The Passport

Somewhere in a big city, a man wakes up in a dark alley with no memory of who he is or how he got there. On a mission to figure out his identity, he discovers truths that were better left forgotten.

  • Olivier Hero Dressen
    Director
  • Olivier Hero Dressen
    Writer
  • Michael Koltes
    Writer
  • Olivier Hero Dressen
    Producer
  • Michael Koltes
    Key Cast
    "Bryan Boyse"
    The Martian, Robin Hood, War Horses
  • Andy Ma
    Key Cast
    "Detective David Lee"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi, Thriller, Drama, Detective, Film Noir
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 1, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    80,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2/35
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • LAFA, Los Angeles Film Award
    Los angeles
    United States
    December 1, 2018
    American Premiere
    Best Thriller, Best editing
  • In-Short 2018
    Victoria Island, Lagos
    Nigeria
    December 28, 2018
    Premiere for Africa
    Official Selection
  • Ferfilm 2018
    Ferizaj
    Kosovo
    August 25, 2018
    Premiere East Europe
    Official Selection
  • Sose Festival 2018
    Yerevan
    Armenia
    September 28, 2018
    Official Selection
  • Ros Film Festival
    Alicante
    Spain
    September 14, 2018
    Official Selection
  • World of Film International Film Festival
    Glasgow
    United Kingdom
    Out of competition
  • Valletta Film Festival, - (Special Program)
    Malta
    Italy
    Special Program
  • Olympus Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    February 1, 2019
    Finalist
  • DADASAHEB PHALKE 2019
    Mumbai
    India
    April 30, 2019
    Premiere India
    Official Selection
  • MINDFIELDS 2019
    Los Angeles
    United States
    WINNER, Bronze, Best Short Film.
  • Brussels International Film Festival 2019
    Brussels
    Belgium
    Premiere Belgium
  • DUMBO 2019
    New York
    United States
    North America Premiere
    Official Selection
  • NANOCON 2019
    Longview
    United States
    Semi-Finalist
  • GOLDEN STATE 2019
    Los Angeles
    United States
    March 27, 2019
    Official Selection
  • BIFFF 2019
    Brussels
    Belgium
    Premiere Belgium
    Official Selection
  • 6 ON NEBRASKA 2019
    Cape Town
    South Africa
    Premiere South Africa
    Official Selection
  • DETECTIVEFEST 2019
    Moscow
    Russian Federation
    Premiere Russia
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Olivier Hero Dressen

Director. Cinematographer. Photographer. Storyteller.

Belgian-born Olivier is an acclaimed creative professional with significant accomplishments in film direction, cinematography, photography, and creative direction. His unique style melds photography, drawing, graphic design, and video, emphasizing compelling storytelling and character development.

With a robust presence in Asia and global reach, Olivier has built a solid reputation through collaborations with renowned talents such as Kobe Bryant, Sophie Marceau, and Ines de la Fressange, alongside partnerships with other European and Asian celebrities. His footprint is evident in both the film and photography sectors.

His short film, "The Passport," stands as a testimony to his prowess, earning 70 nominations and 19 wins globally, including best short drama, best short film, best foreign director, best director, best actor, best thriller, best crime thriller, best editing (twice), best VFX, and best cinematography at the Macau Film Festival. Further recognition includes the best film award at the Stage 32 Film Festival and a screening at the Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.

Olivier's portfolio also boasts many accolades, including the Cannes Lions Festival's silver award, a cover feature in Archive Magazine, and the Promaxbda bronze award in Los Angeles. He has teamed up with prominent brands like Converse, Nike, Porsche, Moncler, and Coach, and his animated films have graced eminent platforms like the Comics Con in San Diego and the Anima Film Festival in Brussels.

As a cinematographer, Olivier contributed to "The Nightwalk," directed by Adriano Valerio, winning multiple awards, including the Prix Canal + and Clermont-Ferrand, and earning a nomination for the César Awards in France.

Always at the cutting edge of new technology, Olivier has engaged in roles such as a beta tester for OpenAI's Dall-E2 technology, brand ambassador for YouPic, and member of the Xiaomi Creator program. His interests span AI, new technology, and collaboration with Zhiyun technology.

Olivier is channeling his creative energy into two exciting feature films: a sci-fi piece and a thrilling road trip movie. Notably, in 2023, his film "The Black Box" won the grand prize at the 8th annual Stage 32 film festival. Olivier continues to push the envelope in his artistic endeavors, solidifying his position as a leading voice in the creative world.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Michael and I met through a mutual friend several years ago. Our passion for film and film making led to a creative partnership still strong seven years later. Our first collaboration was “The Passport” which was produced and shot within three weeks of finalizing the script. "The Passport" addresses our idea of identity and memory.  “We are what we remember” illustrates the fragile balance between our existence and the fear of loosing who we really are. This project is personal to myself in particular, as I experienced a degree of memory loss in the past, and realize the importance of how precious and fragile our memory really is.

Regarding my cinematic inspirations and influences, Memento and Drive are two films who really set the tone for me. Memento because of the movie’s subject and his main character’s quest and Drive for the colors, mood, esthetics and music. The film score, as a music video director and part-time musician, I really wanted to express emotion through the music and aim to create a poignant connection between the character, the score and the audience. As I financed, produced and directed this movie myself, the post production process was quite a challenge. I spent a lot of time on a rough edit, both image, sound and visual effects using a variations of post production tools and techniques. From Adobe Creative Cloud Suite to Cinema 4D and Substance painter and even ADR for some sequences. I went back to some of the locations with a sound kit capturing water drips or ambiance noises in the streets of Shanghai etc to give it more depth and realism. 

I also learned a new 3D software for this project, Substance Painter was used for some of the 3d texturing process. I found it to be a very intuitive software which allowed me to paint and create a very 3 dimensional texturing. My idea was to create an advanced draft version as close as possible to my vision and seek help from experienced and high end specialists back in my country of birth, Belgium. And thanks to a talented group of people we managed to complete the film and get it to the level it is now. 
Our film is finally starting to hit festivals around the world and we hope that our audience will also be inspired and equally passionate for this film.  Our next challenge is to produce a feature film together as we don’t want let Bryan Boise rest for too long.
Michael and I are currently based in Shanghai, China. We continue to collaborate on film projects, which we hope will come to life across screens worldwide in the near future.