Reel Chicago and Reel 360 News publisher, Barbara L. Roche, is one of the producers of Colin Francis Costello’s latest and terrifying short film, Storage. The film won Best U.S. Narrative Shorts at Silicon Beach Film Festival and Palm Springs Shorts last weekend.
The short, which explores accepting and letting go of past loves before moving on, shares the story of Rachel (played by Laura Huckaby) who wakes up in a basement storage room with no idea as to how she got there, who put her there, or who she even is.
Her only clue comes in the form of a disheveled teenage cheerleader (played by Kate Schrader in her first role.)
After premiering at the Oscar-Qualifying Film Festival, LA Shorts International Film Festival, to a packed theatre in July 2022, Storage was then selected by and won its next two festivals.
Storage will now screen in the San Francisco Short Film Festival Presented by SF IndieFest in October and has been nominated for five awards including Best U.S. Short, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Editing and Best Score by The Seattle Film Festival, where it will screen at the end of September.
Things spin out of control very quickly after a doctor awakens in a storage room with no idea how she got there or who she even is.
Watch the trailer below:
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“I’m thrilled to have helped Colin get his film off the ground. Anyone who knows me knows I am supportive of Chicago filmmakers. Although Colin doesn’t live here anymore, he is still a part of the Chicago film family,” said Roche in a statement.
Writer, director, and producer Colin Francis Costello crafted a name for himself in advertising where he worked on high-profile accounts including McDonald’s, Gatorade, Lexus, The Dodgers, Netflix and Nike. Early in his career, Colin was instrumental in launching Spike Lee’s ad agency.
Branching from advertising into Film and Television, Colin’s first theatrical feature was 2013’s The Stream starring Rainn Wilson (The Office). Colin then wrote for the Emmy-nominated PBS educational series, Moochie Kalala’s Detectives Club.
Colin began writing and directing short films in 2017 with the award-winning thriller The After Party. He then followed up that film with the internationally-acclaimed Dreamwisher.
Storage is Colin’s third short film, a proof of concept for a feature version currently in development.
The gritty cinematography was created by David Navarro. In addition to Roche, NJ Bourque, Blake Vaz and Christine Sclafani serve as Producers. Christine Harte and Timothy Smith are Executive Producers. Some of the special effects were crafted by VFX guru Fred Raimondi (Stranger Things, The Flash, Thor: Love and Thunder) and the intense score was composed by Ryan McLean.
Chicago-based talents Dave Kresl and Protokulture were in charge of sound design and titles and other special effects respectively.
Colin is represented by Metallic Entertainment and Independent Artists Media.
Past festival wins and upcoming fests:
- LA Shorts International Film Festival (Oscar Qualifier)
- Silicon Beach Film Festival – WINNER Best U.S. Narrative Short
- Palm Springs Shorts – WINNER Best U.S. Narrative Short
- The Seattle Film Festival – FIVE NOMINATIONS – Playing end of September
- San Francisco Short Film Festival Presented by SF IndieFest – Playing in October
