Ladybug Films Release New Horror Short Film ‘44’

44 is a sci-fi horror short film about a girl who gets stuck in a loop on the 44th floor of a desolate tower. Written and directed by first-time director Dhwani Shah, it has gained acclaim at several film festivals, notably an Honorable Mention at the New York City Horror Film Festival (2023) and Best Director at the LA Crime & Horror Film Festival (2023).

The film was a largely collaborative effort among the crew and was produced on a shoestring budget of 5,000 dollars.

Set in the industrial cobwebs of Mumbai, India, this short takes place on the 44th floor of a desolate and eerie tower, where a girl finds herself stuck in a nightmarish loop. Regardless of whether she goes up or down, she always ends up on the same floor: 44.

The film takes on the fan-favourite sci-fi trope of time loop and explores the idea of circular endings, thematically echoing the tale – ‘Curiosity killed the cat.’ Sarah Hashmi, the film’s lead, who has worked on numerous mainstream Bollywood films, was initially attracted to this project purely because horror is still largely unexplored in the Indian filmscape.

Speaking about the challenges of working on an indie film with a shoe-string budget, she said:

“We made shadows our friends. I really enjoyed playing with dim lights, silences, and my own fear of the dark.”

Of her experience writing and directing this short film, Dhwani outlined,

“I realized early on in the process that without the budget to craft scary monsters on screen, I will have to rely on terrifying audiences with crafting a situation that’s scary. I wanted to explore the idea that sometimes the thing that’s in your way is you yourself. We try escaping the patterns that don’t serve us, but more often than not – it inevitably ends up in a loop. I was keen on exploring this idea of feeling trapped through the lens of horror.”

Dhwani was motivated to produce the short independently after it became a finalist for best screenplay at several genre festivals, including ScriptWrite (2021), sponsored by Final Draft.

‘44’ Film movie poster