Private Project

Schism

A man’s world splits in two. Soon, so does he. Is he himself, or his doppelganger? Or are they one and the same? Are they doomed to repeat this cycle forever?

Shot in Chicago for the New Zealand 48HOURS Furious Filmmaking competition, where it was a Grand Finalist and a Best Cinematography winner.

  • Andrew Todd
    Director
    Ghost Shark 2: Urban Jaws (feature, 2015), Utka (short, 2018)
  • Johnny Hall
    Director
    Ghost Shark 2: Urban Jaws (feature, 2015), Utka (short, 2018)
  • Johnny Hall
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Розкол
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi, Psychological, Surreal
  • Runtime:
    3 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 16, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    50 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    New Zealand
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • 48HOURS Film Festival
    Auckland
    New Zealand
    August 17, 2019
    World premiere (competition finals)
    Grand Finalist / Best Cinematography
  • Toronto After Dark Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    October 23, 2019
    International Premiere
  • Morbido Fest
    Mexico City
    Mexico
    November 3, 2019
    Latin America Premiere
Director Biography - Andrew Todd, Johnny Hall

New Zealand filmmakers Andrew Todd and Johnny Hall first joined forces out of a shared love of high-speed filmmaking, and have been making films together ever since. When not making films, Andrew creates theatre and writes for various online pop-culture outlets, while Johnny designs websites and produces promotional videos. Their first feature, Ghost Shark 2: Urban Jaws, premiered in 2015, and they are currently in development on their second feature, relationship horror So Lonely I Could Die, as well as other future projects.

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Director Statement

Though we made this film for a 48-hour filmmaking competition, other commitments meant it was actually completed in 24 or so. We were so stumped by our required elements (wind, laughter, an overhead shot, a double-take, a fourth-wall break, the sci-fi genre, AND the entire film had to be in split-screen) that we threw out all our story ideas and just started shooting on instinct.

Instead of shooting from a script, we put the entire film together purely visually. We’d get a shot, look at it, ask ourselves "what's the next shot after that?" and carry on, trying to challenge ourselves visually as we went. The result is a strange short filled with dream logic, interpreted variously as being about mental health, politics, or metaphysics. We’re quite pleased about that.