Writer / Director
Bennet De Brabandere
Five films. Each one bigger, bolder, more unpredictable than the last. A vision at work.
The Arc
Most directors tell you about their vision. Here are five films that show it.
Raptus (2025)
Sci-Fi Thriller / Dark Comedy
Ksenia Solo. Apple TV worldwide. The New York Times.
Ksenia Solo, Nolan Gerard Funk, Christina Cox
The first film with a recognizable cast, international distribution, and real budget on the line. Ksenia Solo brought a performance that required trust between actor and director. Nolan Gerard Funk embodied the design perfectly. Apple TV worldwide. German theatrical. The machine worked at every level.
Studio-level production with name cast, international distribution, thematic ambition within genre constraints.
"Lurid and darkly funny. A delirious, uncomfortable back and forth that recalls the unearthly soapiness of Malignant."The New York Times / Five Horror Movies to Stream
"The last 20 minutes are white-knuckle-thrilling in the best way possible."Film Threat / 8.5/10
"Solo and Funk's performances are both excellent."Film Blitz
The Christmas Spirit (2022)
Comedy / Thriller / Horror
An original take on the Christmas movie. Apple TV.
Zion Forrest Lee, Nicolas Grimes, Christian Potenza
A good director creates his own genre. This is what happens when you take a Christmas movie and refuse to follow any of the usual formulas. Original story, original tone, original rules. The audience either gets it or they don't. They got it.
Genre invention. Proof that the voice isn't limited to one lane.
"The anti-Christmas story with over-the-top violent situations."Film Threat
"The best Christmas horror comedy since Rare Exports. A truly original work."Letterboxd
Cherrypicker (2021)
a.k.a. Ankle Biters
Horror Comedy
Ensemble cast. Colin Mochrie. Distributed.
Colin Mochrie, Zion Forrest Lee, Marianthi Evans
The leap from solo filmmaker to ensemble director. Colin Mochrie required a director who could hold comedic timing and horror tension in the same scene. Comedy earns trust. Horror spends it. Audiences loved it.
Ensemble direction, tone control across genres, commercial distribution.
"A pitch black comedy with serious consequences. I love the way this film really has a no fucks given attitude."MLMillerWrites
Salvation (2019)
Thriller
Wrote. Directed. Shot. Edited. Designed.
Julian Richings, Zion Forrest Lee
Punk rock filmmaking. Made with a crew of director, soundman, and actors. Shot in Detroit, Canada, and Iraq where footage of a naked man climbing a ziggurat was smuggled out of a warzone under threat of a ten year prison sentence. A demonstration of fearless storytelling and flat out commitment. Winner — Best Film, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design — Hollywood North Film Awards.
Total creative self-sufficiency. Can build a film from nothing.
"Excellent film!"Bruce La Bruce
Everything above builds to this.
FERTILITY
Your bloodline is not your own.
A lawyer and his wife hire a fertility clinic to carry their child. The clinic is a front for a centuries-old breeding program. The surrogate is his mother. The child was never theirs to choose.
"What you think you chose was designed before you were born."
Script complete. Circulating.
Request Script / Meeting →In His Own Words
A terrible and grandiose masterpiece of horror. That's the vision of FERTILITY. I'm ready to make it. Here's how we got here.
I started in a room by myself. Writing, directing, shooting, editing, designing the sets. Salvation was a film made with no crew, no budget, and no excuse not to make it. You learn fast when every department is your problem.
Cherrypicker proved I could work with actors. Colin Mochrie taught me something on that set: comedy and horror live in the same room. The audience laughing is the audience with their guard down. That's when you hit them.
The Christmas Spirit proved something else: a good director can create his own genre. I took a Christmas movie and refused to follow any of the usual formulas. Original story, original tone, original rules. When you bend a genre to your voice, you're not a hired gun. You're a filmmaker.
Raptus was the machine at work. Apple TV worldwide, German theatrical, international distribution, real money on the line. Sci-fi on the surface. Domestic horror underneath.
Every film has been bigger, darker, more technically demanding than the last. Every film has delivered.
FERTILITY is the most ambitious thing I've written. Intelligent. Monstrous. Wide audience potential. 50% financed. Cast-ready script.
Interested? Let's talk.
Contact
In association with Horizon Line Film Company
bdb@merc3.com