunity.

The coffee-will-turn-you-into-a-demon moral is inspired by 30’s anti-drug propaganda films like Reefer Madness which, in a modern lens, are hilariously contrived and melodramatic stories about the danger of drugs. When reading the script for Devil Bean, I particularly enjoyed how the coffee machine was portrayed as an invader, a sort of supernatural force which begins twisting and peeling away the layers of their perfect existence. This idea of infiltration would become my main focus: a collision of the modern, picket-fence family fairytale that the family represents and gaudy cult classic horror conventions that the coffee machine represents.