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, Contributions
  • Bren Patrick Burke
    Director
    The Late Set, Contributions
  • 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
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Bren Patrick Burke

I've always felt uneasy writing in the third person. I'll ask you to excuse my informal tone, it's the only way I feel at ease communicating biographical information.

I was born and raised in North Bay, Ontario. At that time, in the 80's and 90's, there wasn't an abundance of film culture, but we had the cinema downtown a small multiplex in the North Bay Mall. My family had a VCR, and we rented films weekly. I also enjoyed whatever films were screening on our beloved public television network, TV Ontario.

After some post-secondary time in Ottawa, I moved to New York City in the early 2000's and largely found work in gay bars and jazz clubs. I scored the occasional acting gig and wrote a few one act plays.

My first real film set experience was on a gangster movie, playing a thug. The director had completed several very successful films at that point. I was quite impressed with his skill, his thoughtful leadership, and the kindness with which he treated the cast and crew. It was that experience which inspired me to pursue film directing.

I've since completed a handful of short films, participated in several film festivals, and sold one project for broadcast. It's been a difficult yet wholly rewarding journey which I plan to continue as long as I exist.

Outside of film, I work as a bartender at a crazy nightclub in North Brooklyn. I enjoy hitting the gym and seeing a live jazz set every now and again.

Add Director Biography
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.

Brendan