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Rose

The surreal and nightmarish "Rose" follows Paul, a nervous young man waiting for his girlfriend to arrive for a date. When lustful thoughts about her mother start to pop into his head, they slowly begin to slowly take control of his reality.

  • Dylan McCully
    Director
  • Dylan McCully
    Writer
  • Dylan McCully
    Producer
  • Ava Harper
    Producer
  • Dakota McCullom
    Key Cast
  • Lily Hansen
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Horror, Surreal, drama
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 37 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 13, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    250 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States, United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Columbia College Chicago
Director Biography - Dylan McCully

Born on July 8th, 2004, Dylan McCully was raised in Joliet, Illinois. From an early age, he had a passion for storytelling and started to apply it to film in his teenage years. In 2022, at age 18, he started attending Columbia College Chicago with a focus in directing and two years later, he completed his first short film: "Rose". His films typically explore themes of alienation, isolation spirituality and modernity.

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Director Statement

"Rose" was written to bring a deeply personal vision of my own repression to the screen. The film brings audiences deeper and deeper into the subconscious mind, which manifests here as a dark, new cinematic world. In this world, the audience may find a deeper truth about human sexuality when the line between love and lust cannot be separated. This duality between love and lust is ultimately what the symbol of the rose represents.

"Rose" is the first film that I've directed. It was inspired by the films of Federico Fellini, Andrei Tarkovsky, David Lynch, Luis Bunuel, Ingmar Bergman and many other filmmakers of the past. Despite the darkness of the film, I found it joyous to create. Working alongside my cinematographer Chris Van, I was able to photograph the film in a style reminiscent of classical arthouse cinema and film noir.