The Team

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

"UMPAN" started from a simple idea: what happens when guilt festers in silence? Growing up in a fishing town, I often heard stories—some superstitious, some cautionary—about the sea and the unseen forces it holds. These stories stayed with me, especially the way they reflected our fears and the things we often don’t talk about.
This short film draws on that atmosphere of quiet tension. It explores how a community deals with loss, fear, and the weight of unspoken truths. While the story is fictional, it’s shaped by the textures of my own environment—where rituals are taken seriously, and where silence can be just as haunting as any ghost.
Inspired by my love for psychological horror and creature films, I wanted to create something unsettling, but grounded in human emotion. I’ve always admired how the horror and monster genre can externalize what’s happening inside us—turning guilt, grief, or fear into something physical and terrifying. "UMPAN" leans into that tradition, but with restraint.
The film is presented in black and white to strip away the noise of realism and place the story in a more timeless, mythic space. I wanted it to feel like a memory, or a cautionary tale passed down—one that might just be true.
At its heart, "UMPAN" is a story about guilt, consequence, and the emotional toll of silence. It’s not just about what’s lost, but what’s buried.