Experiencing Interruptions?

Letter To An Alien Civilisation

'Letter to an Alien Civilisation' is a reflective short film framed as a message from Earth to an advanced extraterrestrial race. Through poetic narration and abstract visuals, it explores humanity’s struggle to govern itself fairly, questioning the political and economic structures we build to maintain order—and the cycles that keep breaking them. In 2025, as global tensions rise and history threatens to repeat itself, the film leaves the audience with an open-ended question: Are we destined to make the same mistakes, or can we evolve into something greater?

  • Oliver Cole
    Director
  • Oliver Cole
    Writer
  • Oliver Cole
    Producer
  • Oliver Cole
    Editor
  • Adi Goldstein
    Music
  • Danijel Zambo
    Music
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Experimental, Conceptual Sci-Fi
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes
  • Production Budget:
    200 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Oliver Cole

Oliver John Cole is a UK-based filmmaker with a background in video journalism. He worked as a video producer for several investigative and national newspaper outlets in London before transitioning to independent filmmaking. His work explores political commentary and the human condition through a philosophical and thought-provoking lens, often in an experimental format.

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Director Statement

Humanity’s struggle to govern itself has always fascinated and frustrated me. Our political and economic systems promise fairness but so often serve the few at the expense of the many. 'Letter to an Alien Civilisation' was born from this frustration—a reflection of both my hope for humanity and my deep uncertainty about our future.

I chose to frame this film as a message to an advanced extraterrestrial race because I wanted to step outside of our own biases and assumptions. If we were to explain ourselves—our successes, our failures, our contradictions—to a civilisation beyond Earth, how would they judge us? Would they see our struggles as universal, or as something uniquely human?

Visually, I sought to mirror this tension between clarity and chaos. The film begins with calm, observational imagery before descending into something more fragmented and unstable—reflecting the cycles of progress and collapse that define our history.

This project is deeply personal to me, but it’s also for anyone who has ever looked at the world and wondered: is this really the best we can do?