Birdie

Birdie, Shelly Lauman's intense psychological horror short film, taps into the universal fear many women experience when alone in public spaces.

The film confronts viewers with a relatable scenario as it follows a woman entering a gut-clenching game of cat-and-mouse with a stranger in an underground train station. Lauman's striking approach dramatises the unseen horrors that happen in plain sight, transforming the gendered violence of the male gaze into a jump-scaring monster. With little dialogue, rhythm, blocking, and editing convey the escalating panic, carried by Maeve Dermody's stellar performance. The film resonates not just with women who often feel preyed upon, but anyone threatened by unwanted sexual advances or intimidation.

Lauman's work raises questions about how one should react and the insidious nature of the toxic male gaze without overt action. The two men become villains by sheer imagination, challenging audiences to decide if the threat was real. This insightful point explores how victims question circumstances, self-doubting their reality while hyper-aware of potential threats – the mental tax women face.

Shot on location in Sydney, Australia by Anna Howard ACS, with a 4:3 aspect ratio enhancing claustrophobia, Birdie's lack of music focuses the haunting sound design on the woman's trapped, outnumbered feeling, heightening suspense.

Produced by Lizzie Cater and Everyone We Know productions and Executive Produced by Jessica Mitchell and Bethany Bruce, the film enjoyed a stellar festival run, premiering internationally at the Toronto International Film Festival where it was one of the first films picked up for distribution by Fox Searchlight's new Spotlight Shorts initiative and given a theatrical run as part of an Oscars campaign for nomination.