Hold Still

Erotic thriller feature film

Written and directed by Orla Doyle and starring Julia Gardell

Logline:

A young photographer travels to a remote estate, where she is haunted by a premonition of her own death. But as an unlikely love affair deepens with a potentially dangerous deer hunter, she must decipher the images that haunt her before it’s too late. 

Synopsis:

26 year old photographer Claire, haunted by a premonition of her own death, travels to the remote estate of Driftwood on New Zealand’s South Island for a prestigious creative residency, where she’s tasked with capturing the wild and rugged landscapes that surround her and the people within them. Here, her artistic obsession is brought into focus by an unlikely love affair with a reclusive deer hunter named Hector, behind the back of his troubled and volatile girlfriend, Robyn. But when Robyn goes missing, and Hector is suspected of being responsible, Claire is torn between her feverish desire for him, and a fear for her life. As she begins to uncover the mystery that her photographs have unwillingly entangled her in and the line between intuition and paranoia becomes increasingly blurred, Claire must learn to decipher between what she’s really seeing, and what is a trick of the light, refracting through a strange and dangerous lens. 

Where the tortured characters and atmospheric landscapes of Wuthering Heights meets the contemporary and troubled romance of Twilight, and the gothic thrills of Daphne Du-Maurier’s Rebecca meets the erotic cinematic style of Jane Campion’s The Piano, Hold Still tells a darkly romantic tale of forbidden love, second sight, and artistic obsession, where the tension between fate and chance is explored through the lens of a photographer coming to terms with her own clairvoyance.

Hold Still takes place within and around Driftwood (pictured), a grand house reminiscent of Rebecca’s Manderley, or Jane Eyre’s Thornfield Hall, nestled amongst the rugged, windswept landscapes of Lake Wakatipu, Glenorchy.

  • Orla Doyle

    Writer I Director I Producer

    A 2020 Young Australian Filmmaker of the Year Nominee for her debut short HEAD SPINS, Orla’s 2022 drama web series SIRENS garnered numerous awards at festivals internationally, including Best Direction and Best Student Series at the London International Web and Shorts Film Festival, before being acquired for ABC iView. In 2023 Orla co-founded production company SEYMOUR PICTURES to produce indie romance drama feature TWO UGLY PEOPLE. HOLD STILL is Orla’s debut feature film as a writer director.

  • Julia Gardell

    Actor I Producer

    Playing the lead role of CLAIRE in HOLD STILL, Julia’s breakout performance in web series SIRENS received international attention at festivals around the world. With experience working globally in the high-end fashion industry, Julia has since turned her attention to acting and producing as a co-founder of SEYMOUR PICTURES, where she produced and starred in short film SNAKES AND LADDERS and produced indie romance feature film TWO UGLY PEOPLE.

  • Peter Skinner

    Producer

    An Academy Award qualifying, St Kilda best film winning and Australian Directors Guild nominated writer and director, Peter’s debut feature TWO UGLY PEOPLE is due for completion in 2025. Also a Producer on the film and a co-founder of SEYMOUR PICTURES, Peter is highly experienced in the world of independent film production, and passionate about creating opportunities for exciting new cinematic voices in Australia.

“Between desire and darkness, between mystery and madness, lies the truth”

Hold Still is currently in development for production in 2025. For more information or materials please contact orla@seymourpictures.com

All images included are shot in secured locations.