Experiencing Interruptions?

I Wish I Never Existed

Sam is dead - to everyone else at least. After wishing on a shooting star, Sam struggles to find her place in the universe when everyone she knew forgets she existed- except her grandpa.

  • Dylan Odom
    Director
    The Way Back, In The Dark
  • Maria Grech
    Director
    The Way Back, In The Dark
  • Dylan Odom
    Writer
  • James Nunn
    Producer
    One Shot, One More Shot, Shark Bait, 47 Meters Down
  • Jon Cassar
    Producer
    2x Primetime Emmy Winner. 24, The Orville, Forsaken, Law & Order: Organized Crime
  • Adam Ryan
    Producer
  • The Malta Film Commission
    Producer
  • Zoe Colletti
    Key Cast
    "Sam"
    Only Murders in the Building, Fear The Walking Dead, Annie, The Family Plan
  • Patrick Lyster
    Key Cast
    Dredd, Invictus, Goodbye Befana, Interview with a Hitman
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    25 minutes 11 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 22, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    100,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Malta
  • Country of Filming:
    Malta
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    ARRI ALEXA Mini LF, Atlas Orion
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Mediterrane Film Festival
    Valletta
    Malta
    June 23, 2024
    Out of Competition
Director Biography - Dylan Odom, Maria Grech

DYLAN ODOM: (Director, DP, Writer)
Dylan has been making films as long as he can remember, starting with home movies and music videos with his cousin and slowly graduating to bigger and better toys, leading entire productions of his own. With a heavy background in visual effects and working in the camera department, his approach to filmmaking is to blend cutting edge technical execution with heartfelt storytelling, creating inspired films that are visually stunning while pulling at the heartstrings. After creating a number of short films, Dylan created 2 seasons of 'The Way Back', a 1980s time travel mini-series clearly fueled by his love for 1980s cinema, along with his directing partner Maria Grech. This lead to winning an international award putting his production company DIFYRENT on the map.

MARIA GRECH: (Director)
Maria is a seasoned performer and filmmaker whose journey in the world of entertainment began at the age of five. Balancing a mix of theatre and film, she directed her first short film during the pandemic. This experience ignited her passion for directing, leading her to co-create and co-direct her debut series ‘The Way Back,’ alongside collaborator Dylan Odom at the age of 16. Building upon this success, Maria ventured into co-directing, ‘I Wish I Never Existed,’ telling the story of a girl battling her emotions whilst working through grief. Currently, Maria is actively pursuing her dream of becoming an actor-director, and is actively pursuing collaborations with directors in Los Angeles.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I Wish I Never Existed is a concise yet delicately intricate story exploring what it truly means to exist. We set off trying to answer a question Maria and I have been playfully arguing over for a while: If you could press a button and have never existed, would you?

What makes this story special, in my opinion, is that we are seeing both answers, yes and no, play out in front of us. While Sam battles wanting to be anywhere but in her own life, even if that means disappearing off the face of the earth, her grandfather feels alive for the first time.

Sam is someone we have come to relate to deeply. Early in the story, we learn that Sam’s father is out of the picture. Later, we discover that he passed away. When? We’re not quite sure, but what we do see is the massive crater his passing has left on her.

A few years ago, when Maria was 16, her father passed away rather suddenly. We had just wrapped our first ever feature film (The Way Back) which he was instrumental in making. Colin Grech was, and will always feel like, a second half, helping us source all our props, scout locations, and even build our sets. Losing such a big part of our lives at a time when we had never been closer is an incredibly daunting experience to work through.

This is what Sam’s story is all about: trying to figure out who's left when your other half is no longer with you. Behind her anger, angst and fear, she is powerful, witty, and a dreamer, and we are thrilled to have someone as exceptionally talented as Zoe take on this incredibly complex role.

We never intended on making a film out of what we were feeling, but somehow we managed to capture it perfectly. However, I'm not sure we found an answer to our question.

Do we wish we never existed?

Do you?