Experiencing Interruptions?

Gateway City

While teaching in Northern Ontario, a charismatic Toronto theatre director is drawn into a web of violence after an affair with a married woman spirals out of control.

  • Bren Patrick Burke
    Writer
    The Late Set
  • Bren Patrick Burke
    Director
    The Late Set, Contributions
  • Mathieu Seguin
    Producer
    Stellar, Ça tourne à Saint-Pierre et Miquelon
  • Jacob James
    Key Cast
    "Drew Campbell"
    'Turn: Washington's Spies' (AMC, guest star), Stratford Festival (10 season, leading actor)
  • Rachelle Casseus
    Key Cast
    "Cassandra Masse"
    'Hard Rock Medical' (TVO, series lead), 'Chucky' (SYFY, recurring)
  • Phil Burke
    Key Cast
    "Keith Masse"
    'Hell On Wheels' (AMC, series lead), Van Helsing (SYFY, recurring)
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Film Noir, Dark Comedy
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 16 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 19, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Bren Patrick Burke

Brendan Burke is a Canadian filmmaker and playwright from North Bay, Ontario, now based in the South Bronx, New York.

His work is driven by character, tension, and a fascination with people at the edge of their better instincts. He explores masculinity, moral compromise, and identity through stories that blend grounded realism with noir, dark comedy, and social observation.

Drawing from his Northern Ontario upbringing and years working in New York’s nightlife, Brendan brings a lived-in perspective to characters navigating pressure, desire, and quiet collapse. His films are less concerned with heroes than with consequences.

His short films have screened at award-qualifying festivals and are marked by strong performances, precise visual language, and an interest in how small decisions spiral into irreversible outcomes.

He is currently developing feature projects with the aim of directing episodic television while continuing to build a body of work defined by voice, tension, and place.

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Director Statement

My aim with this film was to tell a lean, propulsive cautionary tale. A romantic, darkly comedic noir set against the quiet unraveling of a post-pandemic Northern Ontario.

In developing the script, I found myself pulled deeper into the psychological residue of this moment. With each draft, the story absorbed more of the unease, dislocation, and low-grade dread that seem to define the era. The characters emerged as participants in the story as well as products of it. Adrift, grasping, and increasingly compromised.

I found these characters mired in darkness and desperately fearful of an uncertain future.

What began as a simple narrative gradually revealed something more personal. I found echoes of my own upbringing. An image of small-town Canadian life that once felt stable, even idyllic, now flickering under pressure, as if that world itself were no longer guaranteed.

The film draws inspiration from the stark moral geometry of the Coen's BLOOD SIMPLE and the restrained emotional tension of Christian Petzold's JERICHOW. These are films that understand how desire, desperation, and bad decisions quietly compound.

Finally, I want to acknowledge my producing partner, cinematographer, and friend, Mathieu Seguin. This is our second collaboration. His eye, discipline, and instinct were essential in shaping the film.

Brendan