35mm

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TYPE: Narrative Short
GENRE: Student Film
STATUS: Pre-Production

LOGLINE

A struggling actress discovers a mysterious 35mm film reel that eerily depicts scenes from her own life—culminating in her untimely death—and must unravel its origins before the reel’s haunting prophecy becomes reality.

SYNOPSIS

When Beth, a struggling actress, discovers a mysterious 35mm reel that eerily mirrors her life and predicts her death, her reality begins to unravel. Haunted by a doppelgänger and unable to escape the film’s grasp, she must confront her past before becoming the story’s final scene.

ARTISTIC STATEMENT

As a filmmaker, I am fascinated by the ways genre storytelling can expose deeper psychological truths. 35mm was born out of my obsession with analog media and the feeling of being watched—not just by others, but by versions of ourselves we no longer recognize. This film is a psychological horror story wrapped in the aesthetics of nostalgia and dread. It explores identity, ambition, and the cost of curating one’s image in an increasingly performative world. The idea for this story emerged during a time of creative uncertainty, when I often felt I was performing a version of myself I didn’t entirely recognize. In 35mm, the protagonist is haunted by a film reel that not only documents her life but rewrites it. That fear—of losing control of your narrative, of being consumed by a version of yourself curated for others—resonates with anyone who has felt fragmented by modern life. The film will be shot entirely on 35mm motion picture film, which is both thematically and aesthetically essential. The tactile grain and organic imperfection of celluloid echo the film’s central themes: distortion, nostalgia, and identity disintegration. Shooting on film allows us to lean into analog artifacts—light leaks, soft focus, film burns, and shutter pulses—that can be used narratively as psychological ruptures in Beth’s reality. An important creative asset is the 35mm film reel itself, which will function almost as a character. It will be designed, labeled, and handled with reverence and mystery—Beth interacts with it as both an object and a portal. We intend to use macro photography to show the film strip in intimate detail, letting viewers “read” its frames with the same sense of curiosity and dread as Beth. While this is a traditional narrative short, it will be supported by a layered transmedia strategy. We plan to build an immersive digital campaign that mirrors the themes of the film: distorted identity, curated persona, and surveillance. We will create cryptic Instagram reels, TikToks, and projections that use faux “archival footage” and analog textures, allowing viewers to feel like they’re glimpsing pieces of the cursed film themselves. These short social elements will be designed to enhance the experience rather than summarize it—inviting viewers into the psychological landscape before they even see the full short. Ultimately, 35mm uses the full cinematic toolbox—image, sound, material, texture, space—to make the viewer feel what the protagonist feels: haunted, exposed, and trapped between the stories we tell and the ones that are told about us.

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