Independent Work
Model and Render for Henry Fong concept design
OREST LEERE AND HIS MARVELOUS, MYSTERIOUS, MALICIOUS EMPATHY MACHINE
(2023) Write/Director/Production Designer
A dark fairy tale about a man who has isolated himself from the world in his gothic tower. He has created an "Empathy Machine" that allows him to steal memories from his victims, because Orest has none of his own. This short was filmed in the German Expressionist style with rhyming stanza voice-over - Dr. Caligari meets Dr. Seuss.
Orest Leere premiered at the 2023 New York Shorts International Film Festival and has since been screened at the Blood in the Snow Film Festival, Berlin Short Film Festival, Austin International Art Festival, Tokyo Shorts Film Festival, San Fransisco Arthouse Film Festival, Dublin Short Film Festival, and Ottawa Canadian Film Festival among others.
AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS
Blood in the Show Canadian Film Festival - Winner: Best Short Film
Berlin Short Film Festival - Winner: Best Science Fiction Short
Austin International Art Festival - Winner: Best Thriller Short
Tokyo Shorts Film Festival - Winner: Best Production Design
San Fransisco Arthouse Film Festival - Winner: Best Science Fiction Short
Hot Springs International Horror Film Festival - Winner: Best Science Fiction Short
Canada Shorts Film Festival - Winner: Best Thriller/Horror
Toronto Independent Festival of CIFT - Winner: Best Horror Short
Medusa Film Festival - Winner: Best Science Fiction Short, Best Horror Short, Best Director
Toronto Indie Shorts - Winner: Best Horror Short
Dublin Short Film Festival - Nominee: Best Horror Short
Art Film Spirit Awards - Nominee: Best Narrative Short Film
Artwork by Henry Fong
Illustration by Jeff Smith, Water Colouring by Izzy McCoy Hunter
MISS LONELINESS
(2015) Write/Director
A neon-noir thriller centred around cellular memory - the notion that our characteristics are inherent in our blood and organs - and placing it within the vampire genre. Simone Choule is a single mother who may or may not be a vampire. She satiates her blood addiction, but in the process adopts the traits of her victims.
Miss Loneliness premiered in Atlanta at the Gwinnett Center International Film Festival, and additionally screened at the Hot Springs International Film Festival, The Action on Film International Film Festival, MartialCon Film Festival, and the Hollywood Dreams International Film Festival.
AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS
Action on Film International Film Festival - Nominee: Best Horror Short, Best Actress - Short
Hollywood Dreamz International Film Festival - Nominee: Best Supporting Actress, Best Visual Effects