Experiencing Interruptions?

Precious Light

In a quiet, post-collapse world, a couple’s peaceful routine is disrupted by the sudden appearance of a mysterious beam of light in their cabin—what begins as a curiosity soon becomes an obsession that threatens to unravel their relationship.

  • Nickon C. Hemati
    Director
  • Nickon C. Hemati
    Writer
  • Marika Anderson
    Producer
  • Matthew Canada
    Producer
  • Christopher McLinden
    Producer
  • Christopher McLinden
    Key Cast
    "Him"
  • Kate McGarrigle
    Key Cast
    "Her"
  • Tyler Peyton
    Key Cast
    "Caleb"
  • Matthew Canada
    Director of Photography
  • Suzy Klann
    Production Designer
  • Andrew Torossian
    Composer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 45 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 13, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.4:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Nickon C. Hemati

Nickon C. Hemati is a New York–based filmmaker and first-generation Iranian American who grew up in suburban California. He studied Film and Media Studies at UC Santa Barbara before honing his voice as a writer and director in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since 2013, he has lived in New York, working as a Creative Director while continuing to develop independent film projects. Precious Light marks his return to directing after a pandemic-era hiatus, and reflects his ongoing commitment to eccentric, character-driven storytelling.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Precious Light is a darkly funny, character-driven story about two people trying to hold on to a simple life in a world that no longer makes sense. At its core, it’s about how even something good—something beautiful—can curdle into something destructive when we fixate on it too tightly.

Set in a post-collapse world, the film deliberately avoids dystopian spectacle. The threat here isn’t violence or chaos—it’s a creeping loss of balance. I was interested in what happens when stability becomes stagnation, and when curiosity hardens into obsession. The mysterious light that enters this couple’s life could represent anything: a breakthrough, a miracle, a distraction, a descent.

Though written independently of the pandemic, the story is undeniably shaped by it. The isolation, the repetition, the hyper-focus on one’s immediate surroundings—all of that feels familiar to anyone who’s spent time navigating disruption and recalibrating a daily rhythm. In that sense, the film is less about a ruined world and more about the quiet unraveling of a relationship under pressure.

My goal with Precious Light was to create something intimate, restrained, and just a little surreal—something that lingers.