Psychosis
Alexia Bazaavan (Writer & Director)
Film Synopsis
Set in the 1950s, a detective is set to investigate the truth behind a gruesome murder, the main suspect of the crime being the victim’s wife. During the investigation, the detective develops an infatuation with this mysterious platinum-blonde woman, leading him to discover an even bigger secret than the identity of the killer, a discovery that will change his life forever. The film is heavily inspired by the filmmaking style of Alfred Hitchcock. Psychosis explores the deep rooted and hidden trauma of the main character, Richard, showcasing a visual and auditor representation of his debilitating mental illnesses, Schizoaffective Disorder and Dissociative Identity Disorder, that have led this character, create an illusionary world where his wife, would still be alive.
This film was produced as part of a final-year practice-based dissertation project.
Cast
Sadbh McKeown - Rita Novak / Judy
Alex Candlin - Richard Carter / Jack Turner
Tim Tranter - Mr. Higgins / Dr Scott Higgins
Ewan McManus
Teaser
Stills
Crew Crew List
Yannie is a 3rd year film student. She has worked as one of the Directors of Photography in Psychosis and has also participated as a cinematographer on various short films. Also, she has experience as part of camera and producer teams in several other projects.
Yahan is a Film, Media, and Culture Studies student from Taiwan.
“As a film study student, film is a meaningful ideology medium for me, using symbolic representations to convey meaning. Unlike words, it uses images to tell a story. What is fascinating about films is the depth of meaning behind them, the stories that are empathetic and deeply moving.”
Valentina is a 3rd year Film and Creative Writing student. She has had experience directing and editing several short films, as well as being production designer. This is her debut as Director of Photography.
Naomi is a third year Film and Creative Writing student. She has directed two short films, one of which is an animation, and she has been a producer as well as a sound recordist for a variety of other short films and personal projects. She has also worked as a cinematographer for a short film.
As dancer-turned filmmaker, Michaël directed and choreographed numerous dance, music, and narrative video shorts and worked as story consultant on Belgian reality show Kamp Waes. He released his debut feature film Where the Skin Lies through Hulu in the US.
Currently, he is a postgraduate researcher at LICA and an intimacy coordinator qualified by Intimacy Directors and Coordinators in the US.
Max is a first year Film and German student at Lancaster enjoying gaining experience on film productions to gauge where he fits best. They’ve been involved in 2 as runner and photographer, and since Psychosis his own 2 minute short as writer-director. They also does landscape photography.
Luke is a third year film student with experience mostly in sound and cinematography. He has worked on a number of projects in both major and minor roles with a hope to continue in the future.
Labis is a Fine Art and Film graduate at Lancaster University and takes interest in portraiture and the perception around the beauty in the different characteristics each one has. He has also participated in a few university film projects and has taken some photography classes.
Jess has been involved in over twenty short film productions in a range of roles including director, producer, and editor.
“I love being on the set of films no matter how big or small my role, and am thrilled to be a part of Psychosis and to have worked with so many talented people.”
Jade is a 2nd year film and sociology student, wishing to explore more with the film world.
Itzel is a 3rd year Physics and Astrophysics student from Spain with a passion for films.
“I started to get involved in filmmaking thanks to my housemate who does film studies and now I have taken part in multiple student productions.”
Flora is a final-year Film Studies student who is devoted to bringing cinematic visions to life. Throughout the course of her studies, she has participated in a number of short film productions taking up a range of roles but mainly as producer and editor, some of her works include reminiscence (2023), a multi-festival selected narrative short, The Female Curse (2024), and White Daffodil (2024). She has also taken up directing and is currently working on her upcoming short film, Behind The Smile (2024).
Felicia is an intermediate student pursuing an Honours degree in Film and Theatre at Lancaster University, UK. With a background in social work, she's passionate about portraying social issues and individual experiences through storytelling. In her free time, she studies acting and combat for stage and screen, immerses herself in films and theatre, and aims to create impactful art that provokes conversation.
Eve is a film student interested in gaining experience of the different roles within production. On set, she learnt about how to adjust the settings of audio equipment to ensure good quality recordings in different environments.
Clodagh is a freelance storyboard artist and Lancaster graduate based in the West Midlands. She is currently the resident concept artist for Splendid Isolation Productions and has created a variety of storyboards for student projects.
Cherry is a second-year film, media and cultural student at Lancaster university. She has worked in several student short film projects before and it is her first time being a gaffer.
Carolina Silva is a Brazilian Filmmaker who is specifically passionate about creating symbolic and surrealist films. Although their aspiration is directing, she has been exploring other branches of filmmaking to gain a wider perspective. In Psychosis, Carolina is a Behind the Scenes Photographer and is thrilled to be a part of such a dedicated team.
Bailey is a Fine Art and Film student and he has been composing music on his laptop for most of his childhood. He has recently been scoring films using recorded instruments to create authentic sounding orchestra pieces that work well to pastiche and develop from traditional film composers and their efforts, such as Bernard Herrmann and Max Steiner. “Through my course I have met many talented filmmakers and had the privilege of working with them for both composing, sound design, but also editing and cinematography. It was a pleasure to take the processes I’ve learnt and apply them to Psychosis - melding traditional but also new ways of exploring the visceral and the psyche in cinema.”
Azra has a thirst for writing and art, never satisfied and always finding a new project to work on, always. She is currently working as a freelance writer and artist for an ongoing series online as well as writing a script for a short film soon.
Anna is a Fine Art and Film student. She has worked as a production designer, most recently for Paint (2024), as well as a cinematographer, and editor. She also enjoys directing her own shorts and video art, such as Dupe (2024), an art/film/youtube hybrid exploring the construction of an online persona.
Alexia is a third-year Film student with a minor in Theatre Studies at Lancaster University. She has been recently interested in Directing and tried to gain experience in this role by writing and directing 3 short films, Weeping Willow (2024), The Female Curse (2024) and Psychosis (2024). Along with directing, she has a strong interest in production design, costume design, makeup, and SFX makeup as she is highly interested in creating complex visuals in movies. On top of directing her short films, she had the opportunity to work in almost 10 other short films, in different roles, such as production designer, makeup artist, behind-the-scenes photographer, boom operator and costume designer.
“After graduating from Lancaster University I plan on trying to start a career in the British film industry, my dream being to work everyday on a movie set.”
Alexia Bazavan - Writer / Director / Production Designer / Co-Editor
Flora Ng - Producer / Editor
Yannie Ng - Director of Photography / Assistant Producer
Valentina Caneschi - Director of Photography
Yahan Hsu - Director of Photography
Itzel Franco García
Jade Zhang - Gaffer
Cherry Tsang - Gaffer
Eve Harding - Sound Recording Engineer
Naomi Onakunle - Boom Operator
Labis Moutousis - Boom Operator
Azra Meliha Amran – Boom Operator
Felicia Chu - Script Supervisor
Michaël Boucherie - Intimacy Coordinator
Bailey Newington - Composer
Clodagh Delahunty-Forrest - Storyboard Artist
Jess Broad - Clapper
Luke Shilliam - Runner
Anna Davis - BTS Photographer
Carolina Silva - BTS Photographer
Max Bickerton - BTS Photographer / Runner