Lord's Valley
From the Archives
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Short Films, 02-Sep-2026
A young man's car breaks down in the woods and he finds himself in the home of a lonely woman. Matthew Francescani directs “Lord’s Valley,” a lo-fi thriller, slowly building on its surrealism over the course of an evening. Off an unknown backroad, the young man sets foot in search of help. It’s a dreary winter night, but he continues his way, eventually spotting a blotch of light behind rows of dead trees. He knocks on the door, and a woman appears. Unassuming, she agrees to help him get a hold of a mechanic and also shares that her husband isn’t home. The two tip-toe around her lust, his isolation, and a mutual desire to get going. Made of crunching snow and a dark sea of grain, it's a nightmarish account leaning more uncanny than horror. -JM. Director: Matthew Francescani. Cast: Santiago Mallan, Jean Coleman. DP: Matthew Francescani. Editor: Matthew Francescani. Producer: Emma Broadbent. AD: Emma Broadbent. Gaffer: Jode Sparks. Sound Recordist: Jinho Myung. Original Score: Trevor Rivkin. Post-Production Sound: Trevor Rivkin. Production Design: Marta Sharapova. AC: Thos Brown. Casting: Shae Sennett.
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