2026

BACKSTAGE

short film | drama | 26 min

directed by Émile V. Schlesser
written by Jonas Brand & Émile V. Schlesser
produced by Fabien Colas & Émile V. Schlesser
co-produced by Govinda van Maele (Filmreakter)

logline

A theater production becomes a dangerous dance of power and attraction when a young actor discovers that the demanding director who holds his career in her hands may also be the one who will tear him apart – both on and off the stage.

CAST

Jonathan Joèl Albrecht
Sascha Ley
Tommy Schlesser
Jil Devresse
Mayalani Moes

CREW

1st assistant director: Joshua Thil
2nd assistant director: Luca Mahnke
3rd assistant director: Lisa Folschette

DP: Thorsten Robert Harms
1st assistant camera: Alex Weidert
Gaffer: Stepan Novotny
Grip: Enzo Maffei, Yann Gengler
Electricians: Lucie Tratz, Thierry Cumini

Production designer: Christina Schaffer
Costume designer: Virginia Ferreira
Hair & Makeup: Valentina Becker
Wardrobe: Olga Olina

Location manager: Céline Schlesser
Production assistant: Charlotte Piaia
Driver: Julien Colbach
Extras Coordinator: Sandrine Brasseur

Sound recordist: Carlo Thoss
Boom operator / Foleys: Labio Tsaganas
Sound Designer: Paola Macias
Sound Mixer: Ken Nnganyadi

Composer: Rickie Lee Kroell
Editor: Émile V. Schlesser
Colorist: Aljoscha Hoffmann
Music mixer: Julian Collet
Musicians: Axel Kroell, Gero Kempf

FESTIVALS

Max Ophüls Preis (Germany)
Luxembourg City Film Festival (Luxembourg)
Landshuter Kurzfilmtage (Germany)
WorldFest Houston Int. Film Festival (USA)
San Diego International Film Festival (USA)

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Power abuse is something many of us have experienced, particularly within industries like entertainment, where hierarchical structures and closed environments can foster manipulation and exploitation.

Set in the world of theater, BACKSTAGE explores the subtle mechanisms through which authority can be misused, and examines how ambition, mentorship, misinterpretation, and coercion can gradually blur boundaries and lead to an abusive relationship.

At its core, the film asks what makes these situations so difficult to recognize and resist. How can someone in a position of authority take advantage of a young person’s ambition and vulnerability without the abuse ever appearing clear or explicit? And why can it become so difficult for the victim to "simply say no"?

BACKSTAGE seeks to illuminate the gray areas where power abuse takes root and the psychological mechanisms that make it so difficult to stop.