Gabriela Staniszewska is a multi-award winning filmmaker from Bristol, UK. She works in horror, action and sci-fi, with a small local collective.

LÍS

LÍS was filmed on location in february 2024 at the fox cafe/bar in st philips, bristol, and in bedminster, Bristol.

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yummy mummy

yummy mummy was filmed on location in august 2021 at st john’s parish hall in fishponds, easton leisure centre, the everyman cinema and montpelier, all in bristol

choose your weapon

CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON was filmed in june 2021 with the help of whitehall rugby club, on ridgeway field in fishponds and in st george, bristol.

I Should Have Run

Location

I Should Have Run was filmed on the Bristol to Bath cycle path in February 2015. The Staple Hill tunnel takes seven minutes to walk through, and in the 1980's wasn't lit at all. Although now a thriving thoroughfare for families and cyclists, several of our team members have been mugged there in their youth.

The Locals

We filmed between the hours of 10pm and 3am for three nights in a row. This fox in particular kept returning to our filming site, enabling us to capture this shot. To get his attention required some noisemaking.

Cinematography

I Should Have Run was filmed on a Sony A7 camera, XAVC-S at 1080p. It was -3 degrees on the nights of filming, so any breath you see is 100% real.

DOP: Scott Wharram

The Monster

We decided not to show the monster in the story, as with all good psychological horror, we decided that less is more. The POV of the monster allowed us to be creative with the creature and let our audience imagine what it would look like from their own fears.

The Effect

The hero special effect was created using a clean frame as a plate, then some VFX magic. Also needed were a few metres of black rope (only available from Anne Summers), two tea trays and two strong men wearing thick gloves.

VFX: Scott Wharram

Sound

The sound post production was done by Tom Hobbs at Films @ 59. He created a soundscape using, among other things, backwards pigeon flapping and spoken latin. Gabriela Staniszewska reads the narration and is the voice of the monster, and other vocal effects.

Sound: Tom Hobbs

Preparation & Budget

Preparation and planning for the film took around two weeks, and the total budget was around £200 GBP.

The Spring

Location

The Spring was filmed in a lock-up in the back lot of Ridgeway Road Auto Engineering. We cleared out the decades worth of spiders' webs and attached a door to the side. Voila!

The Bride

The Spring is the story of a woman on allegedly the most important day of her life: her wedding day. But her world is not as it seems. Kate Davies is a Bristol based horror and sci-fi actress, and an emerging talent on the UK horror scene.

VFX

The picture window was done with a lot of green paint and a picture frame, purchased from a global Swedish furniture emporium.

No fun on set...

We won't admit to what was being said here, but safe to say the shoot was a lot of fun for all involved.

The team at work

The hustle and bustle of a small independent film set

The close up

Holding the lead actor's head still is definitely part of the job description as a filmmaker.

The twins

Identical twins Ryan & Russell Oliver played The Gentlemen: the nefarious dealers of romance from a parallel universe.

The headpieces

These were handmade by our make up designer Janey Hayes, and illustrated the technological differences between the male and female universes.

Location

The male universe was filmed at The Milk Thistle speakeasy in Bristol.

The Milk Thistle

Preparation & Budget

Preparation for The Spring took about three months, and the budget was just over £1000 GBP.

Make Up Design

Janey Hayes our make up designer painted our twins white to give them a sunless, wan look. She also snuck in some white medical gloves for their hands to give them a plastic, wipe-clean sort of air, despite their tuxedos.

Director's notes

The Milk Thistle has a very Alice in Wonderland style to it, and this very much added to theme of our story. Here, our actors discussed how we could bring the theme in more effectively.

All hand on deck

Everybody helps out with everything on set. Here is our very talented script supervisor, and continuity queen, Amelia Berry helping Kate out with her hair.

Lighting

Lighting is key for telling your story correctly. It can affect the mood and give the audience a nudge in the way you would like them to feel at any one time.

Setting up the shot

Scott Wharram is a stickler for perfection. That's why he always works with us!

Check everything

As a producer, director and writer, you have to constantly go back and forth to check if any changes you have had to make at the last minute cause any major disruption to the story, or have disastrous consequences.

Exertion

Kate Davies: tired after the chair smash. A one-shot-wonder.

Support

What is a filmmaker without the support of their friends and family. We are all lucky enough to have very understanding spouses, who support us through all our projects. Husband / Stills Photographer: Andy Saxon.