Private Project

Amber Deer

Amber Deer is a found footage psychological horror short written and directed by Amy Stewart. The film follows two friends on a location scout for their first horror movie, returning to a rural decaying property from Amber’s past. As Amber navigates the difficulties of motherhood, the visit unearths disturbing memories of childhood abuse. Reality blurs as the past resurfaces through eerie recordings and unsettling events, revealing a haunting link between trauma, identity, and the fears surrounding keeping our children safe.

  • Amy Stewart
    Director
    Revival Season 1, Shutterspeed Photography Challenge Season 2, Commercials for Broadcast, & Music Videos
  • Amy Stewart
    Writer
    Revival Season 1, Shutterspeed Photography Challenge Season 2, Commercials for Broadcast, & Music Videos
  • Amy Stewart
    Producer
    Revival Season 1, Shutterspeed Photography Challenge Season 2, Commercials for Broadcast, & Music Videos
  • Becky Parsons
    Producer
    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1083898/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
  • Derek Nason
    Assistant Director
    Revival Season 1
  • Kâtè Braydon
    Cinematographer
  • Steph Savage
    Audio
    Revival Season 1
  • Tracey Lavigne
    Production Manager
    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6702906/?ref_=fn_all_nme_1
  • Jenna May Bourque
    Set Dec / Props
    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14570424/?ref_=ttfc_fcr_cr
  • Kate Tadic
    Stills Photographer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 5 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 26, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    1,500 CAD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Demonic Brilliance Film Festival
    Fredericton, NB
    Canada
    October 4, 2025
    North American Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Silver Wave Film Festival
    Fredericton
    Canada
    November 8, 2025
    WINNER - Excellence in Sound Design, NOMINATION - Excellence in Music Composition, NOMINATION - Best Genre Short Film
  • Haven Music Hall Short Films Screening
    Saint John
    Canada
    November 22, 2025
Director Biography - Amy Stewart

Amy is a multidisciplinary artist with 20+ years of experience in photography, music, and
filmmaking. She collaborates with industry professionals as a Producer, Director, and Composer in Atlantic Canada. Passionate about authentic storytelling, her work explores themes of motherhood, mental wellness, and human complexity. She is also a dedicated advocate for diversity and inclusion in the arts, serving as a board member and Membership Committee Chair for WIFT-Atlantic and on the DEIA Committee for Media NB. Amy was the Travel & Accommodations Coordinator for Revival, Season 1, and has executive produced and directed music videos and commercials for prominent Atlantic Canadian artists and organizations. Currently, Amy is starting the film festival circuit with her first narrative horror short film, Amber Deer, and in post-production on her debut documentary.

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Director Statement

Director’s Statement – Amber Deer

Amber Deer is a found footage horror short that explores the haunting intersection of postpartum identity, buried trauma, and the invisible monstrous weight survivors carry. Through Amber’s lens, we witness a descent into memory and madness as the past bleeds into the present in an abandoned rural home tied to her childhood.

The split POV—between Amber’s phone and Sam’s cinecam—mirrors how trauma is experienced vs. how it’s perceived. The Dark Presence that haunts Amber is never visible to anyone else, a choice that reflects the isolating nature of internalized pain.

Amber Deer is both a horror film and a love letter: to the friends who try to understand, to the women navigating the fog of new motherhood, and to those still wrestling with buried truths. It is my hope that this film unsettles, provokes, and ultimately opens space for empathy, healing, and deeper conversations about mental health and survival.

As an artist, mother, and survivor, I wanted to create something that’s both terrifying and tender—a horror story rooted in truth, grief, and the complexity of healing. Amber Deer isn’t just about what’s lurking in the shadows—it’s about what we carry with us, and what it takes to face it.

—Amy Stewart
Director, Writer, Editor, and Producer - Amber Deer