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DANIEL’S ROOM
BY MARK CAREY
PREMIERE AT WARWICK ARTS CENTRE ON FRIDAY 13th JUNE 2025 - GET YOUR TICKETS HERE
On the eve of its auction, Emily returns to her long-abandoned childhood home—a place once filled with light, now steeped in silence and shadow. She’s come for a final reckoning with her estranged step-brother, Daniel, and the dark past they share. As night falls, buried grief resurfaces and long-hidden truths claw their way to light. In the house that shaped them, Emily must confront not only Daniel—but the haunting legacy that refuses to stay dead.
A proud, West Midlands made film from local cast, crew and creatives. Film festival run begins June 2025.
Follow the film on instagram for updates and more information - https://www.instagram.com/danielsroomfilm/
CORE CREATIVES
Director Jack Richardson - Director’s statement:
Daniel’s Room explores the quiet horror of buried trauma, how unspoken memories can shape who we become and how a single place can hold both comfort and terror. I was drawn to Mark's personally infused story because it captures something deeply human: the way grief and guilt linger in silence. This film allowed me to investigate psychological tension through restrained storytelling, shadowed spaces, and complex performances.
With Daniel’s Room, I wanted to create an atmosphere that feels heavy with memory. With the generous use of Ilmington Manor as a location at our disposal, we had a house that seems to hold its breath, just like the characters inside it. My aim was to build a slow-burning sense of unease through framing, silence, and texture, rather than relying on conventional horror tropes. The film lives in the liminal: between day and night, past and present, reality and memory. Every decision from colour palette to camera movement was designed to reflect Emily’s emotional journey back into a place she never truly left.
As a filmmaker rooted in the West Midlands I’m passionate about telling stories that are both personal and resonant. Daniel’s Room is the first in a slate of narrative work that I hope will spotlight this region's incredible filmmaking talent with bold storytelling.
This film was made on a very modest budget (in part for which we owe a great deal of thanks and gratitude to our generous Kickstarter backers) with an incredible local team of actors, creatives and crew. For me as a first time director, it proves what’s possible with focus, passion, and the right team around you.
Actor Shannon Anthony - ‘Emily’
Shannon trained as an actor at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Whilst training some of her favourite roles included Estella in ‘Great Expectations’ and Thomasina Coverly in Tom Stoppard’s ‘Arcadia’.
As a professional actor, theatre credits include: Lady Macbeth in ‘Macbeth’, Wendy in ‘Joseph K’, Abigail in ‘The Crucible’ and Amy in ‘Little Women’. Film/TV Credits include: Emily in ‘V-Day’ and Darla in recurring web series, ‘Dungeon Gamers’. Radio Credits include: Lorna in ‘Voices Out of the Air’. Shannon also started a West Midlands based theatre company, DD Arts, with other local creatives and produced and starred in their first production, ‘At Ease’ which received funding from the Arts Council.
Writer Mark Carey is a writer and actor from Warwickshire. He has written many plays for theatre and radio, mostly based in or inspired by the midlands and its people. Mark has been on the auditions board for the Birmingham Conservatoire and advised for several years on the Birmingham University playwriting course. As writer in residence at the Bridge House Theatre in Warwick, Mark developed several scripts with artistic director and writer Alison Sutcliffe. While taking a course in creative writing at the Mary Ward Centre in London Mark became interested in writing for television and film. “Daniels Room” is Mark’s first film script.
Producer, Aresa Foster is a Midlands based Creative Producer with 8+ plus years experience in the Production Management department across a range of productions including: corporates and commercial films, broadcast TV shows, the B2022 Commonwealth Games, HETV dramas for BBC and ITV and indie feature films for the BFI/BBC Film. Alongside this, she produces short films within the region with three currently in the festivals circuit/post production. Aresa has always wanted to make films, with the aims of implementing creativity, collaboration, logistics and people at the forefront to help tell stories – particularly from West Midlands voices and working with regional talent.
Director of Photography, Ash Connaughton has over ten years of expertise working both nationally and internationally. Based in Birmingham and London, he is a BAFTA Connect Member and has shot Multi award Winning narrative shorts, including BFI funded projects, as well as promotional content for major brands, hard hitting documentaries and music videos.
Ash is a creative on the Autistic Spectrum and is an advocate for Neurodiversity within the industry, he has worked with clients such as the NHS, Channel 4, BBC, Warner Brothers, Specsavers, Vax, and many more.