Anatomy of a Séance

Scripted Short Development

Inspired by true events. In the horrific aftermath of World War I and the Spanish Flu pandemic, a respected medical family in an affluent Winnipeg neighbourhood are about to do the unthinkable...they’re about to make contact with the dead. But once a door opens, it opens on both sides, and what begins as a curious endeavour sparked by tragedy for the family matriarch soon turns into a sinister, otherworldly game of cat and mouse, one that places not only herself in mortal danger, but all of th...

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BIO
CREDITS

Genre

Horror Indigenous True Story Women Drama

Synopsis

Winnipeg 1919. In the aftermath of World War I, the Spanish Flu pandemic, and leading up to the general strike that derailed a fledgling city bound for greatness, the Martins—a respected medical family in an affluent Winnipeg neighbourhood—are about to do the unthinkable...

THEY'RE ABOUT TO MAKE CONTACT WITH THE DEAD.

But once a door opens, it opens on both sides, and what begins as a curious endeavour sparked by tragedy for the family matriarch soon turns into something much more sinister. Based on the book, “The Art of Ectoplasm” edited by Serena Keshavjee, which thoroughly documents the real life spirit photography and séances of Lillian and T.G. Hamilton, ANATOMY OF A SÉANCE is a serialized short-form dramatic horror series (8 episodes x 15 minutes) inspired by the untold true story of Winnipeg’s place in the once-popular Spiritualism movement, the invention of spirit photography and its use as hard proof that there is life after death, and the rise and fall of the controversial family at the centre of it all.

ANATOMY OF A SÉANCE uses horror as a lens to examine the human condition: how we love, how we live in fear, how we’re constantly searching for the unknown. But at its core, it’s a story of grief bound to a mother’s love, of how it consumes and distorts everything in its path. It’s a story of classism, of how the social divide places decent people in precarious situations, all in the name of survival, and how morals can be corrupted with the hope of becoming infamous. And, it’s a story of ghosts, of how one needs not be dead to be a spectre—the living can haunt just as well.

Director Identity

Indigenous Of Indigenous Descent Woman Parent she/her

Bio

Jessica Landry is a Métis screenwriter, director, producer, and Bram Stoker Award-winning author. Her original horror feature, MY ONLY SUNSHINE, was accepted into Whistler Film Festival’s Screenwriters Lab in 2020 and Blood in the Snow’s Horror Development Lab in 2023.In 2021, she was accepted into the CFC/Netflix Project Development Accelerator; as well as TIFF’s inaugural Series Accelerator program (September 2022) and NSI’s Series Incubator program (November 2021). Her drama/sci-fi feature, ANOMALY, was chosen to participate in Whistler Film

Festival’s Producers Lab (2024) and Women in the Director’s Chair CAM program (2024-25), and her production company, Familiar Films, was chosen for the Canada-France Co-Production

Lab at SeriesMania (2024).

Jessica has several projects in development, including GHOST LANDS, an Indigenous-led paranormal documentary; WE SHALL BE MONSTERS, a factual series about the history of women in horror; an original horror series, ANATOMY OF A SÉANCE; and THE NIGHT BELONGS TO US, a feature adaptation of her Shirley Jackson Award-nominated novella. Her original slasher feature, KILLER BODY COUNT, is currently streaming on Tubi, and she’s written several drama and thriller MOWs including LIST OF A LIFETIME, which was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award and Hollywood Critics’ Association Award. Jessica also worked as a story editor for the CBC sitcom, STRAYS; co-wrote and co-exec produced the feature doc, TRUE STORY, for the History Channel; has written on FAMILY FIRST, a sitcom in development with Eagle Vision; and wrote and directed several episodes of the factual series, 7TH GEN, for APTN. She’s directed several original shorts, including TESTAMENT (drama; on its festival run) and I FALL TO PIECES (dark comedy; in post). Jessica is currently adapting the novel APRIL RAINTREE as a limited series, recently signed a two-picture development deal, and has other projects in various stages of development.

Credits

Creator/Producer/Writer/Director - Jessica Landry

Producer - Shawn Watson

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