“Voicemail” by Thea Gajic
Beyond the Short Official Premiere
When Zia wakes up to a startling voicemail from a random number, she begins to question the basis of her reality.
Zia is trying to recover from a hang over but she can’t quite remember her night out. A voicemail from an unknown number throws her even further out of a sober state when she realises it has recorded a car crash. Struck with panic at the potential recognition of an ex’s voice on the recording, she seeks help from her nonchalant flatmate, Rachel.
Rachel plunges Zia’s confusion further when she proclaims that one of the voices on the message is Zia’s voice herself. Zia begins an attempt to unravel the truth about her reality and whether or not she has just been witness to the future or a parallel past.
FROM THE DIRECTOR
“Voicemail was birthed from a voicemail I actually received one morning from an unknown number. Nothing tragic happened in the real life version but it sparked an idea and birthed a way for me and long time collaborator Olan Collardy to try something new.
My work prior to Voicemail had been quite deeply seeped in naturalism so it was really fun and freeing for us to play with a new genre and explore how we could push the world on the small budget we had. Like most of our shorts, we shot this in one day and took on a lot of roles ourselves - we decided to strip back on the Production Design as we couldn't afford a designer and so instead invested in a location that did the heavy lifting for us. In order to add to the sharp disparity between the characters and their experiences - I described it to them as if it was like Zia had just watched a horror film and now has the paranoid feeling that everything after that point is haunted. Normal noises become sinister - natural changes become unso.”
-Thea Gajic
CREDITS
CAST
Zia - Vivian Oparah
Rachel - Antonia Rita
With the voices of: Michael Balogun / Fode Simbo / Shaq B. Grant
Written and Directed by // Thea Gajic
Director of Photography // Olan Collardy
Produced by Thea Gajic / Olan Collardy / Wab Studios / My Accomplice
For My Accomplice // Jamie Clark / Clara Gienger
Assistant Producer // Javon Davis
Edited by Amanda Marie-Rose / Thea Gajic / Jelani Pomell
Editing House // Assembly Rooms
Sound Design by Chad Orororo
Music Composer // Tom Tripp
1st Assistant Director // Brittney Hall
Shadowing Director // Savannah Ayoade-Greaves
Focus Puller // Conor Maloney Hill
Camera Loader // Louise Tse
Camera Trainee // Alexandra Brannan
DOP Mentee // Heather Wang / Michael Tebebu
Gaffer // Krunal Saadrani
Spark // John Harkins
Sound Recordist // Bogdan Mecea
MUA // Hollie Uilani
Stills Photography // Jelani Pomell / Mathieu Ajan
Grade // Olan Collardy
Titles Designer // Jelani Pomell
Location Manager // Lois Constantinou
Location Agency // Location Partnership
Lighting Supplier // SHL Lighting
With thanks to Victoria Harris, Matthew Suddaby, At Panavision
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