Iris
On the night of her first recital since the death of her mother, an aspiring pianist becomes stuck in a time loop and must finally confront her grief in order to break free.
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Ben SzemerenyiDirector
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Ben SzemerenyiWriter
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Erin CumminsProducer
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Zoe SiegelKey Cast"Iris"
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Carolyn SlesinskiKey Cast"Sophie"
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Marina FessKey Cast"Julie"
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Sci-Fi, Drama, Film Noir, Family
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Runtime:17 minutes 3 seconds
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Completion Date:September 4, 2023
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Production Budget:6,500 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Film Color:Black & White
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:Yes - New York University
Ben Szemerenyi is an aspiring writer/director from London with a BFA in Film & Television from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
During his time at NYU he served as a screenwriter and producer on numerous projects, collaborating with a wide variety of artists to bring their unique visions to life. He wrote and produced a combined five independent short films, all of which went on to compete in festivals around the world. In his final year at NYU he wrote and directed his own thesis film, a sci-fi drama called IRIS, which recently wrapped post-production and is preparing for its festival run.
We all process grief and loss in different ways, in ways that are unique to us. I lost a close friend of mine a year ago, which sent me down a path of trying to understand and process grief in a way I’d never been faced with before. This path led me to IRIS, as I was inspired to write a film about processing grief and letting go in a way that was unique to me and my artistic sensibilities.
I took my love for the aesthetic and elements of film noir and science fiction, and the way sci-fi concepts can be used to tell incredibly human stories, and I used them to help me process my emotions and develop my own thesis about grief and loss.
IRIS is a dreamlike noir, existing within a liminal space halfway between dream and reality, and shot in atmospheric black and white to capture the isolation the protagonist feels. The film is a hybrid of film noir and science fiction, combining elements of both genres to create an original vision that is entirely personal to me.