Video Barn by Bianca Poletti: Surreal Homage to 80s Horror at SXSW

Bianca Poletti’s surreal homage to 80s horror VIDEO BARN to world premiere at SXSW

Los Angeles, CA (February 28, 2025). Two outcasts who work at a small town’s local video store must solve the mysteries of the town’s dark past when one of them goes missing. Starring Grace Van Dien and Reina Hardesty, Bianca Poletti’s VIDEO BARN pays homage to 80s surrealist films, blending dark humor, friendship and the pull of the unknown to create a uniquely eerie horror short. The film will have its world premiere at SXSW.

Synopsis: Two outcasts who work at a small town’s local video store must solve the mysteries of the town’s dark past when one of them goes missing. Will Hannah find her way to Julie or will she, too, become just another flickering image on the screen?

Bianca Poletti is an Argentine director born in San Diego, California. As a narrative director, Bianca utilizes her passion for dance and movement to explore the many different facets of the human psyche. Her films exist in dream-like worlds full of ethereal lighting, color, and coming of age story-lines. Drawn to imperfect characters, she enjoys exploring the natural awkwardness of human interaction, her humor grounded in relatability and simplicity.

Bianca prefers to cast non-actors with an emphasis on personality, choosing to work with people who effortlessly add depth to story and dialogue through their unique point of view. Bianca has directed numerous music videos, commercials, and short films. Her work has been featured in numerous publications including Directors Library, Nowness, METAL magazine, Shots Creative, Little Black Book, The cover of Ad Age, Girl Gaze, Marie Claire and many more.

Stine Moisen is a Danish producer based in Los Angeles. Her 18 years of experience span across commercials, films, documentaries, and music videos. Her Work With Cancer campaign for Publicis Groupe won the Grand Prix for Good at the Cannes Lions in 2023.

She is the producer of the feature documentary The Death of My Two Fathers, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and won Best Documentary Film at the Vienna Independent Film Festival in 2021. She also produced the short film The Melodic Blue, written by Dave Free and starring Amandla Stenberg, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

VIDEO BARN will screen at SXSW 2025 in the Midnight Short Program — premiering on March 9 at 9:45pm at Rollins Theatre at The Long Center and on March 13 at 10:15pm at Alamo Lamar 9. Find more information here.

Crew

01. Directed by: Bianca Poletti
02. Story by: Bianca Poletti and Allison Goldfarb
03. Written by: Allison Goldfarb
04. Production Companies: Biscuit Films, OPC and BIG
05. Starring: Grace Van Dien, Reina Hardesty and Andrew Bering
06. Executive Producers: Shawn Lacy, Laura Regan, Kasia Staniaszek, Harland Weiss, Isil Gilderdale, and Cristina Benavente
07. Produced by: Stine Moisen
08. DP: Corey C. Waters
09. PD: Andrea Leigh
10. Edited by: Dusten Zimmerman at Cabin Edit
11. Costume Designer: Abigail Summer Francis
12. Music by: Morgan Kibby
13. Music Supervisor: Abbey Hendrix
14. Tracks: ‘No way out’ and ‘Ur Baby’ by Graveyard Club
15. Post Sound: Field Day Sound
16. Re-Recording Mixer: Natalie Huizenga
17. Sound designer: Natalie Huizenga
18. Color by: Mikey Rossiter
19. Casting Director: Lyle Dohl
20. First Assistant Director: Chad Antonelli
21. Line Producer: Shane Palmer
22. Production Manager: Beverly Amidon
23. Steadicam Operator: Devon Catucci
24. VFX House: Parliament
25. VFX Supervisor: Eric Mason
26. Title Sequence and End Credits: fifty one eight
27. Unit Stills: Cameron Phan

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