Haunted
A young woman copes with grief by exorcising the memory of her mother.
Max always had a difficult relationship with her mother and now that she's passed, she's faced with the impossible task of coping with the loose ends, the 'what if's, and the stinging regrets. Max is plagued by memories that convince her that she's being haunted by a ghost. She works to put together yet another exorcism, hoping to finally be free from this endless cycle of grief.
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Giselle TurnerDirectorPride and Protest (2020), How To Cope With Serial Killing (2021)
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Alexandrine-Aramí HaeberliWriter
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Oliver Cooper-PročProducer
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Kaja ChanKey Cast"Max"
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Isabella LeungKey Cast"Frances"
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Alonso Astiazaran AnzaCinematographer
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Tibet Boyer1st Assistant Director
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Adham Elsherif1st Assistant Director
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Moritz Oskar MeyerCamera Crew
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Jack MurphyCamera Crew
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Diven NairCamera Crew
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Eli HughesCamera Crew
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SihaamCamera Crew
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Zen WallaceSound Crew
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Nikolas De MouraSound Crew
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Maciej JaszkiewiczSound Crew
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Alonso Astiazaran AnzaProduction Design
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Juliette Joy AnquetilProduction Design
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Kaja ChanProduction Design
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Ben A. WolfinPost Production
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Jing Ru LimPost Production
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Imael GarciaPost Production
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James TearneComposer
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Project Type:Short, Student
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Genres:Fantasy, Drama, Horror
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Runtime:5 minutes
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Completion Date:November 5, 2021
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Production Budget:1,800 GBP
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Country of Origin:United Kingdom
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Country of Filming:United Kingdom
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital, ARRI Alexa Amira
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Aspect Ratio:1.77:1
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:Yes - London Film Academy
Giselle Turner is a queer writer-director who is fascinated by the changeable dynamics of relationships, the tragedy of human nature, and hopes to bring hidden voices to the forefront in entertaining ways. Often deep within the thriller genre, Giselle’s screenplays and films echo fears with which they hope to move the audience, or dramatic character focuses to instil sadness. They are passionate about sharing deep emotions with which they feel the world, to share an aspect of their life.
Dealing with the loss of a parent can be infinitely difficult to manage, particularly when there are unresolved issues - this is one of my biggest fears. I have my own complex relationship with a parent, and I couldn't imagine coping with the loss of them. How are you supposed to find peace when there is no more space for silence? It's important to me to show this dynamic, to illustrate how Max's life has been taken over by this negative figure. Not because she's an enemy, nor a monster, rather the unresolved questions. A relationship hanging.
Light is a core feature of this film: using warm tones, flickering candlelight, and then a contrast between the lit darkness and full darkness. Similar to the feeling in Robert Eggers' 'The VVitch' (2015), there's an intimate, yet sinister warmth that floods the room while Max interacts with her mother, which becomes slowly replacement by the cold tones of moonlight and darkness. This shift accompanies our realisation of Max's loneliness and sense of abandonment; where there is absence of warmth, there's an absence of her mother.
Ultimately, Max will need to face up to the unknown, the dark, and let her pain be felt in order to cope and move on.