Halifax-raised filmmaker Christian Ghosn has released his new short film Violent Nights to view for free after a successful run at a number of international film festivals.
Completed at the start of 2020, the 19-minute crime drama starring Sania Hyatt as a former hit woman on a quest for revenge was the thesis film for the former NYU film school student, currently based in Los Angeles.
Violent Nights from Christian Ghosn on Vimeo.
Like his earlier film, When Don Met Vicky, Violent Nights includes a part played by Ghosn’s film school friend Mason Gooding (also son of actor Cuba Gooding Jr.), who stepped in at the last minute when a previously cast actor was suddenly unavailable.
“Mason happened to be visiting NY for the weekend, and after hearing about the predicament he agreed to halt his vacation plans and rush to set,” said Ghosn in his announcement about the film’s online release.
“This is one of many instances where things seemed doomed only to be propped up by friends, family and strangers.”
Since completion, Violent Nights has been seen virtually via film events like California’s Riverside International Film Festival, the New York Shorts International Film Festival and the Prague International Indie Film Festival, picking up several nominations and awards along the way.
After a trip home this summer, during which he shot a new music video Live Forever for Halifax hip-hop artist Quake Matthews, Ghosn discussed plans to further expand the world of Violent Nights by developing a script for a prequel series about the underworld lives and interactions of its characters.
As shown in his previous films, the filmmaker who grew up in Halifax’s Lebansese community told the Chronicle Herald he’d like to focus on projects with strong, well-defined female lead roles as well as racially diverse casts more reflective of the world he sees around him.
“Absolutely. Sometimes it stems from doing it intentionally, ensuring a film has racially diverse characters and actors, and also reflecting that in the crew is very important to me,” said Ghosn in August. “But sometimes you just find the best actor, and it doesn’t matter what their background is, whether they’re Caucasian or Black or Middle Eastern or Latino.
“Whatever it may be, I’ll look for the best actor and then work with them to incorporate their background into the character. But I might write a character that’s specifically Lebanese and then look for a Lebanese actor, but it’s project-dependent.”
Ghosn’s desire to promote new talent on camera and behind the scenes extends to making Violent Nights available for anyone who wants to see it, and to consider supporting his cast and crew members in future projects.
“If there’s anyone whom you can think of that may be interested in seeing the film, anyone who's looking for young talent, anyone who may be interested in promoting the film or collaborating with a member of our team on a future project, or anyone who just simply loves watching movies, please send and share the film with them,” he said of the film’s release.
“It would mean the world to us.”
