The Farm
Jisu moved to Canada to escape the darkness inside. But it followed her. And it’s hungry.
Summary: Jisu moves to Canada with her boyfriend to build a new home on an experimental AI-managed farm, fleeing from the pain of losing her son. She settles into her new life, tasked with protecting the farm from predatory wildlife, but is herself stalked in her mind by a Wendigo, using her guilt and shame against her. She consumes and destroys her own relationships as her life unwinds. Using a cross-cultural shamanic ritual, her friends force the creature from her, but when they carelessly merge cultural knowledge and science, they commit a catastrophic mistake: the monster incarnates in the real world. Left alone in her battleground, Jisu must use the hunting skills she’s acquired to literally trap and fight her own demon.
Resolution: Jisu accepts and surrenders the guilt and shame she suffers for having made costly, bad choices. Deceived by what appears to be an ideal home, she finds the inner strength to (literally) overcome her own demons, discovers her own authentic power, and is ultimately welcomed by her new land. The story is told through a madness / horror-based parable of mental health and the supernatural that invokes additional themes of self respect, forgiveness and overcoming suicidal ideation.
Craig Urquhart left the corporate world to work with refugees, and is currently finishing his PhD in Humanities. He has studied with Collab at the Sundance Institute in production, directing, screenwriting, and film development. In 2021-2023, he produced a documentary about family reunification and North Korean refugees, A Long Way To Be With You (2023). He has three short films about AI, currently winning awards on the festival circuit, "Lovely", "Sonata in D" and "While Some Must Sleep".