
Single tix $8, Ten-Ticket pack for $35, or get ALL FEST ACCESS FOR $50! https://hifilmfest.eventive.org/passes/buy
When it comes right down to it, for my own personal tastes, monsters rule the roost. Monsters are the source of my love for the genre, they are the characters I most immediately empathize with, and they always will have a segment in my festival. Beyond that, though, monsters serve one of the greatest purposes in horror storytelling: they serve to explain the unknown, give face to our fear, and find some order in chaos. More than that, since monsters are not real (sorry), they are so well suited to metaphor and interpretation, a key characteristic that lends a layer of depth that one can take or leave. Here there be monsters!!!!
Having survived a harrowing plane crash, an army pilot finds himself suspended from a canopy of trees high above the forest floor by his parachute. After making contact with his co-pilot on the ground, they realize that something is stalking them in the dark.
In his book ON WRITING, Stephen King talked about how his stories germinate. He describes how they are all basically a "what if." What if a bullied teenage girl had telekinetic powers? What if most of humanity was wiped out by a plague? When I watched Suspense, in just the seven minutes of runtime, I thought about that. The "what if" in this story is clever, something I don't think I have ever seen before, and, more importantly, absolutely terrifying! -Miguel
This short had my heart pounding in my chest--suspense indeed! It simple, clever and works really well. This will play great with an audience! -Programmer Rebekah Fieschi
Director: Jacob and Ben Burghart grew up in small town Western Kansas, where between farming duties, they spent their time watching Jackie Chan movies and old reruns of The Twilight Zone. Around the ages of 10 and 8, they began shooting short films with friends using an old VHS-C camera. In high school, they used the empty streets of their hometown to film Knight Rider spoofs and the surrounding farmland to stage Westerns.
While attending the University of Kansas they began entering numerous 48 hour film festivals that allowed the brothers to hone their visual storytelling and develop a personal style that was all their own. After finding success in these and other festivals, they began expanding their filmmaking network to Kansas City and beyond.
When not working on film projects, they work in advertising - creating commercial and animated work for clients around the United States.
- Year2019
- Runtime7 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States
- DirectorJacob Burghart, Ben Burghart
- ScreenwriterJacob Burghart, Ben Burghart
- ProducerHolton Witman, Josh Doke, David Gim, Tristian Barr
- CastJelani Talib, Robert Coppage III
- CinematographerChris Durr
- EditorEdward Schoer
- Production DesignCory Hinesley
- MusicZach Robinson

Single tix $8, Ten-Ticket pack for $35, or get ALL FEST ACCESS FOR $50! https://hifilmfest.eventive.org/passes/buy
When it comes right down to it, for my own personal tastes, monsters rule the roost. Monsters are the source of my love for the genre, they are the characters I most immediately empathize with, and they always will have a segment in my festival. Beyond that, though, monsters serve one of the greatest purposes in horror storytelling: they serve to explain the unknown, give face to our fear, and find some order in chaos. More than that, since monsters are not real (sorry), they are so well suited to metaphor and interpretation, a key characteristic that lends a layer of depth that one can take or leave. Here there be monsters!!!!
Having survived a harrowing plane crash, an army pilot finds himself suspended from a canopy of trees high above the forest floor by his parachute. After making contact with his co-pilot on the ground, they realize that something is stalking them in the dark.
In his book ON WRITING, Stephen King talked about how his stories germinate. He describes how they are all basically a "what if." What if a bullied teenage girl had telekinetic powers? What if most of humanity was wiped out by a plague? When I watched Suspense, in just the seven minutes of runtime, I thought about that. The "what if" in this story is clever, something I don't think I have ever seen before, and, more importantly, absolutely terrifying! -Miguel
This short had my heart pounding in my chest--suspense indeed! It simple, clever and works really well. This will play great with an audience! -Programmer Rebekah Fieschi
Director: Jacob and Ben Burghart grew up in small town Western Kansas, where between farming duties, they spent their time watching Jackie Chan movies and old reruns of The Twilight Zone. Around the ages of 10 and 8, they began shooting short films with friends using an old VHS-C camera. In high school, they used the empty streets of their hometown to film Knight Rider spoofs and the surrounding farmland to stage Westerns.
While attending the University of Kansas they began entering numerous 48 hour film festivals that allowed the brothers to hone their visual storytelling and develop a personal style that was all their own. After finding success in these and other festivals, they began expanding their filmmaking network to Kansas City and beyond.
When not working on film projects, they work in advertising - creating commercial and animated work for clients around the United States.
- Year2019
- Runtime7 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States
- DirectorJacob Burghart, Ben Burghart
- ScreenwriterJacob Burghart, Ben Burghart
- ProducerHolton Witman, Josh Doke, David Gim, Tristian Barr
- CastJelani Talib, Robert Coppage III
- CinematographerChris Durr
- EditorEdward Schoer
- Production DesignCory Hinesley
- MusicZach Robinson