Mark Gambino
Mark Gambino is a multidisciplinary filmmaker with a background in performing arts, photography, screenwriting, and video content creation. A recent student of the Master of Creative Industries program, with SAE University College; in the last four years Mark has also studied screenwriting with Second City Chicago, The Harold Ramis Film School, and Sundance Collab.
His creative practice is focused on creating stories of horror, and looks at how the genre is used to explore aspects of fringe culture and othered life experiences beyond the norm. His award-winning short horror film, The Guest, was recently released and has now been viewed over 46,000 times on YouTube. Shadows is the practical component of his Master’s graduate project with SAE University College, Melbourne.
Director Statement
Shadows explores queer representation while drawing on the revenge trope to present a recognisable genre story arc. Rather than create a ‘vengeful monster’ through disempowering and torturing the protagonist, the release of the Being of Light is reinterpreted as a birth and becoming. In this way, the fate the men receive at their own hands serves as an acknowledgement of public discourse on gender identity and an analogue for contemporary attitudes to such anti-social behaviour.
Shadows takes stylistic cues from films like Possessor (2020) and Hellraiser (2022), with a healthy dose of the psychedelics of Mandy (2018).
Cast & Crew
Writer, Director, Producer: Mark Gambino
Line Producer: Adrian Diaz
Key Cast
„Kit / Being of Light“ – Juliet Hindmarsh
(Friendly Competition)
„Nate“ – Gabriel Partington
(The Newsreader)
„Rich“ – Finleigh Wadsworth
„Paul“ – Ben McCarthy
