Number 7

After the sudden death of his mother, Kevin isolates himself, ignoring phone calls from his brother Chris, refusing to acknowledge the fact that his mother is dead. Kevin's refusal to start the grieving process sends him through magical door in his closet, which leads to a room filled with repressed memories manifesting into boxes in a storage room, as well as six other Kevins. The boxes begin to literally consume the Kevins, unless they team up together to finally process his bad memories. This works well for the team until they reach the one box that the Kevins cannot take on alone; his mother’s death. The Kevins are picked off one by one, each getting consumed by the grief which is represented by an expanding black box, until just the original Kevin is left alone. Out of the giant black box emerges his brother Chris, whom Kevin comes to realize isn’t part of the problem, but part of the solution. Chris pulls Kevin out of the grief box, showing Kevin that he shouldn’t be afraid to accept his brother’s help and approach the natural but uncomfortable stages of grief.

  • Michael Phibbs
    Director
  • Michael Phibbs
    Writer
  • Michael Phibbs
    Producer
  • Michael Phibbs
    Key Cast
    "Kevin, Number 1, Number 2, Number 3, Number 4, Number 5, Number 6"
  • Jake Cuddemi
    Key Cast
    "Chris"
  • Tim Sanchez
    Composer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Drama, fantasy
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 42 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    40 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University of Colorado Denver
Director Biography - Michael Phibbs

Michael Phibbs is filmmaker from Colorado. Michael enjoys filmmaking with an emphasis on writing/directing, with a degree from the Colorado Film School. Michael is in his last semester at the University of Colorado Denver where he will earn a BFA in Film & Television. "Number 7" is his Thesis film that he worked on by himself due to the pandemic and social distancing restrictions. This is the fifth short film that Michael has written & directed. Late last year the seven episode web series "All In" premiered on youtube, that Michael co-wrote, produced, and directed. Michael also has an interest in editing, which he has done on each of his films, as well as cinematography and acting, all of which he did for "Number 7".

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Director Statement

This film started as just a simple idea of a scene between two identical people in a room full of identical people, in which the main character is latest of many to enter the room of mysteries. As that idea developed it started to take form into something bigger. The Covid -19 pandemic created many constraints for filmmakers everywhere. For me this meant working on this film alone in my parents' basement which required a lot of creativity. After multiple re-writes, reshoots, and edits, the story became about something, and that something is grief. Grief can be a powerful force, and that's exactly what sends the main character Kevin into this room of mysteries. I am a huge fan of comedy and as a well as sci-fi thrillers. With this film I aim to explore something emotional with a sci-fi fantasy concept, while using comedy to warm the audience up and subvert their expectations. I found myself getting more and more invested in the project as it kept developing, and had a fun time coming up with creative ideas to display grief is a physical form. It's always a blast to work with my friend and collaborator Jake Cuddemi who plays Chris. I've found that not only is this film entertaining, but it has started conversations with viewers about their own experiences with loss. That's one of the best parts about making art in my opinion, because it means that it's connecting with people which is exactly what I set out to do.