Sub Rosa

Sub Rosa is a story about Samson, a closeted gay teenager whose biggest fear is people finding out about his secret.

After his horrifying first sexual experience Samson finds himself at a crossroads. As he’s not ready to come out as gay to his best friend, Eleanor, he keeps lying to her potentially ruining their friendship.

As we get to see him try to mend his friendship with Eleanor, we start to see the reasons behind his sexually confused state of mind: having an absent father, the social pressure from his friends to lose his virginity, the shame from having lied to everyone he knows for years and even attraction towards his step-father.

  • Daniel Kaszas
    Director
  • Daniel Kaszas
    Writer
  • Esmee Huguenin
    Producer
  • Alfie Lang
    Director of Photography
  • Solomon Watkins
    Sound Recordist
  • Thomas Daniels
    Editor
  • Kaleb Harvey
    First Camera Assistant
  • Lars Hempel
    Composer
  • Anna Schnabl
    Costume Design / Hair and Make-Up Artist
  • Gennaro Maffettone
    Production Design / On set Photographer
  • Gennaro Mirto
    Catering
  • Theo Holt-Bailey
    Key Cast
    "Samson"
  • Teigan Macphee
    Key Cast
    "Eleanor"
  • Zara Hadeshian Banks
    Key Cast
    "Agnes"
  • Jonathan McGarrity
    Key Cast
    "Isaac"
  • Vincent Visser
    Key Cast
    "Miles"
  • Jack Weise
    Key Cast
    "Rob"
  • Francesca Fleur
    Key Cast
    "Sophie"
  • Kian Terry
    Key Cast
    "Young Samson"
  • Amy Antoniou
    Key Cast
    "Young Eleanor"
  • Nick Stevens
    Key Cast
    "Voice of Dad"
  • Will Forester
    Key Cast
    "Voice of Priest"
  • Saffron McGibbon
    Background Performers
  • Sandra Monero
    Background Performers
  • Prince Ekwerekwu
    Background Performers
  • Dino Aru
    Background Performers
  • Lynne Johnson
    Background Performers
  • Bharatkumar Patel
    Background Performers
  • Peter Wilkinson
    Background Performers
  • Janice Crombie
    Background Performers
  • Tom Wohlfahrt
    Background Performers
  • Sandra Holder
    Background Performers
  • Isabella Walton
    Background Performers
  • Vasilena Georgieva
    Background Performers
  • Chris Cartner
    Executive Producers
  • Madeleine Casey
    Executive Producers
  • Rita Casey
    Executive Producers
  • Sahil Chadha
    Executive Producers
  • Hendri Flapper
    Executive Producers
  • Gyöngyvér Fuli
    Executive Producers
  • Marcel Huguenin
    Executive Producers
  • Marton Kaszás
    Executive Producers
  • Wim Moens
    Executive Producers
  • Josje Rademakers
    Executive Producers
  • Mayke Rademakers
    Executive Producers
  • Wiek Rademakers
    Executive Producers
  • Marie-Anne van der Veer
    Executive Producers
  • Matthijs Verschoor
    Executive Producers
  • Anca Weerts
    Executive Producers
  • Annelies Baudet
    Special Thanks to
  • Louis Bernard
    Special Thanks to
  • Jean Bravo
    Special Thanks to
  • Rie Bussing-Boersen
    Special Thanks to
  • Rosemarie Cantrill
    Special Thanks to
  • M. Casey
    Special Thanks to
  • Margot Creyne
    Special Thanks to
  • Niamh Crowley
    Special Thanks to
  • Sheila Daniels
    Special Thanks to
  • Freek & Mara van Eck-Trienekens
    Special Thanks to
  • Virag Fuli
    Special Thanks to
  • Wim Harmsen
    Special Thanks to
  • Yfynke Hoogeveen
    Special Thanks to
  • Lotte van Hout
    Special Thanks to
  • Corry Huguenin
    Special Thanks to
  • Jeroen Huguenin
    Special Thanks to
  • Joyce Huguenin
    Special Thanks to
  • Jai Khajuria
    Special Thanks to
  • Loes van Krieken
    Special Thanks to
  • Jan Meijer
    Special Thanks to
  • Frank Rademakers
    Special Thanks to
  • Jiri Ruzicka
    Special Thanks to
  • Jessica Valetine-Howard
    Special Thanks to
  • Wendel Verschoor
    Special Thanks to
  • Paul Wirth
    Special Thanks to
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Coming of Age, LGBT
  • Runtime:
    21 minutes 29 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 31, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    2,580 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.00
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - London South Bank University
Director Biography - Daniel Kaszas

Daniel Kaszas is the writer/director of Sub Rosa. Ever since he was a child in Gyor (Hungary), storytelling has been his passion. Writing stories, creating fictional worlds and filling them with characters is what got him through those early years of adolescence. Only later in life when he got my first camera did he start putting these stories on film, which is when he started to develop his love for filmmaking. In 2017 he moved to London, a year later he started a film course at LSBU. In the past 3 years he worked on many short films as well as became a member of Queer in the Headlights, a queer sketch comedy group. Being a queer filmmaker he could not be more enthusiastic about this project as he believes in the power of authenticity and representation when it comes to telling such important stories.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

As a gay filmmaker, I have seen many gay coming of age short films. While I appreciate what these shorts do for the LGBTQ community, I must admit that I had difficulty relating to most of them. The more I watched the more I felt like I was playing the same story on repeat. I found myself in a loop of young gay boys putting eye makeup on, getting bullied and coming out to their parents and while these are certainly moments that most of us in the queer community can relate to, it isn’t all there is to it.

What I wanted to focus on with this film is the sheer, crippling anxiety one can feel as a closeted gay. When from the moment you wake up to the very second you fall asleep you have to condition yourself to look, act, sound (and the list goes on) straight, losing everything that makes you a human being in the process. Your own feelings, thoughts, opinions are slowly inhibited by the façade that you created, to a point where you can’t tell anymore what is real and what is make believe. Personally, I find that confused state of mind incredibly interesting. It’s uncomfortable, it’s ugly, it’s sad, it’s absurd and it makes you make bad decisions. But it’s also what made us queers and that’s why I think everyone needs to see it.

That is the reason I wanted to make this film. Being one of the lucky ones (if you can say that), I was never chased down the streets by the town homophobes. My trauma was more invisible. It was the kind where you can’t even tell you’re hurting until you look back at it years later. As I’m sure I am not the only one, I hope everyone that has ever felt this way can watch this film and feel seen.