Stream the curated UCLAxFilmFest 2025 Official Selections here!
Synopsis
As Arman and Emily sip champagne and settle into their first business class flight to visit Arman’s family in Iran, they have no idea of the disastrous journey they are about to embark upon.
When Arman finds a bag of white powder in the bathroom, he decides not to report it to Carole, the bizarrely terrifying flight attendant.
Upon discovery the couple are interrogated ferociously by Carole, and as they near their destination with Iranian police and a possible death sentence waiting for them, Emily tries to convince her Fiancee to confess the truth but he decides to try and ride out the lie…
They turn against each other, tearing at each other’s throats in front of the entire plane, trying to squirm their way out of the situation while revealing their intimate secrets.
When the truth is finally revealed and everything looks like it should be OK, we realise that the downward journey the couple have made during the flight means that there’s no going back for them.
A tongue in cheek thriller with a dark and sadistic edge, In Plane Sight will make you laugh, cringe and dread your next flight with your loved one.
Director's Statement
My intention for In Plane Sight was that at the beginning, the audience doesn't know if they are watching a drama or a comedy, and then as the narrative continues, the audience starts to realize it’s funny, before things become darker and darker.
As can be typical of short films, the shoot was extremely tough, with a plethora of things going wrong that luckily, with our wonderful crew, we managed to get through. That being said, having directed many professional productions, including TV shows for major studios, this was definitely on the more extreme end - perhaps you can feel it in the tension on screen. Creatively, I am always drawn towards the dark, funny and bizarre end of the spectrum and this definitely fits in with my other short films - and the feature that I'm planning to direct next…
Crew
Ben Gutteridge - Director, Composer and Co-Writer
Ben tells suspenseful tales with twisted smiles He has worked worldwide as a bilingual Director (English/Spanish) on TV Drama for the BBC, Netflix and Channel 4, Commercials for brands from Prada to Volvo and had several shorts in renowned festivals.
He won a Spanish TV Academy Award for the Netflix show Intimacy, has been a BAFTA LA Newcomer (Now BAFTA Member), a Shore Scripts Fund winner and received several other awards and accolades.
Ben is British and lives in LA. He moonlights as a composer (Ben Barber), including on In Plane Sight with which he was nominated for Best Original Score at the International Sound and Film Music Festival.
Behind-the-Scenes
- Runtime14:29
- LanguageEnglish
Stream the curated UCLAxFilmFest 2025 Official Selections here!
Synopsis
As Arman and Emily sip champagne and settle into their first business class flight to visit Arman’s family in Iran, they have no idea of the disastrous journey they are about to embark upon.
When Arman finds a bag of white powder in the bathroom, he decides not to report it to Carole, the bizarrely terrifying flight attendant.
Upon discovery the couple are interrogated ferociously by Carole, and as they near their destination with Iranian police and a possible death sentence waiting for them, Emily tries to convince her Fiancee to confess the truth but he decides to try and ride out the lie…
They turn against each other, tearing at each other’s throats in front of the entire plane, trying to squirm their way out of the situation while revealing their intimate secrets.
When the truth is finally revealed and everything looks like it should be OK, we realise that the downward journey the couple have made during the flight means that there’s no going back for them.
A tongue in cheek thriller with a dark and sadistic edge, In Plane Sight will make you laugh, cringe and dread your next flight with your loved one.
Director's Statement
My intention for In Plane Sight was that at the beginning, the audience doesn't know if they are watching a drama or a comedy, and then as the narrative continues, the audience starts to realize it’s funny, before things become darker and darker.
As can be typical of short films, the shoot was extremely tough, with a plethora of things going wrong that luckily, with our wonderful crew, we managed to get through. That being said, having directed many professional productions, including TV shows for major studios, this was definitely on the more extreme end - perhaps you can feel it in the tension on screen. Creatively, I am always drawn towards the dark, funny and bizarre end of the spectrum and this definitely fits in with my other short films - and the feature that I'm planning to direct next…
Crew
Ben Gutteridge - Director, Composer and Co-Writer
Ben tells suspenseful tales with twisted smiles He has worked worldwide as a bilingual Director (English/Spanish) on TV Drama for the BBC, Netflix and Channel 4, Commercials for brands from Prada to Volvo and had several shorts in renowned festivals.
He won a Spanish TV Academy Award for the Netflix show Intimacy, has been a BAFTA LA Newcomer (Now BAFTA Member), a Shore Scripts Fund winner and received several other awards and accolades.
Ben is British and lives in LA. He moonlights as a composer (Ben Barber), including on In Plane Sight with which he was nominated for Best Original Score at the International Sound and Film Music Festival.
Behind-the-Scenes
- Runtime14:29
- LanguageEnglish
