Interview With Elliott Reeves, Director of Award-Winning Short Film ‘Osiris’
Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress wins at London’s Sur-REEL & Uncanny Film Fest
Surreal short film Osiris wowed the audience at the recent Sur-REEL & Uncanny Film Fest, a celebration of surreal experimentation in independent filmmaking. The London film festival, now in its 2nd year, awarded director Elliott Reeves the overall Best Film statuette for his cinematic gem about a young woman’s nightmare; a nightmare that weaves an uncanny trail in her waking life. You’ll find yourself transfixed by the edgy plot points while piecing together this eerie thriller. Lead actress Meg Clarke, who plays Nova, won Best Actress at the awards with Elliott Reeves triumphing in the Best Director catergory. He shares his production journey.
What inspired you to make Osiris?
David Lynch is one of my favourite filmmakers and amongst my biggest inspirations. I love the kind of filmmaking that doesn’t always directly explain everything that’s going on in the film and where there’s a lot going on that you might not catch on first watch. The sort of mystery that gets you coming back to watch the film over and over again.
Tell us a bit about your production experience before shooting Osiris
I studied film production at Staffordshire University, so a lot of my knowledge came from there and probably 80% of the films I have made before have come from there. I have made 10 short films up to this point but they were mostly co-written, co-directed projects, whereas this is the first short that I have fully directed and written myself. I have shot a few music videos as well – but no features as yet.
The film has a slick, professional look – alongside its jarring edginess. Could you tell us how you achieved such amazing production values?
I worked closely with my cinematographer Sam Powyer who is really talented – he’s shot a lot of music videos. We discussed the look of the film and I sent him reference images from cinema and photography close to the kind of vibe I wanted. There’s a photographer called Gregory Crewdson who is quite amazing in terms of surreal imagery, so that was certainly an inspiration for the cinematic look we wanted. Our cinematographer’s lighting had this amazing depth and also superbly created the uneasy atmosphere that we were going for. Post production-wise, the majority of the editing was done by me, toiling away over a year.
The film is very layered and has lots of hidden elements. Some film fans at the festival said they loved it but didn’t necessarily understand it. Was that your intention? Is there a hidden message in those undisclosed layers?
Well, not necessarily a hidden message but the story is in there. I did write and shoot it with the intention that the first time you watch it you are probably not supposed to understand it fully, but if you really want to know what’s happening, if you watch t again you should be able to piece everything together. The clues are all there.
Elliott Reeves, director of short film ‘Osiris’ with his Best Film statuette. [Sur-REEL & Uncanny Film Fest]
I am currently writing a horror feature film with my brother. But otherwise I will be creating more short films and hope to enter them for film festivals and screenings in the coming year.
This super-talented director is destined for great things so keep an eye out for updates on his horror feature. If it’s anything like Osiris it should be a sure-fire surreal and uncanny hit!
