KILL

A man's search for meaning in his meaningless existence through heroism, fantasy, and a connection with a stranger.

  • Ruth Sewell
    Director
    Ocean Star, Mascot's Anonymous, Fish Love, Countryphile
  • Ruth Sewell
    Writer
    Ocean Star, Mascot's Anonymous, Fish Love, Countryphile
  • Joanna Thapa
    Producer
    Silo, Letter to the King
  • Ruth Sewell
    Producer
  • Gregory David
    Key Cast
  • Sharna Allen
    Key Cast
  • Shane Sandiford
    Key Cast
  • Dean Gray
    DoP
  • Dom Sewell
    Composor
  • Ollie Andersen
    Colourist
    Top Boy, Gangs of London
  • Joe Sheehan
    Sound designer
  • Ruth Sewell
    Editor
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes 7 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 13, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Ruth Sewell

Ruth is an award-winning writer/director with a specialism in films that make a real difference, whether that's bringing underrepresented voices to the big (or small) screen, supporting the work of charities and NGOs through cinematic storytelling, or educational content that aims to make the world a better and more well-informed place.

In 2013, she established Dauntless Pictures with producer Joanna Thapa and together they're cultivating a slate of TV shows, features, documentaries and shorts. Their documentary for the Guardian, 'From The Bronx To Yale: The Power of High School Speech' was awarded a Staff Pick on Vimeo and premiered at Sheffield DocFest and their comedy short 'Countryphile' won Best Writing at NBFF and a WFTV Award.

Ruth is currently developing several TV shows, film scripts and has just finished her first feature documentary, which will be released later this year, about young people in Mauritius and the future of the country.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

KILL is a short story about a man who has given up on finding any meaning in his life, but is jolted into change by a fantasy of heroism on the DLR.

The inspiration for the film came out of a conversation with a homeless person who described sitting on the DLR to 'kill the day' and Viktor Frankl's book, 'Man's Search for Meaning', chronicling his experiences as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps and describing his psychotherapeutic method of finding a reason to live even when all hope seems lost.

I wanted to write a short film about the idea of finding hope, direction and motivation from within and about the conversations we have with ourselves. It's my first non-comedy short and felt a little awkward making such an earnest film, but I hope it will be entertaining and thought provoking and I am so grateful to the amazing team that made it happen.