Introduction:
Our film, The Devil Is In Me, is a comedy that subverts the expectations of the horror genre. Set in 1861, it explores themes of change, community and the fact that teenagers have always been dickheads. It’s a self-funded personal project from director Tia Salisbury.
Inspiration:
Inspiration for The Devil Is In Me came from listening to a history podcast about educational reform in the 1800’s and hearing about well-intentioned Methodist ministers side-swiped when all the kids in small rural communities kicked off because they hated school with a passion. The film depicts the battle to bring about social change to a disinterested rural community. No matter the era, teenagers are teenagers and no one likes change, do they?
The Process:
Filming took place in a small village called Ubley, just South of Bristol. We shot over a weekend in November 2025. One of the biggest challenges was shooting in natural light in winter. This massively impacted our working hours, but our brilliant DOP, Tomoi Summers, came up with an inventive idea leading to the film’s pivotal kickass scene!
As a passion project, this was super low budget, but paying all crew a fair wage was always a priority to us, which further stretched the money we could put on-screen. Our small but mighty crew of 21 pulled out all the stops to deliver such high production value and Tia’s creative vision. The incredible support and generosity of Camera One and our brilliant post-production team cannot be understated.
We’re proud to support regional filmmaking and can declare that all on-set crew are based in the South West, Wales and the West Country.
A fun fact about Rose’s sniffles throughout the film – this was due to actor Bella Salisbury, genuinely recovering from a cold shortly before the shoot, but we think this really adds to the comedic performance!
What It Means to Be a Finalist:
We are really honoured to be screening our second short at Worcester Film Festival (after being selected in 2022 with Placenta Pâté). Worcester is also a homecoming for producer Chloe Brown, as she was born and raised here!
This is such a wonderful festival with an exciting and intoxicating atmosphere and a fabulous community of filmmakers to go with it. It’s encouraging that our film has resonated with the festival team, and we hope it will resonate with audiences too.
Where to Watch / Follow:
Please follow our journey on Instagram @thedevilisinmeshort as we continue our festival journey. Don’t be shy to say hi to us too!
About The Author
