SYNOPSIS
Medusa wakes up without her powers on a London night bus and is provoked by a series of passengers, awakening a bloody journey of self-discovery. Sometimes to find yourself again, all you need is a good scream…
WHAT GOES ROUND is surreal re-imagining of the Medusa mythology; a playfully dark & twisted subversion of the narratives women and girls have been taught about victims, monsters, shame and power.
TeaM
Writer-Director | EDIE DEFFEBACH
Producer | SUZANNA SWANSON-JOHNSTON
Executive Producers | LIAM WALLACE-COOK | MACKENZIE EMIKO BERKMAN
Editor | ACE MCCOLL
DoP | ANDERS MALMBERG
Sound Design | SEAN KIELY
Composer | WILLIAM J STOKES
Starring | STELLA TALPO Featuring | MICHAEL MUELLER ALEXANDER ARNOLD and EVELINE REYNOLDS-BOISON
INFO
TOTAL RUNTIME 14 m 10 s
GENRE Docu Fiction | Surreal | Body-Horror | Feminist
COMP TITLES Under the Skin | Fish Tank | Titane
COUNTRY | United Kingdom
LANGUAGE | English
ACCOLADES
Semi-Finalist Outstanding Screenplay Shorts Competition (2023)
Semi-Finalist Cinequest Screenwriting Competition (2023)
Honourable Mention BOLT (Barnstorm Fest) Screenplay Competition (2023)
Quarterfinalist Filmmatic Short Screenplay Awards (2022)
Quarterfinalist Slamdance Screenplay Competition (2022)
Quarterfinalist Pitch Now Screenplay Competition Season 7 (in association with Sundance and Filmmmatic)
WHAT GOES ROUND Teaser | Film Completion 28 Sep 2025
BIOGRAPHIES
EDIE DEFFEBACH is a British-American filmmaker with Japanese heritage. She is drawn to stories, histories and spaces that are often overlooked and showing them in genres difficult to define.
Her short films RIVER TAKE ME (writer/director) and THE QUEUE (writer/producer) found success at many international film festivals, including BIFA-qualifying Beeston Film Festival (Nom. Best in Pride and Best Performances) and BIFA-qualifying Brighton Rocks International Film Festival. Other selections include the LA Indie Short Fest (Best Original Screenplay, Best Acting, Best Sci-Fi), Toronto Independent Film Festival (Best Horror/Sci-Fi Short), LA Independent Woman Films Awards (Best Sci Fi), Paris Film Festival (Best Thriller), Hollywood Just4Short (Best Action/Sci-Fi Short), Vancouver International Movie Awards (Best International Narrative Short) and Lonely Wolf International Film Festival (Nom. Best Editing/Sound Design, Best British Short Film), among others. Her one-woman show (In)Jeopardy premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (2018) and later transferred to the Tristan Bates Theatre, Soho.
Upcoming projects include a Jamaican-based coming-of-age short (GYAL). She is currently in development for her debut feature - a folk-horror period piece which was shortlisted for the ShortCircuit First Features competition.
She founded the indepdnent production company TaMA Films in memory of her grandmothers Tatsuko and Marilyn.
SUZANNA SWANSON JOHNSTON is a London-based, Scotland-born creative producer. She brings a decade of experience of working in production across film, television, documentaries, live events, and theatre. Suzanna also works at an industry-leading literary agency, representing directors and writers in theatre and screen.