A SHORT FILM IN ASSOCIATION WITH UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH WALES “POP!” STARRING AWESTA SULLYMAN, FELIX ATLAS EDWARDS, HOLLY FRY, ROB PEACOCK, AND CAI ROBERTS
DIRECTED BY GEORGIA HANSFORD, WRITTEN AND EDITED BY CARLA DEPAULA, CINEMATOGRAPHY BY LAILA MANN AND XANDER BUTLER COOMBE, SOUND BY ELLA MORGAN AND PRODUCED BY MEGAN ROGERS
PRODUCTION TYPE: SHORT FILM
RUN TIME: 16:50 MINUTES
GENRE: BUBBLEGUM HORROR
PRODUCTION BUDGET: £2,000
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
FILMING ORIGIN: WALES, UK
FORMAT: 23.9:1, 24FPS, 5:1 SURROUND SOUND
CAMERA TECHNOLOGY: BLACKMAGIC URSA AND BLACKMAGIC POCKET 4K
RESOLUTION: PRORES 444 HD
FRAMERATE: 25 FPS
London, 2024. Rising star Anna Cherry (26) is preparing to shoot a music video for her debut single, a homage to her childhood idol ‘Angelina’.
Now, Anna has found an online presence putting her into the spotlight for the first time. The pressures of fame are high, the media already comparing the two stars. Anna obsessively watches an Angelina music video she hopes to replicate where a glitter explosion coats her body. She travels to set, passing billboards of herself that warp into Angelina. To further put Anna on edge. Angelina’s song plays and distorts, as if speaking Anna’s name.
On set, Anna feels a pressure haunting her. Her reflection becomes unrecognisable, and reminiscent of an inhuman double of Angelina. The line between reality and hallucinations fade, and after her song distorts once again during a performance, she uncontrollably lashes out.
Anna’s big reveal shot in her video is supposed to replicate Angelina’s glitter explosion- but instead glass shards pierce into her body, cutting her skin. This causes her to spiral further when its revealed that she is covered in glitter after all.
The film ends with Anna coming face to face with ‘Angelina’ in her costume. In an intense and brutal chase scene, Anna is confronted by her guilt and fears through Angelinas distorted voice. They fight each other, finishing with Anna ripping the skin off Angelina’s face. It ends with Anna about to record her final scene, as now unrecognisable blend of herself and Angelina.
As a director, the part I loved about POP! the most was that it explores the corrosive effects of obsession, perfectionism, and the high cost of unchecked ambition. At its core, the film is a character study, a descent into the blurred space between performance and identity, reality, and illusion. I was inspired by films such as Perfect Blue, Black Swan, The Substance, and Smile 2, films that confront the unravelling of the self in the pursuit of an ideal. Like those stories, POP! follows our protagonist, Anna, who is likeable and sympathetic at first, but then she shifts into something darker and more ambiguous. By the end, I wanted the audience to question whether they still recognize or want to root for her. Visually, we made a deliberate choice to embrace the bright, saturated palette of the early 2000s, Y2K inspired colours that evoke a sense of nostalgia. This aesthetic serves to heighten the tension, creating a vivid contrast between the film’s vibrant surface and the unsettling psychological/body horror. We also experimented with aspect ratio shifts to signal moments when the lines between internal and external reality begin to blur. With POP!, I want to leave the audience unsettled; the kind of discomfort that lingers and prompts questions. My hope is that viewers walk away still thinking about Anna Cherry, her choices, and what they reveal about our own fixation on perfection, image, and control.
Carla DE PAULA
This is Carla’s first screenplay, a candycoated short exploring the life of a pop star through a hyper-feminine horror style. As both the Writer and Editor on this project, she brought her unique vision that’s shaped by her love of bubblegum pop and the unapologetic glamour of the early 2000s era.
This is Megan Rogers fifth time producing a short film. She has committed herself to telling stories she feels personally passionate about, this includes creating queer stories. Her 2024 short film ‘Mirrored’ in which she produced and wrote, was featured in LEZDIFF, a female led film festival centred around queer women and queer stories.
Megan’s passion about female led stories is what drew her to working on POP! She found that she was able to express her more artistic self through telling female stories.
Megan is aiming to go into the industry to specialise in a production/producer role and is also wanting to get experience with directing and the role of a first AD.
POP! is the second film Georgia has directed throughout her time at university. She specialises particularly in directing for fiction film and her passion for creating visual storytelling has grown through previous experimentation and workshops.
After taking on roles such as producer and cinematographer in prior films, during this final year of university she has found a love for directing and writing and is excited to enter into the film industry.
Taking on the role of Sound supervisor for POP! is Ella. Over the past year, she has expanded her expertise by diving into post-production, where she has developed a keen interest in how sound shapes and enhances storytelling. Ella has worked across various projects sharpening her skills in both technical and creative aspects of sound, allowing her to refine her knowledge in sound editing, mixing, and design.
Ella’s passion for post-sound production has grown steadily and as she approaches graduation she is eager to specialise in sound in the industry.
Laila’s passion for cinematography has been amplified by projects she has worked on over the last three years over the time of the university course, understanding the importance of visual story telling within a film. Along with cinematography she has also specialised in postproduction editing on previous projects.
Within the film industry Laila plans to take these two roles further and focus on both production and post-production job opportunities.
Xander has served as the cinematographer on four projects to date. He was drawn to POP! for its ambitious scope and strong visual potential. With a natural inclination toward visual storytelling, Xander excels at storyboarding and also brings experience as a screenwriter. POP! has been one of his favorite projects to work on, and he looks forward to continuing to grow his career in both cinematography and screenwriting.
