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AWARDS
The Red Lights of Town
2025
Donovan Callaghan works a dead end job and lives a dead end life until one night after his shift at the local supermarket, his car is invaded by a strange young girl Charlotte who commands him to drive her away, threatening him with a gun hidden under her jumper. Reluctantly he agrees, following her directions to the destination she refuses to elaborate on. As the drive continues, Donovan slowly begins to realise that there is more to this drive and his passenger that meets the eye.
CAST
Donovan Callaghan -Nikolai Egel
Charlotte McIntosh - Cassidy Dunn
Officer Rhys Cox - Adam Balales
Alice Callaghan - Jeni Bezuidenhout
Yasmine Cox-McIntosh - Lara Deam
Officer Darren McNickel - Benji Wragg
Nellie - Lauren Huggard
Cooper - James Huang
Harry - Mert Ergec
Charlie - Paitence Fishwick
CREW
Director - Dia Taylor
Writer - Dia Taylor
Producers - Tom Levi & Dia Taylor
Cinematographer - Christopher Bennett
Production Designer - Danae Grieef
Wardrobe - Olivia Staffieri
Editor - Sydney Lewis
Director's Statement
The Red Lights of Town has been close to my heart for many years now, having written the first draft of the script back in film school. Growing up in a small town, I always dreamed of leaving and finding myself in the greater world, but as a teenager with limited resources, it felt impossible. There were too many obstacles, like red lights on a highway stopping me. Watching people I knew settle down and grow old in the same place terrified me, similar to that of Donovan. To me it was a form of living death; a point I wanted to touch on in the film. Donovan repeats the same cycle again and again every night but doesn’t notice because that’s the way his life has always been. It was from this that I wanted to draw inspiration from Mike Flanagan’s distinctive fascination with death and characters' emotions around it. It wasn't until my friend Paul McIntosh, to whom I dedicated this film and sadly lost touch with, gave me the inspirational speech I gave Donovan at the end of the film. Those words resonated with me and gave me the courage to leave my small town and find my own happiness.
REVIEWS
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