logline: When 5 friends arrive at a beach house on the Oregon Coast for a holiday weekend they ignore the fact that one of them is acting strangely, only reacting when shortly thereafter that same person disappears.

runtime: 75 minutes | format: super 16 | screenplay: here | trailer: here

festivals: Portland FF, Seattle True Independent, Boise, Columbia Gorge, SoCal, and others.

thoughts: my debut feature. I made some mistakes, learned a ton. This cast is amazing. We shot across 18 days in January/February in Arch Cape and Portland, Oregon. Post-production took a couple years and then the film played in a handful of festivals. I made the black sea for the sheerest of microbudgets, financed solely by crowdfunding and grants, and fueled by my desire to make a moody first feature shot on film, one that favored tone and vibe over narrative clarity. Some viewers have called the black sea bold and some have called it inscrutable; either assessment is okay with me. Please watch and make your own determination.

WATCH ON AMAZON PRIME OR BELOW

a northern flicker films production | written & directed by Brian Padian | starring: Cora Benesh, Erin McGarry, Corrina Repp, Matt Sipes, Bill Sebastian, Joe von Appen | 1st AD David Mark Marion | DP Scott Ballard | Editor Evonne Moritz | Music Jesse Jones | Camera Assist Daniella Gleeson & Alison Johnson | Gaffer Kevin Forrest | Production Sound & Sound Design Jordan Eusebio | Line Producer Megan Lybrand | Script Supervisor Michelle Delaine Williams | Hair & Makeup Sarah Prevo | Production Assistants Ryan Lloyd + Sandy Huddle | made possible in part by a project grant from the Regional Arts + Culture Council

All characters and events depicted in this photoplay are entirely fictitious. Any similarity to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.