Table of Contents
Bento is out of options. Broke, exhausted and leaned on by an estranged family, he takes covert work for a shadowy compliance firm and starts hunting London's remote workforce for "productivity crimes" from a Prius, armed with a long lens. An ad creative skipping agency calls. A project manager dancing in his underwear. A coder choosing the gym over a status meeting. Then a routine audit tips him from casual stalking into breaking and entering, and the joke stops being funny.
Phantom Carousel is the latest short from London-based writer-director Efosa Osaghae, whose work blends satire, speculative fiction and dark comedy to interrogate work, technology and the attention economy. Having spent most of the last decade working remotely, he built the film around a single unsettling question: what would an employer actually see if they could watch us work behind closed doors? The film premieres at the Academy Awardยฎ-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival.
Key Takeaways
- A dark comedy that turns corporate surveillance and the theatre of "professionalism" into something genuinely grotesque, in the most mundane way possible.
- Because the protagonist spends the film eavesdropping, most of the dialogue lives in post, making sound design the film's engine rather than its accompaniment.
- Osaghae's first true narrative outing after abstract and music-led work, anchored by a three-person cast he credits as the production's breakthrough.
Below, Osaghae talks surveillance, ruthless cuts, and why the mundane is stranger than any fiction.
Interview
What drew you to make this film, and why this story, why now?
I've always been fascinated by the idea of work. The rituals, procedures and performance that come with it. Specifically with this film, as someone who's worked remotely most of the last 10 years, I always wondered what an employer would see if they could watch how we actually work behind closed doors. Phantom Carousel grew from that tension between professional performance and private reality.
What surprised you most about the filmmaking process, and did any moment change how you saw the story?
Because the film focuses on the protagonist's eavesdropping on others, the vast majority of the film's dialogue wasn't captured on set. So when we got into post, the film became another beast, as I could play around infinitely with what the main character was listening to. I had expected sound to support the film, but it ultimately became the film's MVP.
What moment in the film feels most like you, or like something only you could have made?
The character of India searching on Google, "can I move to tokyo without speaking japanese."
What was the hardest creative decision you made while making the film?
I had to cut about five minutes of runtime, and most of this was two entire scenes and a whole character. The actor who played the character I cut had a great performance and I really wanted people to see it, but ultimately it had to be ruthless.
What tool, technique, resource, collaborator, or mindset shift helped most during production?
Working with my three main cast. My previous directorial works were either very abstract or music-led, so I've never really directed narrative before and couldn't have asked for a better cast of actors. The greatest strength of independent filmmaking, and the lesson I'd share, is this: don't take a good collaborator for granted. Take longer than you think to find that right person to go to war with, because that's what being on set really feels like at times.
How does your film fit within, or push the boundaries of, its genre or form?
Someone once described the film as "grotesque," and in many ways it is, in the most mundane fashion possible. Formally, I wanted the film to almost feel as if it could play without visuals. I wanted the audience to feel like they were eavesdropping as much as our main character was. I hope people come away looking at ordinary life differently. The film takes familiar routines and behaviour and pushes them only slightly, revealing how strange they already are. I've always felt that the mundane, examined closely enough, is more absurd and uncanny than any fiction.
What does it mean to premiere at HollyShorts, and where does the film go from here?
It's such an honour. I've tracked the festival for years and attended a few of the London editions, so I'm eternally grateful the programming team gave us a chance to premiere our film to the world. From here, I'm hoping for a big UK premiere. And this film has shifted where I want to go next: stranger, more absurd and much darker. At the core of all my work is a desire to explore.
Main Cast & Crew
- Written & Directed by Efosa Osaghae
- Produced by Jessica Emens and Efosa Osaghae
- Bento Moura as Alec Christie
- Olara Adeyemi as babirye bukilwa
- India Rowe as Roxanne Nielsen
- 1st Assistant Director โ Gabriel Athanasiou
- Director of Photography โ Jed Darlington-Roberts
- Make-Up Artist โ Hanni Wellian
- Art Director โ Antonia Reed
- Costume โ Jashel Nelson
- Composer โ Giuseppe Vasapolli
- Sound Designer โ Mustafa Bal
Filmmaker Opportunities
๐ Fund your next project with fiscal sponsorship
Have a project in the works? As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the Cinematography for Actors Institute can accept tax-deductible donations on your film's behalf โ a door-opener for grants, foundations, and supporters who want to back your work. We've serviced over 100 projects to date and helped route over $800,000 in funding to filmmakers. Explore fiscal sponsorship โ You can also catch our 3rd annual financing panel at HollyShorts.
๐ฌ Grant deadlines and festival opportunities, straight to your inbox
The CFA newsletter rounds up grants, festival calls, and community news for independent filmmakers โ the kind of opportunities that are easy to miss and painful to miss. Join the newsletter โ
๐ฌ Focus on the creative โ we'll help with the logistics
Production Management, CFA's newest member program, launches this November: production insurance and workers' comp, payroll, film permits, gear rental coordination, SAG-AFTRA compliance, contract drafting, production consulting, and crew recommendations โ handled by a team of working filmmakers, ร la carte or all in, in partnership with Creative Access Group. It's waitlist-only until launch. Join the waitlist โ
League of Filmmakers is published by our parent organization, the Cinematography for Actors Institute โ a 501(c)(3) dedicated to education, community, and capital for underrepresented filmmakers and actors. Learn more about CFA โ
