Leeds International Film Festival 2019 – Plasmid
A young nurse must fight for her life when her house has been invaded by an unearthly intruder.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer/Editor Roshni "Rush" Bhatia
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Plasmid was my thesis project while studying at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles. At that point, I was heavily obsessed with films like Alien, Terminator, etc. I was inspired by the idea of telling a story about a character being trapped in an environment with something or someone that wants to kill them, while also focusing on the theme of survival. Ellen Ripley in Aliens by James Cameron was a huge influence on the writing of my character. I wanted Jessica, played wonderfully by Paula Alves, to go through a transformation which would become a pivotal point in the story. The biggest challenge for me though was telling it in less than 15 minutes without jeopardizing the suspension of disbelief. Seeming like a daunting task at first, I began breaking down my ideas and asking questions as to what type of a story I wanted to tell. Eventually, I was led to the core of it - My story will be about a female character who’s locked inside her home and must fight an unearthly intruder that wants to kill her. With no chance of escape, she’s faced with a difficult choice when she has to protect someone she loves.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Before we walk into a movie, we have a basic knowledge of the premise. But we don’t know where it will take us. Granted a genre may say it all, but it is the relatability of that theme or the liking toward a certain aspect that allows us to give it a benefit of the doubt. Plasmid is not just a genre piece, it’s going to take you through a journey which will unfold over a night. It’s not just what happens to her, it’s about how it changes her and her view of the world thereafter. My goal is to take you through the unknown while finding something beautiful and relatable to hold onto.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The main theme of Plasmid is survival. Survival isn’t just restricted to the physical aspects. It’s a battle against the demons inside her, that being her fear. With the alien being an external conflict, it is imperative for Jessica to confront her fears. She needs to go through the ordeal, to come out of it as a bold and gutsy badass.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I shot exactly the way I had written it. Every character, scene, dialogue and moment, etc. What I could see on paper seemed important to the story. But as I went on and shot all those scenes, leading me to the 15-minute mark, I found something off about it… it felt less impactful and rather slow. After a lot of rewatching and test screenings, we decided to kill our darlings. I had to lose one of my cast members (Dorothy Marie), the opening scene that was supposed to act as a catalyst and more. I lost about a minute and 10 seconds. That sounds less but it improved the film considerably.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Film festivals have been super supportive. Plasmid won a number of awards and nominations. One of the exciting moments was being nominated for Best Writing from the Horror Writers Association at the Death’s Parade Film Fest. The festival journey has been overwhelming in so many ways and above all, it’s become a motivation for me and the team as we haven’t stopped making more shorts ever since.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Friends and family are always supportive. They’re your rock during trying times. However, pleasing film school teachers was surprisingly challenging, haha! There were teachers who were upset with wanted me to make several passes through the drafts. Sometimes, the change was for the good and progressed the story, other times I wished to retain stronger elements. That being said, the experience taught me to consider every point of view, think about it and accordingly make a decision in alignment to my final vision.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
One of the goals is to inspire other filmmakers. I want them to fight hard for the vision they’ve always had and I want to inspire even fellow creatives who are starting out or have a love for horror and don’t know where to start.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
More resources are always a plus. Journalists would help spread the word.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I’m always happy to hear when my film has scared somebody, haha! On a deeper level, I want this film to make you realize that it is inspired by reality. However intimidating a task, deadline or situation, every time you face it, regardless of whether you succeed, you will grow. Above all, have fun filmmaking. Meet new people, collaborate and make magic.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
With today’s climate, it could literally be anything. Maybe - Is putting someone else first in your priorities more important than putting yourself?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I’m working on 1-minute horror films!
Check out my first one-minute horror short Dark Passage where Uber driver Marcus is about to get an unexpected passenger…
While my two other horror shorts, Plasmid and Shadow at the Door are making the rounds of the festival circuit, I thought it would be fun to get some friends together and try to make a one-minute long horror film.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The short stars magician Marcus Eddie who was just on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us (he fooled them!) who also creates magic for David Blaine and others, and Anastasiia Polishchuk, star of my short Shadow at the Door. It is produced by Andrew Mayne (who just starred in a Shark Week special), Virginia Blatter and Jonathan Madajian, with special thanks to Kevin Segall, Stephanie Rogers Segall and Suveer Bhatia.
We shot the film on the new iPhone 11 Pro using its wide-angle lens to give the film the dashcam-look. I’ll be releasing some behind the scenes shots later on to show how we were able to do our visual effects in-camera.
Keep an eye for more one-minute horror films on my Instagram: @roshnibhatia
Interview: October 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Plasmid
A young nurse must fight for her life when her house has been invaded by an unearthly intruder.
Length: 13:50
Director: Roshni "Rush" Bhatia
Producer: Andrew Mayne
Writer: Roshni "Rush" Bhatia
About the writer, director and producer:
ROSHNI "RUSH" BHATIA is a twenty-three-year-old writer-director who grew up in Mumbai, India. A science-fiction and horror fan inspired by the films of James Cameron, Jason Blum and the writings of Richard Matheson, she came to the United States in 2018 to study film. Her short films have been screened at film festivals around the world.
ANDREW MAYNE is Wall Street Journal's bestselling author of The Naturalist novels, including a Thriller Award and Edgar Award. He's the star of A&E’s Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne and Discovery Channel Shark Week Special Andrew Mayne: Ghost Diver.
Key cast: Paula Alves (Jessica Alves), Rob Moore (Jim), Martha (Manny Jones)
Looking for: producers
Twitter: @rushbhatia
Instagram: @roshnibhatia
Hashtags used: #plasmid #horror #scifi #aliens #indie #supernatural #scary #womennmedia #womeninfilm #womeninfilmandtv #femalefilmmakerfriday #filmlaurel #losangeles #roshnirushbhatia #roshnibhatia #rushbhatia #bloodydisgusting #ruemorgue #dreadcentral #deadentertainment
Other: IMDb
Funders: Independent Producer: Andrew Mayne
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Desmond District Demons Film Festival/Michigan,USA - Oct 26; Haunted House FearFest/England, UK - Oct 27; Unrestricted View Horror Film Festival/England,UK - Oct 31; Bleedingham Horror Film Festival/Bleedingham, Washington - Nov 3; Leeds International Film Festival/England, UK (Academy Qualifying) - Nov 16.