Private Project

The Waiting Man

A mysterious man is seen outside a streamers apartment every night. When he investigates it further, it leads him down a path he wish he didn't take.

  • Carl Sundström
    Director
    Reportage November, Documenting the Witch Path, Safe Haven (2017), Finally Alone
  • Carl Sundström
    Writer
    Reportage November, Documenting the Witch Path, Safe Haven (2017), Finally Alone
  • Nathaniel P. Erlandsson
    Writer
    Reportage November, A sound in the dark
  • Noel Salblix
    Key Cast
    "Joel Sandström (TOMNI)"
    Festen, Västra Gymnasiet
  • Marcus Stenberg
    Key Cast
    "Mikael Berg (Mitch)"
    Cry Wolf (Vargsommar)
  • Cristian Åsvik
    Key Cast
    "Lukas Malinowski (Guy)"
    Reportage November
  • Minna Evås
    Key Cast
    "Caroline Parker"
    Precious
  • Mayuko Lindström
    Key Cast
    "Kiko Watanabe"
    Budo, Spring Roll
  • Carl Sundström
    Producer
    Reportage November, Documenting the Witch Path, Safe Haven (2017), Finally Alone
  • Nathaniel P. Erlandsson
    Producer
    Reportage November, A sound in the dark
  • Laura Barbato
    Producer
    Bloodline Killer, Dear Luke, Love Me
  • Ray Hockenberg
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Horror, Found Footage, Mockumentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 38 minutes 3 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 1, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Sweden
  • Country of Filming:
    Sweden
  • Language:
    English, Japanese, Swedish
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Pucela Fantástica
    Valladolid
    Spain
    July 10, 2026
    World Premiere
    Sección Aquelarres
Director Biography - Carl Sundström

Carl Sundström is a Swedish film director primarily known for his work in independent horror.

Born in 1992, Sundström developed an early interest in filmmaking and recorded his first movie at the age of nine. Later in life he studied film and began creating short films during his time in film school, including the horror shorts Love and Safe Haven. His work often blends documentary realism with supernatural or psychological horror themes.

Sundström gained wider recognition with the feature-length horror documentary Documenting the Witch Path (2016), which was screened at several international festivals and received multiple awards in the independent horror circuit.

He later directed Finally Alone, a micro horror film centered on isolation and psychological tension, further exploring his interest in atmospheric storytelling. In late 2019, he created Reportage November, a found-footage–style feature film that continues his exploration of documentary-inspired horror narratives.

His films typically combine low-budget independent production with immersive, realistic storytelling, focusing on suspense, folklore, and the unknown.

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Director Statement

The found footage genre has always thrived on reinvention. Every few years, a film emerges that doesn’t just participate in the genre, it redefines how audiences experience fear through it. The Waiting Man is built on that exact philosophy.

At its core, this film is a celebration of the mediums that have made found footage an effective film format: handheld cameras, surveillance systems, screen recordings, live streams and the digital traces we leave behind. Rather than treating these elements as familiar tools, we approach them as the language of the film, one that reflects how we actually document and experience reality today. The result is a narrative that feels immediate, immersive, and unsettlingly authentic.

What excites me most about the Waiting Man is its structure. It doesn’t simply present a few tapes that have been found. The story is told through a carefully constructed perspective that pull the viewer deeper into the mystery. The fear emerges not only from what is shown but from what is missing.

Found footage is most powerful when it feels accidental and when the horror isn’t staged but captured. We avoid spectacle in favor of tension, letting dread build through silence, glitches, and the uncanny familiarity of everyday technology turning against us. The horror lives in the margins: in background details, in distorted audio, in the split-second moments that feel too real to ignore.

Historically, the genre has been revitalized by films that tap into the anxieties of their time. This film is no different. It reflects our current relationship with technology, specifically streaming, that is documenting more than we realize.

I believe this film has the potential to be a defining entry for found footage in 2026, not by abandoning what came before, but by evolving it. It honors the raw, immersive fear that audiences love while pushing the format into new territory, both technically and emotionally.