“Hide & Seek” by Shahmeer Madni
'Hide & Seek' is a slick, bitter and yet strangely cathartic short film of an unhappy couple battling for the love of their child. When Anya leaves her son alone with their dog to go confront her cheating husband, things take a turn for the worst as a heated argument turns into a tragic loss. However, from grief, retribution arises, allowing Anya to find revenge and pursue the glimmer of light in her uncertain future, but at the expense of her child's innocence. 'Hide & Seek' teaches us to punish those who wrong us and preserve the ones we love most, albeit in a twisted way.
FROM THE DIRECTOR
“We may find ourselves in relationships that seem to suffocate us, yearning for something else. ‘Hide & Seek’ is a story that takes place after a pivotal event grants our protagonist the opportunity they’ve longed for — to reject their current situation and find their well deserved freedom. Yet, as they embark on this journey, they discover that the pursuit of vengeance enacts a heavy toll on those closest to them, including their own child.
The heaviness of these dramatic circumstances becomes more digestible when contrasted with the innocence of childhood. Reflecting on the private conversations within my own family about my sister growing into her teenage years, I was struck by the profound contrast between the purity of a child’s game and the life-altering incident that involves them. This incongruity was not only thought-provoking, but particularly jarring and deeply entertaining.
Creating ‘Hide & Seek’ represents, for me, an opportunity to delve deeper into the complexities of parent-child relationships: how our words and actions towards the youth can leave a lasting imprint.”
-Shahmeer Madni
CREDITS
CAST
Mother// Nayab Hussain
Father// Jason Arcaro:
Abbas// Calvin Knegten
CREW
Writer & Director// Shahmeer Madni
Producer// Marbod Faure
Executive Producers// Zahrah Ayub, Humayun Zubair
Director of Photography// Frank Hanyang Yu
Production Designer// Alicia Liu
Associate Producer// Elizaveta Dyachkova
Costume Designer// Sunny Santiago
Casting// Kyle Stone
1st Assistant Director// Michelle Andia
2nd Assistant Director// Abigail Donkor
Script Supervisor// Madeleine Jonston
Gaffer// Kenny Ding
1st Assistant Camera// Yinren Gong
2nd Assistant Camera// Hockey Cheu
Grips// Haolang Li, Hector Valentine Jr.
Sound Mixer// Ryan Zhao
Boom Ops// Yizhi Huang, Diego Casian
Animal Wrangler// All-Tame Animals
Production Assistant// Finn James
Art Assistant// Truong Le Dinh
BTS Photographer// Gaby Castrillon
Editor// Shahmeer Madni
Composer// Amir Sanjari
Color Facility// Disauthority
Colorist// Zain Harris
Advising Producer// Tess Rechtweg
Poster Design// Jacek Rudzki
Special Thanks
Alfonso Morgan-Terrero, Raghuvir Joshi, Tayyab Madni, Katherine Lindberg
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