Project Detail

Lonelier Than Love

Name: Lonelier Than Love
Director: Em J Gilbertson
Genre: Dance, Drama, Experimental, LGBTQIA+, Music
Released: 2026
Duration: 10 min 36 sec

Two people sat in the street at night time. They are dressed in club-wear. Shadows partially cover their faces and lights blur in the background.

A person sitting next to a window, looking out of it. The room is bathed in warm, morning light.

Synopsis

A poetic and visceral drama set against the colour-drenched backdrop of Liverpool’s queer nightlife, that dives headfirst into the chaos where drugs, romance, and self-destruction intertwine.
Told through fragmented timelines, spoken word poetry, and an immersive soundtrack, the film offers a subjective journey into the mind of Wolfy, who is caught in cycles of addiction and toxic love. Nights blur into days and back into nights again, each one a distorted reflection of the last.
Wolfy’s familiar rhythm of euphoria, comedowns and self-loathing is mellowed by Snooze, a charismatic, carefree lover, desperate to bring Wolfy out of his shell. Their connection burns bright but is dangerously fuelled by escapism and the promise of a freedom that always dissolves with the sunrise. As drugs and desire merge, the line between comfort and destruction becomes harder to see, until Wolfy must confront the reality that he’s been drowning out in the noise.
Exploring the tension between escapism and awareness - the struggle of knowing the damage being done, but feeling powerless to stop it.
Official Selection BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival 2026 - World premiere

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Details

Year: 2026
Type of project: Shorts
Running time: 10 min 36 sec
Format: Digital
Director: Em J Gilbertson
Producer: Lily Corke Butters
Executive Producer: Michelle Brøndum, Benjamin Taylor, Alice Cabañas
Editor: Lesley Posso
Screenwriter: Felix Mufti
Director of Photography: Matthew Bates
Production Designer: Jocelyn Meall
Sound: Luke Hodgkinson
Composer: Matt MacNamara
Principal cast: Felix Mufti, Matthew Devlin, Shaun Fagan
Costume Designer: Sara Carpentieri
Sound Designer: Em Edwards
Colourist: Paul Handley

Genre

Dance Drama Experimental LGBTQIA+ Music

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Supported by BFI NETWORK

Oxygen Films

Gage Oxley
2 Stourton Haigh
Pontefract Road
Hunslet
Leeds
LS10 1AX

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