There is Light

LOS ANGELES PREMIERE

Experimental, Short | Canada | 13 MINUTES | English

Director: Judith Schuyler

Wild is a tragic yet alluring figure, spiraling deeper into the chaos of addiction and denial. Unwilling to face herself, she wanders through a dark and surreal world of her own creation. As she descends further, she encounters an ancient and powerful force who forces her to make a choice: remain in the darkness forever or fight her way back into the light. A haunting allegory of self-destruction and healing, There is Light explores the terrifying beauty of transformation through an Indigenous lens.

CAST & CREDITS

Director

Judith Schuyler

Producer

Shareph Breakwell,Judith Schuyler

Screenwriter

Judith Schuyler

Key Cast

Cotee Harper, Sonny Russel, Shyla Sands

DIRECTORS BIO

Judith Schuyler is a writer-director and filmmaker from the Onyota’a:ka (Oneida) Nation, currently focused full-time on developing her craft in screenwriting and directing. Her debut short film, Love Kills, was a horror story about a Native teenage serial killer, an homage to 1980s slasher films. In 2022, she wrote, directed, and starred in Once Upon a Time in the Bay, a dramatic gay comedy shot in Aotearoa (New Zealand), which screened at the Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival, among many others.

Her latest project, There is Light an Indigenous dark fairy tale blending live-action and VFX was completed in late summer of 2025. Schuyler won the Pitch Please! competition for the film at the Inside Out Festival in 2023.

She is currently in post-production with her dramatic short film Lakeni’ha’ (My Father), developed through the imagineNATIVE Screenwriting Lab and winner of the short film pitch competition at the Forest City Film Festival 2023. The film is set for release in 2026.

Her first feature film script, Strippers Have No Names, is currently in development with support from Telefilm Canada. The story explores the sexual exploitation of Indigenous women and the loss and reclamation of Indigenous values. Schuyler is also developing a spiritual horror/thriller, continuing to expand her voice across genres while remaining rooted in Indigenous storytelling.

DIRECTORS STATEMENT

There is Light is the first story I ever wrote for the screen, originally crafted as a short story, long before I understood how to write a script for the screen. This film is deeply personal, rooted in a painful chapter of my early twenties, when I spiralled into addiction and self-destruction. After the end of my first queer relationship, I struggled with shame, isolation, and the fear of being out in my Indigenous community. That emotional rupture opened the door to a darker world one marked by substance abuse and a slow erosion of self.

Told through the lens of horror, There is Light captures the psychological terror of that time: the hallucinations, the chaos, the ghosts of what could have been. Much like an Indigenous “A Christmas Carol”, the film is a haunting journey, a spiritual confrontation with the self, and ultimately, a story of redemption. It’s about the courage it takes to walk away from what’s killing you, and the sacred strength it takes to walk toward the light.