by FilmInk Staff
The Directorial Debut from Jorrden Daley
OFFICIAL SELECTION FOR SXSW SYDNEY® SCREEN FESTIVAL
SHORTLISTED “Best Feature Film”
Pacific Shadow Pictures announces the premiere date for WELCOME BACK TO MY CHANNEL, the feature film directorial debut from Jorrden Daley (BUMP). Produced by Jill Kingston, the feature horror will have its world premiere at SXSW Sydney Screen Festival on 16 October at Palace Central. The film stars exciting, emerging Australian talent Meg Fraser, Bryn Chapman Parish, Keenan Walker and was shot entirely on location in NSW. WELCOME BACK TO MY CHANNEL makes use of found footage and follows the story of an influencer and her boyfriend and a camping trip gone horribly awry.
“This film started as a means to make a low-budget directorial debut after years of writing and producing.” Said Jorrden Daley, Writer and Director. “Influencer culture, particularly family vloggers, has long fascinated me – their lives seem so artificial, yet they present them as reality. With this film, I wanted to unpack the psychological toll of living a double life and explore what happens when those facades are stripped away.
WELCOME BACK TO MY CHANNEL tells the story of influencer Suki, who brings her American boyfriend, Leo, home to Australia. On a camping trip, they’re disturbed first by Leo’s prankster friend, Cass, and then by the discovery of a lost little girl before being set upon by the girl’s knife-wielding cannibalistic family. What ensues, is horror at its finest drawing on influencer culture, found footage elements including police body cameras and security footage all set to the backdrop of the Australian wilderness, which has always proved to be the perfect backdrop to any horror setting. This is the curated online world ripped apart, literally limb by limb.
“In today’s world, pretence has become the norm.” Said Daley, “We’re constantly pretending – pretending to be happier, braver, more successful. We’ve become so adept at this that we even convince ourselves. This film peels back those layers, forcing the characters – and the audience – to confront the unsettling truth that, beneath our civilized facades, we’re all just animals.”
The directorial debut for Jorrden comes after success as the writer and producer on the microbudget family drama feature THE LONGEST WEEKEND (Sydney Film Festival, BIFF, DIFF, Mardi Gras Film Festival). Ready to direct her first feature, Jorrden turned to horror, a genre she had always loved. She naturally leaned into the microbudget feature format following on from her recent success and drew inspiration from THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY hoping to create an Aussie spiritual successor. Jorrden and Jill met in 2020 and soon discovered a shared love of horror which led to commencing work on the project in 2023.
“I really loved working with Jorrden on this film.” Said Jill Kingston, Producer. “We are a great team – collaborating on every element of the production but also understanding each other’s strengths and roles. Jorrden took the lead on all things creative and I handled all the risk, business and logistical elements. To have the film premiere at SXSW Sydney is a dream come true for both of us after years of hard work and determination to bring the project to the screen.”
With extremely limited shoot days, the Team knew they needed the best actors they could find who could not only deliver incredible performances but also act as guerilla camera operators. The cast and crew spent three days on location in the Blue Mountains, with production filled with challenges including tricky council permits, hordes of tourists, losing light, stunt work, not to mention few comforts of any kind including trailers. The team hopes this could be the first film in a new franchise following the theme of Cannibals versus Influencers, the second of which will be called WELCOME BACK TWO MY CHANNEL.
SXSW Sydney is the Asia-Pacific edition of the renowned South by Southwest Festival and runs for seven days in October from the 13th. The event blends a technology and innovation conference with festivals for music, screen (film), and games. WELCOME BACK TO MY CHANNEL will be screened as part of the screen festival on October 16 with the first session already sold out and a second screening date to be announced soon.
PRODUCTION DETAILS & TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Logline: An influencer couple run afoul of a terrifying threat while camping in the Australian wilderness.
Year: 2025
Genre: Horror
Runtime: 94 minutes
Language: English
Country: Australia
Content Warning: Gore
Director: Jorrden Daley
Producer: Jill Kingston
Screenwriter: Jorrden Daley
Cast: Meg Fraser, Bryn Chapman Parish, Keenan Walker
Executive Producers: Matt Reeder George Tilley Molly Murr Nalani Wakita Igor Breakenback
Director of Photography: Jack Shepherd
Production and Costume Designer: Hannah Yardley
Hair, Makeup & SFX Designer: Melinda Allen
Editor: Alana Greig
Sound Designer: Sasha Zastavnikovic
Casting by: Chicken & Chips
A PACIFIC SHADOW PICTURES PRODUCTION
PRODUCED & FILMED IN NEW SOUTH WALES
The Filmmakers would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the traditional owners of the land on which WELCOME BACK TO MY CHANNEL was filmed and produced.
From Director, Jorrden Daley
“My fascination with the tension between authenticity and facade drives this film. As a queer woman raised in a conservative Catholic family, I’ve lived much of my life inauthentically, in hiding, putting on facades to protect myself. This film explores the opposite – what compels someone to expose every part of themselves to the world, as influencers do. Is it a consequence of neglect, a desperate need for validation? I find this paradox intriguing, given my own fear that exposure would lead to rejection.
“The choice to use found footage was natural, given the story’s roots in influencer culture. I wanted to introduce other found footage elements, like police body cameras and security footage, to add dynamic perspectives while keeping the horror situational and claustrophobic. The Australian wilderness was the perfect setting, not only for its beauty but for its raw, untamed nature that contrasts starkly with the curated online world.
“By blending found footage horror with influencer culture, I hope to create a thought-provoking and immersive experience that challenges the audience to question the authenticity of their own identities.
“It all happened very quickly. Which worked for me because I’m so impatient at the speed this industry moves.” In May 2023, she outlined the idea and had a first draft to Jill by October 2023 however it wasn’t until late January 2024 that Jill had time to read the script. Almost immediately, Jill was onboard with a May shoot date and the Team began submitting to film festivals by September of the same year.
“It was very important to me to ensure we had the strongest possible chemistry between our three leads. Not just their dynamic as a group but as the couple who have been together for five years, as the best friends who have known each other for years but where the relationship is unequal, and the tension between the best friend and the girlfriend. We took in a whole lot of tapes and then had in person chemistry reads. Meg couldn’t come in to see us in person so I was ready to move forward without her but I was convinced to do the Zoom chemistry tests and what a great thing that was. The chemistry between Bryn and Meg was palpable, coming out of the screen sizzling. The same thing with Bryn and Keenan who had both come in for chemistry reads but who we hadn’t put together for whatever reason until the Zoom session. They all made our choices easy.”
From Jill Kingston, Producer
“I read the script in January 2024 and immediately loved it. Not just for the gripping horror elements, but for the layered and nuanced characters who, along with so many young people today, live with the ever-present pressure and complexity of social media and online scrutiny. I also love how the story pits two polar opposite ends of society against each other, cannibals and influencers, and how our lead characters really come full circle on their beliefs and values and are forced to confront their baser natures. I often wonder how much of our manners and civility are the product of our comfortable modern lifestyles and when all of that is stripped away, how different are we really from the animals that inhabit our wilderness.
“Jorrden took the lead on all things creative and I handled all the risk, business and logistical elements. But having her as a sounding board and supporter was invaluable. I couldn’t have produced the film without Jorrden. I can’t wait to collaborate on future projects.
