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Logline

A photographer progressively losing his sight is stalked by a vampiric creature that forever alters his grasp of reality and memory.

Synopsis

JASON, a photographer progressively losing his sight, dreams of an abandoned movie theater. One night, Jason meets a mysterious and seductive woman, IRIS. But was she just another dream?

When walking home, Jason is stalked by a shadowy insect-like creature. The creature slowly moves closer and closer to him. Frightened, Jason hits his head on a lamppost. Again, Jason dreams of the mysterious theater. Waking disorientated, Jason finds himself in front of the theater from his dreams.

Inside the abandoned theater, Jason is startled to find Iris, who lures him with a promise and a kiss. Iris completes her mission of showing Jason his true identity – turning him into a vampire. Initially thrilled by his new power, Jason quickly realizes its devastating cost.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Kyriakos Kanellos – Writer/Director
Kyriakos was born and raised in Tripoli, Greece. Fifteen years ago, he was diagnosed with a rare form of Retinitis Pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that causes gradual vision loss. Before losing his vision, Kyriakos was a photographer and videographer. He also worked for the Hellenic Red Cross, including disaster relief following the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka. Now, Kyriakos is returning to storytelling through visual arts by writing and directing short films.

Annalisa Shoemaker – Producer
Annalisa Shoemaker is a creative producer, distributor, and founder of Suncatcher Productions. Her goal is to offer audiences intentional, representative stories that awaken – especially about women, people with disabilities, and the environment. Prior to Suncatcher, Annalisa spent over a decade working on theatrical distribution campaigns for films such as The Place Beyond the Pines and Dallas Buyers Club at Focus Features to The Big Sick and Sound of Metal at Amazon Studios. Annalisa was the associate producer of the feature documentary The Last Animals, which chronicled the global effect of the ivory and rhino horn trade, premiering at Tribeca in 2017 and winning the Disruptive Innovation Award. In 2023, she was selected for Film Independent’s Producing Lab. Annalisa is a proud member of Film Independent, Filmmakers with Disabilities (FWD-Doc), and Women In Film.

Liska Ostojic – Producer
A writer, story editor, and producer with more than 15 years experience in the industry, Liska arrived to Hollywood from Serbia, by way of Paris, Harare, and New York City, with a BS in Communications at Boston University, and a MFA from the American Film Institute Conservatory. She has worked as a short film producer, a writer’s assistant, a script and production coordinator, and, most recently, as a screenwriter. Her passion, however, remains collaborating with and mentoring writers, discovering wonderful stories that deserve to be told, and championing ones that will make a difference in the world.

Sara Ross-Samko – Cinematographer
California-born, dreaming of rain and snow, Sara Ross-Samko is a director and cinematographer drawn to the misty realms between dream and document. A background in music and theatre informs her approach to image-making, and working with puppets, in-camera effects, celluloid, mud, ink, bugs, beasties, and all things messy bring her great joy. A graduate of the American Film Institute Conservatory with a degree in Cinematography, she joined the AFI faculty in 2021. Her cinematography has been screened at festivals such as Venice and Telluride.

Dan Myers – Editor
Dan Myers is a LA-based editor originally from Seattle, where he studied philosophy at the University of Washington. Dan started his career in post-production cutting ads for Microsoft. In 2013 he graduated from the AFI Conservatory with a M.F.A. in film editing. Dan now works as an editor and assistant editor on narrative features, documentary, television, commercials, music videos, and shorts. In 2019, he cut his first feature, Lorelei, which was an official selection of Tribeca. Dan lives with Multiple Sclerosis and hopes to help advance standards of excellence and inclusion for disabled filmmakers and other marginalized groups in our industry.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.