A Kelowna-based filmmaker is taking his first-ever project overseas to the Breakout Film Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Zachary Mulla is the creator behind Mad Mulla Films, which premiered its first-ever short film ‘Crazed Conveyance’ for a socially distanced audience at the Orchard Park Cineplex in Kelowna on Oct. 30, before making its way to Youtube.
The short-horror-film begins when a strange crate gets delivered to Hayley Anders door in the middle of the night. Curiosity and fear trickles through her bones when she discovers nothing inside but an awful, rotting smell and a message on the top that reads “A Gift For You.” Hayley experiences terrifying visions and feelings of possession when she tries to get rid of the crate, only for it to reappear at her doorstep.
Hayley needs to find answers and she’s running out of time.
Mulla said the inspiration behind the short film came from a novel he began to write under the same title. Using the same premise, he condensed the book’s plot into a short story, added some new characters and went for it.
“I had the script finished in about two weeks. My main goal is to become a writer and director for the film industry, and this is the perfect start to a portfolio,” said Mulla.
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As a first-time filmmaker, Mulla wanted to keep things simple. Using a DSLR camera, a shotgun mic, an audio recorder and a Macbook, he produced the film for a small budget of $1,700. Instead of hiring actors, he used his close friends as the actors, including his girlfriend Kayla Whyte who stars as Hayley Anders.
“Using my friends and girlfriend as the actors and actresses of the film made things a lot easier than how I would imagine it if I used people I never met,” said Mulla.
He explained it was fun to learn and grow together while making a film with his cast.
Mulla hopes his short film will inspire other new filmmakers to take a chance and be creative. He also hopes the film will interest people enough to watch his future films and garner interest from the film industry.
“It would be a dream come true for someone to contact me, asking if they could purchase one of my scripts, which would be entirely life-changing,” he said.
“I am creating films for everyone’s enjoyment, and it’s those people that would help me reach ultimate success.”
The next upcoming film from Mad Mulla is titled ‘Whatever It Takes’, scheduled to be released in the new year. ‘Crazed Conveyance’ airs at the Breakout Film Festival on Dec. 30.
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<div style="color: #808080
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