NO SLASHER HERE, 9min., USA
Directed by Robert Tiemstra
A woman comes home from work, only to receive an unsettling phone call. Does the danger only exist over the phone, or is there a masked killer inside her home?

https://instagram.com/the_timestar

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
The production for 'No Slasher Here' started with a New Years' Day text message from me to Llenelle, my producing partner for this film - "do you want to make a spooky movie this year?" We'd worked together before, but never on a horror film. I was just finishing up the film festival run for my last film - a dystopian short called The October Martyr - and I was feeling the urge to do something scrappy & fun. Once I had Llenelle on board to act in something, I just asked myself 'what sort of horror movie would I cast her in?' and the answer came in the form of a When a Stranger Calls/Black Christmas/Scream style horror movie opening. The central conceit occurred to me while I was on a walk - instead of having a killer call someone, what if the 'victim' in this kind of setup picks up the phone to find another similar horror movie opening going on somewhere else? Then it became a puzzle for me to solve, a weird mobius strip of slasher movie suspense.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
Around 7 months, all told. I wrote the first draft of the screenplay in January 2023. Pre-Production kicked off around March, with casting, rehearsal and gathering our crew. We filmed April 28 - 30th, and post-production was from May through mid-July, which was our first festival deadline.

We were able to be efficient because I'm working with a lot of the same people I've made movies with before - all the actors are friends of mine, the DP shot my last film, my post team (colorist, composer and sound designer) has remained consistent for my last 3 films.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Hide-and-seek. Oh wait, that's three words - um, let's say "Prank Call"

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
The leanness of the production challenged us all - Cody, Llenelle and I were a producing team that all wore multiple hats, making a film for a very small amount of money, with a fairly ambitious shooting schedule. Visually, I wanted this to be a short that uses our location thoroughly, the dramatic momentum of the phone call carrying Ari from room to room. I didn't want us to be locked down to one spot. Because of this, our lighting setups had to be quick and changeable at a moment's notice. The actors wound up dealing with quite a bit of dialogue for such a short film, which we filmed in extended takes to keep them locked into the suspense. These challenges all get compounded by the shooting schedule, which necessitated two back to back overnights - if you've never been on a film shoot from 6pm to dawn, you know that you have to be extremely disciplined. Exhausted people are more prone to frustration, no matter how professional. Griffin, my AD, and myself did our best to make sure we were monitoring the temperature of the shoot to make sure everyone was in a headspace to enjoy their work.

When we got to editing, the hardest part for me was making sure the mystery elements of the film hadn't been lost along the way. When building to the reveal, I questioned every cut - is the closeup of Craig's hand with the crowbar too much? Are we showing Karina too late? Which slasher cutaways do we use and when? I was scrutinizing every choice, trying to make sure we were leading the viewer in the right direction towards the reveal, without tipping our hand or breaking the internal logic of the short. I don't think I've ever test-screened a picture as relentlessly as I did with this one.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
Firstly, I was just delighted to see people respond to the creative choices made RE: the red herring & ultimate reveal. It was the element that occurred most organically in the first draft of the story (when I started writing, for instance, I had a completely different twist in mind, until I reached that point of the story) and what so many of our creative choices were built around. Besides that, I was pleased that our shot selection, shooting style and dedication of the performers were noted by the audience - these sort of craft decisions are ones we all slave over on the off-chance someone will notice them ('are you sure we have to use every room in the house, Rob?' was a frequent question in prep), and I'm glad that the playfulness of our filmmaking clicked with this audience.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
Sometimes your art tells you what you want to be doing before you even know it. I enjoyed making stop-motion films with LEGO and clay figures as a kid, long before I even knew 'film director' was a job. That possibility finally coalesced for me my sophomore year of High School, while I was still heavily involved in theater extracurriculars. From then, it's pretty much been as direct a path as possible - a direct path up a sheer cliff, pushing a boulder, surrounded by spiders and thorns, but still - from film school into LA and the wild world of show business.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
This answer will surprise no genre movie fans who grew up in the late 90s/early 2000s, but probably one of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films. Probably The Two Towers, that's the first one I watched so it has a slight edge over the other 2.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
I am deeply grateful for the way that film festivals have allowed me to meet fellow filmmakers from all walks of life and broaden my filmmaking community. I think that a great film festival won't just give a laurel and validation to the filmmakers - those are nice, exhibition is nice too, but the truly special film festivals feel like they prioritize the needs of the artist, and the realities of being an indie filmmaker today. It's easier than ever to go to a random film festival and meet a dozen other directors. What's harder is meeting the person who is going to helpfully broaden your network and make your next film happen.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
It has been largely positive! I used to use withoutabox while in film school so the UI improvement alone is great. The only challenge I encounter is the sheer amount of film festivals that exist these days - as an artist, you want to make sure you're sending your film to places where it'll actually have an impact, and judging that is sometimes difficult on the platform alone.

10. What is your favorite meal?
I'm a lifelong lover of carbs, so probably a pasta dish of some variety. Let's say Carbonara before I overthink the question.

11. What is next for you? A new film?
I'm currently working on a couple of projects - keeping irons in the fire, see what comes together first. My main project is a feature film adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft short story, which I hope to gain interest for producing on a small budget. The rest is trying to figure out what my next short is: I love a playful slasher, but after this one I'm looking at doing something more moody and atmospheric - that's where all the horror movies I love most come from...