ROLE PLAY
Directed by Kyle Jon Shephard
Written by Kit Loyd
Produced by Georgina House
A couple’s attempt to reignite their relationship through awkward role-playing spirals into chaos when a mysterious man arrives, leading to dark confrontations and blurred lines between fantasy and reality.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
London-based director and proud squirrel from the Wirral, Kyle Jon Shephard, started out as a comedy writer and actor (after overcoming the initial setback of being banned from taking A-Level Drama as a “known troublemaker”). That background has been pivotal in shaping his sharp eye for performance, keen sense of story and mischievous wit. With a well-observed, dry comedic style, Kyle has gone on to direct commercial projects for major brands including Lego, Tesco, Vinted and British Airways. Kyle is prolific in short-form filmmaking, with work that has received awards and nominations at BAFTA- and BIFA-qualifying festivals, including the Manchester Film Festival Jury Prize Winner 2025, Directors Notes Best Comedy Short Winner 2025 and is a two times nominee of the internationally renowned Webby Awards. Kyle was also recently hand-picked to direct a short film for Channel 4’s 2025 Playground programme. Kyle thrives on scripts and concepts that carry an element of risk and playfulness, and lives to create memorable characters that leave a lasting impression on audiences. His deep love of comedy, cinema and storytelling bleeds naturally onto the screen, where he masterfully captivates attention through his own distinctive style of directing.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH KYLE
Welcome to Kino Weekly Pick! Your short film Stress Head was an official selection at the 2025 Kino London Short Film Festival and now you’re back with another absurd dark comedy. Can you tell us what draws you to dark and surreal comedy?
Well I guess Simon Mulvaney and I, who I started making films with back when we were kids, always had a very dark sense of humour between us both, and pretty surreal too. I think the darker elements of my humour come from wanting to make people question whether to laugh or not. I’ve never really been attracted to easy gag humour - I like comedy that has a secondary layer. Then the surrealist elements came later on when I started watching more independent cinema in my early-20s - like Charlie Kauffman films etc.
Tell us about the origins of Role Play. 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?
Well Kit Loyd (who plays Tim in the short) wrote it. He brought the script to me which I really loved and we just made the decision to go for it and actually get it shot. We did a few rounds table reads and rehearsals, found a decent location and then we just went feet first into shooting it.
You put your cast in some interesting situations for the role play the film is named after, how did you prepare them for this and how was the experience directing them?
Again that was kind of Kit who put them into those situations I guess. But in terms of preparing them for it, I think I just made sure that when we did the darker elements, they approached their performances from as serious position as possible - reminding them on the severity of what their characters were doing and asking them how they felt people would actually act in that situation.
What were some of the main obstacles you experienced when making Role Play and how did you overcome them?
Creating a film that is completely split down the middle with two opposing genres was the biggest challenge. Usually comedy/horror films are either comedy with a bit of horror mixed into it, or horror with a bit of comedy, but we literally did comedy in the first half, horror in the second which was almost implemented and changed like a light switch. It was a bit of a risk to do that, but I think it worked quite nicely in the end.
How did you find the film festival journey of Role Play and how do you feel now it’s released publicly?
Yeah really great. For the first eight or so years of my career I never really had much success with film festivals, so it’s nice to finally get my latest films selected for some. It always really nice to hear the live audience reaction to your work - especially for comedy. Makes all that hard work worth while. And for the reception of the film itself, both myself and Kit couldn’t have been happier. I don’t think either of us were quite expecting it to do as well as it did with some award wins etc. Over the moon.
What advice or hacks would you give to other short filmmakers?
I guess the main one is listen to your instincts and don’t talk yourself out of them just because other people don’t think in the same way you do. Following well trodden paths is super tempting but your job as a filmmaker is to get a little lost from time to time and explore new approaches. And try to avoid making short films with the mindset of “I’m making this to get into [insert prestigious festivals]", I think you just end up making proper boring stuff like that - go out and take risks, and be playful in your approach.
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
Deli Meat (2026) directed by Brick, I think is a masterclass in comedy filmmaking. The plot keeps you gripped and feels fluid and seamless, but the tension and conflict are never far away – it keeps you on your toes. The performances feel totally committed and genuine, and the camerawork is beautifully handled. If you haven’t seen it already… do!
What are you working on next?
Just finished writing four new short films - and plan to shoot all four this year. Which is a bit of an ambitious task but, I like working that way.
