Private Project

The Last Beckoning

On an obscure night, six complete strangers, each of them with their own unique personalities and beliefs, get their logic defied when they get stuck in a bus, surrounded by nothing but strange endless darkness.

  • Catarina De Cèzanne
    Writer
  • Loïc Bagnoud
    Writer
  • Project Type:
    Short Script
  • Genres:
    Horror, Sci-fi, Cosmic, indie, Dark
  • Number of Pages:
    20
  • Country of Origin:
    Portugal
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Dark Arts Film Festival
    Amsterdam, Netherlands
    September 12, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Old Nick's Pitching Forum - Dark Arts Film Festival
    Amsterdam
    October 31, 2021
    Nominee
  • The Macoproject Film Festival
    New York City
    September 1, 2023
    Official Selection
Writer Biography - Catarina De Cèzanne, Loïc Bagnoud

We are two writers based in a small village in the south of Portugal, who decided to write a Cosmic Horror that could present a new perspective about Life and Existence.

Add Writer Biography
Writer Statement

Note: The title of this short changed from "The Beckoning" to "The Last Beckoning".

The Beckoning came from the need to experiment with a different type of Horror, a subgenre slightly different from Cosmic Horror. The idea occurred during a conversation, in an esplanade while drinking coffee with milk, and eating toasts. The screenplay was born from a mix of two different events. Loïc's night bus trip, and a bizarre journey I had while driving in the mountains, in Portugal.

The Beckoning is a Cosmic Horror short-film written with the intention to promote the long version and make it into a feature film, with more sets and a higher budget. In our long version, the characters end up in a different place and get out of that bus. We wanted to start with making a short film that would be simple to produce, with a small cast, minor CGI and a bus, and a story that could be shot anywhere in the world.

We own the rights of the screenplay and it is not under option.