The trailer for writer/director Rioghnach Ní Ghrioghair’s short film Don’t Go Where I Can’t Find You has been released ahead of the film’s World Premiere at the Slash Film Festival 2021 in Vienna later this month.
The festival is Austria’s largest event dedicated to genre cinema. In addition the film is nominated for the Méliès d’Argent Award, the Méliès International Festivals Federation’s award for cinematic quality and creativity in short films.
Margaret, a composer, suffers a catastrophic loss when her partner meets a violent end. Freya believed there were spirits in the house – and the pursuit plunged her to her death. In the silence of grief, Margaret becomes obsessed with a recording of Freya’s fatal fall – and something shifts in the house. Someone is still there….
To draw out the spectre from the shadows, Margaret creates a suite of music. Her lead violinist, Louise is concerned – and the secrets of their relationship begin to surface. As Freya’s ghost begins to step out from the shadows, Margaret starts to lose control on reality and slips dangerously close to the edge of the abyss….
Don’t Go Where I Can’t Find You stars Marie Ruane (Broken Law, Rapt) as Margaret, Juliette Crosbie (Lucky in Love, The Other Lamb) as Louise, and dancer/actor/singer Stephanie Dufresne (As Luck Would Have It) as Freya.
Writer/director Ní Ghrioghair describes the film as a hyper-sensory sonic horror, a genre-leaning drama about the lingering pain, trauma of grief and the redemptive power of music and art. Don’t Go Where I Can’t Find You is an emotional ghost story, it’s about how music and creativity release us from our inner prisons. The film encourages us to access the film’s intuitive emotional arc through the elements of sound and music. This film’s ‘ghost’ exists in the frequencies of music, of ASMR recordings and the shifting sounds of the empty house. It is also a queer love story between three women and is a purely immersive cinematic experience through a world rich in melodrama, heightened emotion and a lush setting. It’s an essentially feminine space with a stylish 1970s- tinged elegance.
The score is written by Ergodos Musicians, Garret Sholdice and Benedict Schlepper Connolly, who have created a score that portrays the character’s internal journey through anger, longing and release and gives weight to the intuitive aural experience of the film.
The still life of the film’s look created by Director of Photography Evan Barry, who draws inspiration from the films of Yorgos Lanthimos and 1970’s techniques, namely slow zoom lens shots, long takes, a range of close ups and wide angles to allow the air for the sound design to flourish in the space of big rooms.
Sound Design comes from Garret Farrell, who sets out a lush multi-layer soundscape of tones and tactile sounds, specifically designed to engage the aural sense in the audience. The effervescence of a sensual and creative world was always at the heart of the clothing, designed by Saileóg O’Halloran and the production design by Ellen Kirk.
Don’t Go Where I Can’t Find You is produced by Claire Mc Cabe for Samson Films, with the support of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s First Frames short film scheme and Creative Europe MEDIA slate funding.
We’re so delighted to have the film premiere at Slash Film Festival in beautiful Vienna. It’s such a cool, fun genre festival and the team have been really supportive and wonderful. We’re also up for an award – the Melies d’Argent from the Melies Foundation for Fantastic films – which is great to start our festival run with. Coupled with the stunning Kino Kulturhaus we’re screening at, I can’t wait to get down to Vienna and release the film to the world.
Rioghnach Ní Ghrioghair, Writer/Director
