PHANTOM CAROUSEL to Premiere at Hollyshorts Film Festival
The film stars babirye bukilwa and Alec Christie and was produced by Lab Hugo.
PHANTOM CAROUSEL, a new short film from London-based writer-director Efosa Osaghae, is set to make its world premiere at the Hollyshorts Film Festival. The dark satire stars Babirye Bukilwa, known for BBC/A24's Dreaming Whilst Black, and Alec Christie, known for Great Expectations and The Children of Green Knowe. The film is scheduled to screen at the Oscar-qualifying festival at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Los Angeles.
Speaking about the film's inclusion, Osaghae had this to say: 'I've known HollyShorts for many years and have attended its London edition, so it's a real honour to premiere one of my own films at the festival. I'm excited to introduce 'Phantom Carousel' to audiences in Los Angeles and begin its festival journey there.'
Synopsis
Bento Moura (Christie) is a man out of options. Broke, exhausted and under pressure from his estranged family, he takes covert work for a shadowy compliance firm spying on London's remote workforce. Armed with a Prius and a long lens, Bento hunts for 'productivity crimes': an ad creative skipping agency calls, a project manager dancing in his underwear and a coder choosing the gym over a client status meeting.
But as he sinks deeper into the absurdity of corporate surveillance, a routine audit pushes him from casual stalking to breaking into the home of worker Olara Adeyemi (bukilwa) and forces him to decide how far he is willing to go to remain employable.
Efosa Osaghae is a London-based writer-director whose work blends satire, speculative fiction and dark comedy to explore work, technology and contemporary culture. Drawing on his experience producing campaigns for Facebook, Amazon and Google, to create films about surveillance, performance and the attention economy.
His debut short, 'Locusts Beyond a Phantasia', was acquired by ShortsTV. The six-minute film followed a blind photographer who gets his sight back, but looking at the world causes strange and wild visions. The film was a semi-finalist selection for the BAFTA & Oscar-Qualifying Rhode Island International Film Festival and was covered by the likes of No Budge.
He also executive produced Millicent Hailes' 'Perfect', which screened as part of SXSW in 2026, and received coverage from the likes of Deadline and DIVA Magazine, starred Julia Fox. He also acted as producer on the theatrical sci-fi feature 'Sensation'. He is currently developing his debut feature as a director. Lab Hugo is a London-based independent production company focused on original films that blend satire, speculative fiction and dark comedy.
PHANTOM CAROUSEL, produced by Lab Hugo, follows Osaghae's debut short, Locusts Beyond a Phantasia. The film centers on Bento Moura, played by Christie, a man who takes covert surveillance work for a compliance firm monitoring remote workers, and Olara Adeyemi, played by bukilwa, whose home becomes the target of a routine audit gone wrong. Osaghae, whose work explores work, technology and contemporary culture through satire and speculative fiction, said he is excited to introduce the film to audiences in Los Angeles and begin its festival run there.
