Chicago-based writer-director Hannah Schierbeek continues her exploration of intimate human stories set against vast socioecological backdrops with her latest short film. Written, directed, and produced by Schierbeek, the film follows a lone drifter whose isolated existence is disrupted when he discovers a young escapee from a survivalist cult hiding in his truck. What unfolds is a stark, wintry meditation on self-preservation, environmental collapse, and the fragile but enduring bonds that form between strangers.
The film is produced by Schierbeek alongside Trenton Davis, with co-producer Alemberg Ang. Cinematography is by Vincent Prochoroff, editing by Brandon Bunner, and an evocative score by Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan. The crew also includes costume designer Anika Ladero, assistant director Meghan Shannon, re-recording mixer Henry Hawks, VFX artist Keaton McQuarrie, and colorist Sam Howells. The film stars Eli Vidis Newman, Taika Augustaitis, and Heather Evans. It is a Prima Materia Pictures production.
Schierbeek is known for her previous shorts “A Black Hole Near Kent County” (Cinema Femme Short Film Festival) and “An Alternative Method” (BFI Future Film Festival). Utilizing the North American Midwest as her creative cosmos, her work consistently probes interpersonal relationships shaped by today’s socioecological dilemmas.
We spoke with Schierbeek about the origins of the film, collaborating with friends, crafting its stark visual language, and the emotional core beneath its icy surface.
*Hannah Schierbeek was the recipient of our 2025 Breaking Down Walls Mentorship Program for her short film “A Black Hole Near Kent County.” She was matched with filmmaker David Bruckner as her mentor.
On the origins of the story
Schierbeek traces the film’s earliest inspiration to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where she spent much of her childhood.
“I was visiting a friend from high school who was living in a ghost town,” she explains. “There are a lot of former mining communities up there. While I was staying with him, we had no Wi-Fi, no cell service. I started imagining what it would look like if people tried to re-inhabit a ghost town or isolate themselves completely. What would their belief systems be? How would they live?”
That sense of place became foundational. The film was shot in the Upper Peninsula, and Schierbeek even brought her friend on board as a producer. As she developed the cult’s lore, she drew from her own upbringing and American ideas of self-preservation, layering in subtle science fiction elements—such as the concept of thawing permafrost—to suggest a world on the brink.
“It just kept getting deeper,” she says. “Even though we only see parts of that world for a few minutes, there’s a much bigger mythology underneath.”
Casting first-time actors
All of the performers in the film are first-time actors—an intentional and deeply personal choice.
Taika Augustaitis, who plays the cult escapee, is a close friend of Schierbeek’s and was cast early in the writing process. “I was almost writing with them in mind,” she says. “I could envision the kind of character they could embody.”
Eli Vidis Newman, who plays the drifter, came on board just weeks before shooting. After struggling to find the right fit, Schierbeek realized Newman—also a writer-director who works in sci-fi and horror—understood the tonal sensibilities she was aiming for.
“I felt like his personality could already align with the character,” she says. “I’m so grateful I could work with friends. I think they brought something really authentic.”
Crafting the film’s visual language
Cinematographer Vincent Prochoroff, a returning collaborator, helped shape the film’s stark, wintry aesthetic.
“We wanted it to feel cold and isolating,” Schierbeek says. “Very stark.”
Working with a limited budget, the team forwent lighting equipment entirely. With just a camera body and tripod, they leaned heavily into handheld shots and natural light.
“Not having lights actually freed us,” she explains. “We could move more. The handheld movement, especially with figures in the background, made the world feel larger than what we physically had access to.”
The result is a subdued, immersive atmosphere that heightens both the environmental desolation and the intimacy between the characters.
Sound design and score
Sound plays a crucial role in building tension and perspective. Re-recording mixer and sound designer Henry Hawks, another frequent collaborator, helped anchor the audience within the drifter’s subjective experience.
“In the final scenes, even when we’re seeing him from a distance or through windows, we still hear his breath,” Schierbeek says. “It isolates us into his perspective and intensifies the tension.”
The score by Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan blends almost imperceptibly with the sound design. Initially experimenting with guitar, the team ultimately pivoted to synths to evoke a subtle futuristic tone.
“We wanted the music to merge with the sound design,” she says. “There are moments that feel like sound design but are actually very subtle score.”
Themes of friendship in an apocalyptic world
Though the film unfolds in a bleak, possibly dying world, Schierbeek sees its emotional core as unexpectedly hopeful.
“Ultimately, it’s a story about friendship,” she says. “About this unlikely bond that forms between strangers in a very dark and isolating world.”
Even in the face of environmental collapse and death, connection persists. “The final line of the script is something like, ‘He senses that his friend is not far away.’ Even at the end of the world, that feeling prevails.”
Environmental urgency and self-preservation
While not an overt “impact film,” the story reflects Schierbeek’s concern about contemporary ecological crises and the instinct toward self-preservation.
“I’ve seen in communities I grew up in that when we start to witness environmental destruction or apocalyptic feelings, the initial instinct can be to self-serve,” she says. “I hope the film shows that that instinct can have consequences. There are other ways to build community—more giving ways.”
In this frozen, thinning world, survival is not only about hoarding resources, but about recognizing shared humanity.
What’s next?
After securing a world premiere, Schierbeek is taking the next steps one at a time.
“I was really focused on finding a world premiere and haven’t thought much beyond that,” she admits. While initially conceived as a proof of concept, she’s unsure whether she’ll expand this specific world into a feature. “But I could definitely see it as proof of style and themes I want to keep exploring.”
With her distinct Midwestern lens and an unwavering focus on human connection amid crisis, Hannah Schierbeek continues to carve out a cinematic voice that feels both intimate and urgently contemporary.
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