Nathaniel is a part of the art department specialising in set design and prop making. He helped create the candy land and cake counterpart set for the music video sets on Pop! Though his design style gravitates towards retro and sci-fi/ fantasy, Nathaniel enjoys taking on ambitious projects like the vibrant and glittering production design for pop!
Nate has done work on TV show ‘Silent Witness’ and states he would love to do this again in the future. His main ambition in life is to one day design and make the Doctor Who Tardis.
Daisy Guiver is part of the art department team, overseeing with partner Nate the construction and design of the studio stage set up. As well as this, being on hand with set dressing for both bedroom and dressing room sets. She has always been keen to involve herself in this style of project and specifically enjoyed creating the larger theatrical sweet props for the music video scenes. She is enthusiastic about gaining further experience and expanding her exploration within the TV and Film industry
Awesta (West) Sullyman is an Iraqi born actress who was raised in Wales and is currently Cardiff based. She has been working hard to achieve her goals of becoming an actress and has secured her first spot on the screen with her debut role in POP! Between acting and training, West also loves to cook traditional Kurdish food and also mixing electronic music.
West is an extremely talented individual who is looking forward to finding out what her next steps in the industry looks like.
Felix Atlas Edwards is a stage and screen actor with a love for fantasy, sci-fi and coming-of-age stories with bold characters and great messages. They were delighted to play the delightfully haunting Angelina in POP! and loved working with the team to create their own choreography and sing Angelina’s debut song, “I Know You Love Me.”
Felix is a member of the National Youth Theatre, certified in armed and unarmed combat with the BADC and holds a Professional Diploma in acting based performance. Felix has recently starred in several short films, appeared on the BBC and devised and staged theatrical work.
Felix travelled internationally to train and compete in several styles of dance for ten years, later writing and releasing their own music in Wales With bases across the United Kingdom and Ireland, Felix still travels frequently for work and has an undeniable love of adventure. Outside of the creative industry, Felix is incredibly passionate about animals and nature, and studies the sciences for the love of it. They want to utilise their career and knowledge to contribute to conservation studies, and hopes to one day host a nature documentary that allows them to come along for the journey.
Holly Fry has performed in a number of well acclaimed productions over the years. She has recently wrapped on a film with a BAFTA award winning director. Her short film ‘Birds and the Bees’ which was produced by Georgia Tennant is due on it’s festival run this year. Holly is best known for her work in comedy and has even been shortlisted for the ‘Funny Women Content Creator’ award and has been in a BBC comedy short that received 185k views online.
Holly is highly skilled in singing and sometimes dabbles in dance where she has skills in African dance contemporary, Caribbean Dance, Dancehall, Freestyle dance, and Hip Hop. Holly is also trained in stage combat. As well as her many talents on screen she is also a very talented swimmer and often has fun cycling and horse riding.
Rob Peacock is a South Wales based Actor who has been in the industry of acting, as well as theatre, for over a decade. Rob went on to secure a place at East 15 Acting School to study on the Cert HE course where he learnt the foundation methods and training in becoming an actor as well as how to audition for 3 year courses at drama school. He has worked on features/shorts and television over his time including ‘Translations’ and feature ‘Six Rounds’. Rob will be playing our Older Son within the film
Cai Thyer-Roberts is currently a 24 year old actor based in South Wales. He studied for two years in Los Angeles as an actor and has arrived back home to pursue his main goal which is to act in film, tv and stage. Last year, he worked with the National Youth Theatre over three weeks to develop his skills and is now a member. So far this year, ‘POP!’ is one of eight projects he has worked on. When not performing, he adores collecting physical media. This is something he plans to keep doing and eventually create his own Blockbuster for his friends and family to enjoy movies they have always wanted to see.
Crew
WRITER AND EDITOR
PRODUCER AND FIRST AD
DIRECTOR SOUND
CINEMATOGRAPHER
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Extra Crew
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
CAMERA ASSISTANT
CAMERA ASSISTANT
CAMERA ASSISTANT
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
LIGHTING
STUNT COORDINATORS
STUNT COORDINATORS
FIRST AD
Carla De Paula
Megan Rogers
Georgia Hansford
Ella Morgan
Laila Mann
Xander Butler Coombe
Rachel Smith
Solomon Harrison
Innis Major
Gareth Edwards
Freya Townley
Daniel George-Thomas
Will Foster
James Tram
Jack Randall
ART DEPARTMENT
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
COSTUME DESIGNER
MAKE-UP
MAKE-UP ARTIST
MAKE-UP ARTIST
MAKE-UP
MUSIC
SONG WRITER
SONG WRITER AND VOCALIST
ANNA CHERRY
https://www.instagra m.com/pop the movie/
FAQQ. What cameras were needed to make the film?
A. Two cameras, black magic ursa and pocket black magic
Q. How many shoot days were needed to make the film?
A. About 11 shoot days over January and February
Q. What are the visual references and inspirations?
A, Black Swan (2010) and Perfect Blue (1997) heavily inspired the visuals within the film.
Q. Does Anna have a support system and how do they respond to her breakdown?
A. Anna has a manager and her assistant Darcy, who do not understand what is happening to her but notice things going wrong and want to help but Anna pushed them away a lot.
Q. Are there moments where silence or distorted audio is used to build tension?
A. Throughout POP! Anna hears things from a distorted voice of Angelina to her own scream. There is also use of sound to mimic her ears ringing before her first breakdown happens. There is a good blend of diegetic and non-diegetic sound mixing between Anna’s mind and physical form.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-rogers-482b42357/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laila-mann-1395b3364/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ella-morgan-489b371b3/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/carla-de-paula-b009262b2/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/xander-butler-coombe-
https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgia-hansford-4317712b6/