DARKER THAN YOU THINK
Graphic & Disturbing Horror Shorts
(Various Countries, 94 min)
BITERS AND BLEEDERS
(US, 22 min, 2023) Dispossessed couple Tad and Penelope have fallen on hard times. Beneath the thin veneer of their marriage lies a rotting core of regret, frustration, and contempt. When Tad's mother unexpectedly dies and Tad comes into possession of his family home, he believes it will be the key to solving everything. But what awaits them in that house is not salvation. What awaits them is the final push that will finally send them toppling over that razor-thin edge into true despair. An infestation of monstrous bed bugs eats through the home and Penelope’s psyche. She becomes increasingly desperate for any escape from the countless new bites, the constant feeling of something crawling across her skin, the punishing summer heat, her husband. It’s time for Penelope to purge herself.
THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS
(US, 20 min, 2023) Two girlfriends pick up a traumatized woman near the scene of an accident. But something isn't right about their passenger and soon the good Samaritans are trapped in a nightmare ride they'll never forget.
THE LOVERS (“Els Amants”)
(Spain, 23 min, 2023) It's been years since Ovidi disappeared in the sea without leaving a trail. Teresa, his widow, still visits the cave where he was seen for the last time. Ten years later, the lovers will meet again, although not in the way they would have expected.
In Spanish with English subtitles
Viewer’s Guide: Sexual assault and strong sexual content
THE QUEUE
(US, 11 min, 2023) An internet content moderator confronts the darkness within the videos he screens.
VOLITION
(US, 18 min, 2023) After getting kidnapped and taken to a sex trafficking house on the outskirts of a southern town, Emma enlists the other victims to dive head first into a volatile escape plan where every girl must fight for her life.
THE LOVERS (“Els Amants”)
(Spain, 23 min, 2023)
It's been years since Ovidi disappeared in the sea without leaving a trail. Teresa, his widow, still visits the cave where he was seen for the last time. Ten years later, the lovers will meet again, although not in the way they would have expected.
In Spanish with English subtitles
Viewer’s Guide: Sexual assault and strong sexual content
Director Biography - Joan Vives Lozano
With his first short film, EL ESCARABAJO AL FIN DE LA CALLE, Joan Vives Lozano was selected in more than 200 festivals, ten of which qualified for the Academy Awards. Among them, CLERMONT FERRAND, SEATLLE IFF, INTERFILM BERLIN, HOLLYSHORTS, CINEMA JOVE, VANCOUVER IFF or BIFAN (KOREA). He won more than 40 awards, including "best Ibero-American short film" at the Guadalajara Film Festival (Mexico).
- Year2023
- Runtime23 minutes
- LanguageSpanish
- CountrySpain
- PremiereNorth Carolina Premiere
- Subtitle LanguageEnglish
- Content WarningSexual assault and strong sexual content
- DirectorJoan Vives Lozano
- ScreenwriterJoan Vives Lozano
- ProducerJoan Vives Lozano
- CastInma Sancho
DARKER THAN YOU THINK
Graphic & Disturbing Horror Shorts
(Various Countries, 94 min)
BITERS AND BLEEDERS
(US, 22 min, 2023) Dispossessed couple Tad and Penelope have fallen on hard times. Beneath the thin veneer of their marriage lies a rotting core of regret, frustration, and contempt. When Tad's mother unexpectedly dies and Tad comes into possession of his family home, he believes it will be the key to solving everything. But what awaits them in that house is not salvation. What awaits them is the final push that will finally send them toppling over that razor-thin edge into true despair. An infestation of monstrous bed bugs eats through the home and Penelope’s psyche. She becomes increasingly desperate for any escape from the countless new bites, the constant feeling of something crawling across her skin, the punishing summer heat, her husband. It’s time for Penelope to purge herself.
THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS
(US, 20 min, 2023) Two girlfriends pick up a traumatized woman near the scene of an accident. But something isn't right about their passenger and soon the good Samaritans are trapped in a nightmare ride they'll never forget.
THE LOVERS (“Els Amants”)
(Spain, 23 min, 2023) It's been years since Ovidi disappeared in the sea without leaving a trail. Teresa, his widow, still visits the cave where he was seen for the last time. Ten years later, the lovers will meet again, although not in the way they would have expected.
In Spanish with English subtitles
Viewer’s Guide: Sexual assault and strong sexual content
THE QUEUE
(US, 11 min, 2023) An internet content moderator confronts the darkness within the videos he screens.
VOLITION
(US, 18 min, 2023) After getting kidnapped and taken to a sex trafficking house on the outskirts of a southern town, Emma enlists the other victims to dive head first into a volatile escape plan where every girl must fight for her life.
THE LOVERS (“Els Amants”)
(Spain, 23 min, 2023)
It's been years since Ovidi disappeared in the sea without leaving a trail. Teresa, his widow, still visits the cave where he was seen for the last time. Ten years later, the lovers will meet again, although not in the way they would have expected.
In Spanish with English subtitles
Viewer’s Guide: Sexual assault and strong sexual content
Director Biography - Joan Vives Lozano
With his first short film, EL ESCARABAJO AL FIN DE LA CALLE, Joan Vives Lozano was selected in more than 200 festivals, ten of which qualified for the Academy Awards. Among them, CLERMONT FERRAND, SEATLLE IFF, INTERFILM BERLIN, HOLLYSHORTS, CINEMA JOVE, VANCOUVER IFF or BIFAN (KOREA). He won more than 40 awards, including "best Ibero-American short film" at the Guadalajara Film Festival (Mexico).
- Year2023
- Runtime23 minutes
- LanguageSpanish
- CountrySpain
- PremiereNorth Carolina Premiere
- Subtitle LanguageEnglish
- Content WarningSexual assault and strong sexual content
- DirectorJoan Vives Lozano
- ScreenwriterJoan Vives Lozano
- ProducerJoan Vives Lozano
- CastInma Sancho