Written, Directed & PRODUCED by Kane Wilson
CO-PRODUCED by James Freeman
In a dystopian realm where consciousness is encased within neural implants, Logan, a solitary Decksdark, finds himself intertwined with an ethereal entity.
about the film
DECKSDARK first came across our desk when it was in post-production and seeing completion funds via our Short Film Fund. We shortlisted the projected, and while it did not win the funding, we screened the film at the 2025 edition of our BIFA qualifying film festival as part of the Lovers & Ones That Got Away screening block which featured exclusively films either produced via our fund (a.k.a. “Lovers“) or shortlisted for our fund (a.k.a. “Ones That Got Away“).
Other festival highlights include winning Best Short Made in Wales at the BAFTA-qualifying Carmarthen Bay Film Festival, winning several awards at BIAFF, and winning the Big Picture Film Festival. It was nominated at SCI-FI LONDON, the BIFA qualifying Sunrise Film Festival, Waco Independent Festival, Northampton Film Festival, and a Smei-Finalist at Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival. The film was handpicked and given 5 Stars at Short Films Matter.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Kane Wilson is a filmmaker from rural Leicestershire, England. Growing up surrounded by open landscapes and quiet spaces shaped his sensitivity to mood, silence, and human behaviour. He began making films as a teenager, quickly gaining recognition for his experimental approach to storytelling and earning Student of the Year in college.
Kane’s films inhabit dystopian worlds that feel uncomfortably close to our own. His work examines how technology reshapes intimacy, memory, and identity, always anchored by an emotional core.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH KANE
Welcome to our Short of the Week series. Tell us a bit about yourself and your filmmaking background.
I’m a UK-based writer and director who came into filmmaking in a fairly hands-on way. I started making shorts young, mostly through trial and error, and that process of experimenting and learning by doing has stuck with me. Early on I realised I was less interested in polish for its own sake and more interested in mood, character, and what sits beneath the surface of a story.
My work often leans toward dystopian ideas, but it’s really about human connection within those worlds, how people cling to intimacy, routine, or escape when systems start to fail them.
I’ve just finished a new film called We Dream in Colour, which has been an incredible experience to make. It pushed me creatively and emotionally in ways I couldn’t fully expect, and I genuinely can’t wait for people to see it and bring their own interpretations to it.
Tell us about the genesis of Decksdark. Where did the idea come from and how did you develop that idea into the short that's now made its way out into the world?
"Decksdark" was born out of my fascination with the rapid advancement of AI and the way technology shapes our lives. We live in an era where the world is completely reliant on technology, and our everyday existence is intricately woven with it. This film explores the desire to break free from that digital grip and live off-grid, away from the pervasive influence of a technology-driven society. Decksdark is a future where escaping that control isn’t easy, and Neural Implants become devices of societal oppression rather than tools for human evolution.
In today’s hyper-connected world, we ironically find ourselves more disconnected from each other than ever. Strangers remain strangers, and our ability to empathise and communicate on a deep, human level is diminishing. I see younger generations losing their connection to nature and their belief in the unexplainable magic of the world around us. Through "Decksdark," I wanted to create a beacon of hope, a reminder that true freedom lies in understanding oneself and reconnecting with the natural world, the only reality that cannot be manipulated by technology.
We're of course very familiar with this film as it was also shortlisted for our Kino Film Fund, and although it didn't win the funding in the end, we did feature it as an Official Selection at our 2025 festival. What were some of the main obstacles you experienced when making Decksdark and how did you overcome them?
The biggest obstacle on Decksdark was fairly simple but significant: we were filming in a very remote part of Wales, and we only had three days to make the film. That immediately shaped every creative and practical decision.
We got through it with a lot of preparation and a genuinely brilliant crew who were ready to adapt to anything the location threw at us. On the creative side, I designed the story so that character and atmosphere could do most of the heavy lifting, rather than relying on scale. In the end, those limitations pushed us to be more focused, and they played a big part in defining the tone and identity of the film.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences and some of the festival circuit highlights and/or online release.
Decksdark had a really strong journey to audiences. It began on the festival circuit, where it was fortunate enough to win at a BAFTA-qualifying Welsh film festival, which gave the film an incredible early boost.
As a fitting send-off to its festival run, the film was then selected to be showcased on DUST, the largest online platform dedicated to sci-fi short films. Seeing it reach a wider audience has been hugely rewarding. It’s now passed 80,000 views, which is far beyond anything I initially imagined for the film.
Licensing popular songs for use in a short film is something that's typically unaffordable for most filmmakers, but you have a pretty amazing story about how you got permission to use the Joy Division track. Can you tell us about it?
A lot of filmmakers shy away from using well-known music because licensing can feel intimidating or completely out of reach, which can be true for some films, but with shorts there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
My approach was to take the time to properly understand how music licensing works for film.
It can feel complex at first, but once you get past that initial barrier, you realise there are people on the licensing side who genuinely want to help independent filmmakers, especially when it comes to short films.
Once you’ve made contact, I’d always suggest arranging a quick ten-minute phone call and simply shooting your shot. Speaking to someone directly makes the process feel far more human, and that personal connection often goes a long way in building trust and opening doors.
With Decksdark, I initially secured a licence that covered the festival run only. When the opportunity came to release the film on YouTube, I was worried that extending the licence would come with huge additional costs. Instead, I found the process long, but straightforward, and the agreement could be extended without dramatically changing the deal. That experience really changed how I think about using existing music in independent films.
What advice or hacks would you give to other short filmmakers?
I’ve always been drawn to telling stories where the world feels bigger than the film itself, so audiences leave wanting more. No matter where an idea starts, whether it’s a concept, a character, or even a piece of music - my biggest advice is to keep bringing your focus back to character. Ask yourself what you’re actually trying to say to the audience through that character’s journey.
I’d also say: don’t rush casting. Getting the right actor changes everything. When the performance is right, the film opens up in ways you can’t always plan for, and your role as a filmmaker shifts from controlling every detail to discovering new possibilities within the story.
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist? Give us one Hollywood feature, one short, and one indie feature.
Go and watch Children of Men if you haven’t. If you have, watch it again. And if you can recite most of the scenes like I can, drag someone along and insist they experience it with you. Who you watch a film with, completely changes how it lands, and Children of Men manages to give you something new every single time.
For a true indie feature that inspired parts of Decksdark, I’d recommend The Survivalist. It uses its environment brilliantly, feels properly lived-in, and features some fantastic performances - including a very early, very memorable Mia Goth.
For a short film, check out Dogbone by Austen Taylor Pease. It’s a film that pulls every possible emotion out of its central character and delivers something genuinely honest. Austen and his team are absolutely ones to watch.
