Morbido Film Festival / Marina Del Rey Film Festival 2019 – Shadow at the Door
In Roshni "Rush" Bhatia’s short film, Shadow at the Door, a troubled young woman searches for an intruder in her home unaware that what she’s really looking for maybe something she refuses to see.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer/Editor Roshni Bhatia
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
My goal was to tell a short, pithy story in less than 5 minutes with a twist. As I continued brainstorming, I began drawing experiences from my own life and those of my loved ones. Shadow at the Door became more than just a horror film. The film is about a young woman who finds out that there’s an intruder in her home but her search ultimately reveals something else, something she refuses to see. Although suspenseful on the surface, Shadow at the Door is transparent in its theme and for me, it was a personal one.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
We all have been a vulnerable place. This could mean dealing with addiction or being heartbroken to the extent that you lose purpose in life. We also know people who may have been in such a place. I, for one, lived through this and found the vulnerability to become a driving force for the film. This is dedicated to all those people so they know that they are not alone. I had to learn that difficult times are a part of life. Without limitations, the purpose of living wouldn’t exist. So this film is not just for a group of people. It is for anybody who has been in the face of limitations and at some point found no way out of it. I guess that would be everybody.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Similar to my previous other films, without having fear, despondency or anything that restricts you from living a fulfilling life, one can’t think of change or normalcy. This film follows such themes that don’t seem apparent at first. The goals for my character, played excellently by Anastasiia Polishchuk, were purely external. Once the environment changes, the transformation becomes visible too. This was one of the challenges - trying to integrate a clear external theme with a more personal one without giving much away.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The film came to even exist because I wanted to bring my friends together and shoot something overnight instead of going through the conventional process of filmmaking. I wrote the film on a weeknight, sent the screenplay out to my friends and shot it on a Saturday night. Going to film school made me realize how much time it took to get a film from pre-production to its finished product. I had to break from that routine and teach myself that it’s okay to go out and shoot something, even if it sucks. That’s what I did with Shadow at the Door and the following film, Dark Passage. My favourite director, James Cameron, said it best, “Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and your sister star in it. Put your name on it as director. Now you’re a director.”
What type of feedback have you received so far?
I've realized that the shorter your film, with a great story of course, the better the chances you have in the festival circuit. Shadow at the Door is being accepted at a faster rate than any of my other films. I’ve been pleased with an overwhelmingly positive response, especially from genre and silent film festivals. I began sending the film out in July/August and it’s already accepted at more than 15 film festivals and is winning awards and nominations. One of the festivals we’re really looking forward to is Morbido Film Fest in Mexico.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The feedback I’ve received so far has only strengthened my view of how much story matters. This film was low budget as opposed to my previous one and it was a risk I was willing to take. I believed that if I was able to tell the story the way I visualized it, with a talented cast and crew nothing would stop us. Story is the key.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I’m always looking for collaborators and just meeting people. There’s so much out there and so much to learn. Besides, if there is anybody who enjoyed my film or appreciated any of its elements, that in itself is a success for me.
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?
Recently, Shadow at the Door premiered in Los Angeles at REEL Recovery Film Festival. It was a wonderful film festival experience. There, during the Q&A, a young lady opened up about a personal event that occurred in her life and how at one point, she lost hope. Watching this film made her realize that she’s not alone and that she was touched as she could see herself it. It was a very emotional yet humbling moment to realize that this film made a difference. I only hope this film leaves an impact on whoever watches it.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
I think a lot of the conversations would remain interpersonal or introspective as the film explores themes that can be reflected in one’s own life.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Check out my new 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
Shadow at the Door
In Roshni "Rush" Bhatia’s short film, Shadow at the Door, a troubled young woman searches for an intruder in her home unaware that what she’s really looking for maybe something she refuses to see.
Length: 3:43
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: Anastasiia Polishchuk (Wendy)
Looking for: producers
Twitter: @rushbhatia
Instagram: @roshnibhatia
Hashtags used: #shadowatthedoor #filmlaurel #filmfestival #horror #suspense #thriller #indie #supernatural #losangeles #womennmedia #womeninfilm #womeninfilmandtv #femalefilmmakerfriday #filmmaker #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? Weird Film Fest/San Francisco, CA - Oct 22; Marina del Rey Film Festival®/Los Angeles, CA - Oct 23; Skiptown Playhouse International Film Festival/Los Angeles, CA - Oct 24; Terror en el MAAC Vol. IV/Ecuador - Oct (TBD); Spooky Empire's International Horror Film Festival/Tampa, Florida - Nov 1; Studio City International Film Festival/Los Angeles, CA - Nov 10; MicroMania Film Festival/Williamsville, New York - Nov 16; Infocus Short Film Festival/Los Angeles, CA - Nov 22; Short to the Point ISFF Awards/Romania - Jan. 2020 (TBD)