Last Night on Botha

Last Night on Botha
Promotional poster for Last Night on Botha, 1723 AN.
Directed by	Hans Backovic
Written by	Hans Backovic
Produced by	Hans Backovic
Starring	Eloise Delacroix
Music by	Allegra Van Bokhoven
Production company	Backovic Productions
Distributed by	TBC
Release date	TBC
Running time	90 minutes
Country	Nouvelle Alexandrie
Language	Common Tongue (Istvanistani)

Last Night on Botha (1723 AN), a psychological horror thriller by Hans Backovic. Notably received a single screening at the Judah Film Festival before swiftly earning the singular distinction of being denied screening and distribution in every member state of the Community of Goldfield. Hans Backovic has subsequently sought to obtain crowdfunding for an online release but has complained bitterly of what he regarded as the censorship efforts of the FHP government, whom he claimed were acting officiously on behalf of their Benacian allies, a move he denounced as "corrupt and sinister".

Synopsis

Setting

The events of the film take place on the island of Botha, situated in the Bay of Chryse across the water from the eponymous city which serves as the capital of the Benacian Union. The island is home to the Bothan Institute, an elite Humanist Institute and finishing school for daughters of the officer corps of the Benacian Union Defence Force. Notoriously the girls are confined to the island for the entirety of their education unless accompanied by the infamous chaperones provided by the Women's Auxiliary Service.

Accordingly the last night spent on Botha is, for every graduating cohort, a momentous occasion.

However this film darkly postulates that the significance of the final night be far more and radically different than any of them might envisage.

Plot

Amidst the soft rustle of diaphanous white silk, a celebration unfurls on the island of Botha, an elite haven nestled in the Bay of Chryse. Here, the Bothan Institute stands as a beacon of refinement, a finishing school for the daughters of the Benacian Union Defence Force's officer corps. The final night on Botha, once a symbol of joyous culmination, now shrouds itself in an ominous cloak, veiling a sinister agenda that taints the festivities with treacherous intent.

As the sun dips beneath the horizon, casting long shadows across the grand hallways, a palpable tension hangs in the air. Five graduates, bound by camaraderie and the promise of a brighter future, stand at the precipice of a night that will forever alter their lives. Their innocence belies the darkness that awaits, as hidden agendas and malevolent forces converge to unravel the fabric of their identities.

In the heart of the revelry, the boundaries between reality and the macabre begin to blur, casting an eerie hue over the festivities. Echoes of unsettling laughter reverberate through the corridors, each footfall an uncertain step into an increasingly surreal landscape. Whispers of a malevolent presence linger in the air, a phantom figure that emerges from the shadows, embodying both maternal authority and arcane malevolence.

As the night unfolds, the graduates become unwitting pawns in a haunting game of manipulation, coercion, and repressed horrors. The headmistress, a spectral figure who wields both power and darkness, guides them down a path where the line between the tangible and the surreal fades into obscurity. Amidst the labyrinthine corridors, secrets unravel and shadows deepen, revealing a nightmarish tapestry that binds them to their fate.

The girls must navigate the treacherous landscape of psychological torment, confronting their deepest fears and unearthing the sinister threads that entangle them. With every revelation, the once-innocent celebration morphs into a battle for sanity, a descent into a realm where reality intertwines with hallucination. The struggle between conformity and resistance intensifies as they grapple with the malevolent intentions that cast their shadows over Bothan Institute's final night.

Reaction

"A blistering, full frontal, assault on the misogynistic, necrotic, and pathological perversities of Humanism in the modern era. 'Last Night on Botha' is an unflinching expose of the dark realities that our indifference has allowed to take root in the world."

—Declaration of the judging panel at the Judah Film Festival, 1723 AN