High-powered Business Executive, Jacqueline Simpson confronts the male gaze, questions female stereotypes, and patiently leads a crew of hung-over employees to success without breaking a sweat.
Sam Bhat Writer, Director, Producer
Aaron Rothermund Director
Charlot Daysh Key Cast “Jacqueline Simpson ”
Steve Kasan Key Cast “Sid Malhotra ”
Project Type: Short
Genres: Drama, Comedy
Runtime: 18 minutes 40 seconds
Completion Date: August 25, 2020
Production Budget: 45,000 USD
Country of Origin: Canada
Country of Filming: Canada
Director Biography
Sam Bhat, Aaron Rothermund
Surprise in the Night’ is the first film of Sam Bhat as Writer, Director, and Producer (Shimaro Entertainment).
Sam Bhat is an Indian born Canadian, an engineer by education, and an artist by inclination. Sam has been living in Ontario, Canada for the past 21 years with his wife and daughter.
He holds a Master of Technology degree with merit from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (1988) and possesses a specialized background in interdisciplinary engineering and geosynthetics management.
He has served the global geosynthetics industry for the past 29 years having worked with some of the world’s leading geogrid organizations in the U.K., U.S.A., and Canada.
He amalgamates his love for the performing arts with his technical engineering skills, triggering a unique synergy which enables him to produce stories which investigate life and its secrets in great depth and from unusual angles.
Sam has been involved with performing art and films since he was 17 and was involved with conducting numerous live shows under the auspices of SPICMACAY ( Society for the Promotion of Indian Classic Music and Culture amongst Youth ) in eighties in India with various highly renowned classic music performers of India, pertaining to Indian Classic dance forms.
Sam has produced and directed various Bollywood events in Toronto in the past years such as Sam’s September Fusion (2015), Sam’s Salute to 106 Years of Bollywood (2019) with charity component for Canadian Cancer Society and 360 Kids, respectively.
Sam’s endeavor is to actively contribute to various demanding global charities in organizing and participating in live entertainment events , with an objective to make a positive change in humanity. Sam believes in ‘ Life is Short – Have Fun and remain positive’
Sam is busy writing more stories and screenplays on riveting social subjects to be made into full feature films.
Aaron Rothermund is an actor, writer, director, and producer.
In 2020, with the support of Videocabaret and the Toronto Arts Council he made two short films. ‘The First Step’ premiered at The Toronto Independent Film Festival, and he won the Best Actor Award from the Toronto Alternative Film Festival.
Aaron made the short film, ‘Respect‘ during the Script to Screen program at Centennial College. In 2020 it premiered at the Hamilton Film Festival and got a honourable mention in the directing category at the Montreal Independent Film Festival.
During his time in film school he wrote and directed two short films ‘Power Lines’ (which premiered at the First-Time Filmmaker Sessions 2019) and ‘Love Wins’ (which premiered at the Lift-Off Sessions 2019).
He worked with the Toronto Fringe Festival to produce his plays ‘Ambiguous’ (winner of Trey Anthony’s Award for Excellence), and ‘Charming Monsters’ (which received two literary reviews.) Aaron previously wrote and directed ‘Friendly Fires‘ (YouTube - Web-Series) based on his experience as an actor in the entertainment industry.
Director Statement
I’ve always been excited by perception versus reality in the human condition. I’ve learned that people trust their first impression, and are rigid in their assumptions. I’m keen to develop stories based on the differences in perspective from one person to another, and expose stereotypes and misinformation. With ‘Surprise in the Night’ I wanted to address the double-standard within management, gender inequality, and stress the importance of environmental preservation. I enjoyed working with Co-director Aaron Rothermund. We experienced a number of bumps due to technical issues, but we met the challenges head-on, and made a beautiful film. Thank you to the cast and crew! I hope you enjoy the show!
Awards
Calcutta International Cult Film Festival 2020– Outstanding Achievement Award
Best Producer/ Director
Nominated for Golden Fox Awards 2021
Canada Shorts – Canadian & International short Film Fest 2020
Award of Commendation
Best Global Shorts 2021
Best Actor – Charlot Daysh
FINALISTS :
1. Canadian Cinematography Awards CaCA 2021
2. Tokyo International Short Film Festival- 2021
3. Seoul International Short Film Festival - 2021
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