THE QUICK VIEW
WHITCH is a 6 minute horror/comedy that premieres at SXSW in March of 2025! It’s written & directed by Hoku Uchiyama.
LOGLINE
After putting her daughter to bed, Aura discovers an intruder in her house: an elderly lady who acts strangely familiar, and is hell-bent on performing a bloody ritual before midnight.
CONTACT
Hoku Uchiyama • hoku@hokuuchiyama.com • www.hokuuchiyama.com
LOW RES GALLERY
DIRECTOR STATEMENT
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area around some adults who called themselves “witches.” I would eventually learn that these folks aren’t broom riders with malignant powers. They're people (often kind) who practice a form of Neo-Paganism called Wicca. (Though many do use terms like “covens” and “spells” which added to my pre-teen confusion).
I always got a kick out of the idea of a mythical witch crossing a person who practiced Wicca. I thought whatever mayhem that interaction produced would be fun to watch. So I decided to make it happen.
DIRECTOR BIO:
Hoku is a lover of fantasy films, horror, and animation. Over the past decade he’s worked as a director (sometimes with Adam Bolt) and editor on music videos, documentaries, and advertising. Clients and collaborators include, Katy Perry, They Might Be Giants, National Geographic, and YouTube.
KELLY KING - PRODUCER
Kelly King is a dynamic producer with a track record of delivering high-impact projects across film, television, and branded content. From working with the US Navy to capturing F-18s in flight to partnering with Google on cutting-edge 360° storytelling, Kelly thrives at the intersection of innovation and narrative. He served as showrunner for MATPAT’S GAMELAB, a groundbreaking series that garnered over 100 million views. With a keen eye for storytelling and the logistics to bring ambitious ideas to life, Kelly has built a reputation for elevating every project he touches—turning creative visions into cinematic reality.
CAST
ROSEMARY HOCHSCHILD was an actress and writer, known for DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN (1985), KING BLANK (1983) and SUPERGIRL (2015). She was married to Michael Oblowitz and Ron Vawter. She died on August 14, 2024.
WHITCH is her final film.
ALICIA BLASINGAME is a classically trained actor who has performed on screens and stages across the country. She recently played leading roles in SECRETS OF SHADYVALE and BODYGUARD SEDUCTION on Lifetime, as well as the holiday feature film THE FAMILY ORNAMENTS. Alicia can be seen in over 50 films, with festival appearances including Cannes, SXSW, Palm Springs International, Fantasia, HollyShorts, LA Shorts, and Idyllwild. Wins include “Best Actress”, “Best Ensemble Cast”, and “Best Picture”.
Alicia began her career in the theatre, where she performed in the world premiere of I USED TO WRITE ON WALLS by Bekah Brunstetter (MAID, THIS IS US). After earning her B.A. in Theatre Arts at the University of Puget Sound, she continued her training in New York and subsequently Los Angeles, training at John Rosenfeld Studios, UCB, and The Imagined Life. She is a founding member of CFI Films and is a producer on the upcoming film DANGEROUS DAYS and the episodic series SISTERS OF THE DESERT.
NORA HARRIET is an award winning actress who started her acting career in Ohio at the young age of 3. She started out appearing in national commercials and print ads. She has appeared in over 20 regional and national commercials. Upon moving to Los Angeles in mid 2020, she quickly conquered the TV and Film world too.
You can soon catch Nora in the upcoming prequel of THE TERMINAL LIST: DARK WOLF filming alongside Chris Pratt and Taylor Kitsch playing Zaynab. Also, GHOST HOT TUB with Melissa Villasenor and Matty Cardarople and several other exciting projects.
Previously, Nora can be seen as Peyton in HELLO JACK! THE KINDNESS SHOW on AppleTV+ with Jack McBrayer and TAB TIME airing on YouTube TV. Both shows were recently nominated for an Emmy at the Children's and Family Emmys! She also played alongside Cheri Oteri on PBC as her daughter and Nick Jonas in THE GOOD HALF.
She has won Best Young Actress 6x at numerous film festivals all over the country for her lead roles in THE RIGHT ONE (2023) and Aura in THE ASTRONAUT (2023-NASA) and MR. VOKI, a short horror film where she won Best Young Actress and Best Short.
Stay tuned for additional projects she's working on!
With: CAROL MERRILL-MIRSKY, JOY MAMEY, GEFFEN AVIVA, and KINDRED GOTTLIEB
FESTIVALS • AWARDS • PRESS
WHITCH premieres on March 9th at SXSW! There is a follow up screening on March 13th. Learn more here.
CREW
Director of photography: KENNETH F. WALES
Production designer: ADAM HENDERSON
Original music: ANTON PATZNER
Costume designer: CAROLINE ALLANDER
Production sound mixer: DAN MCCOY
Key makeup and hair: STACEY HUMMELL
Unit production manager: COURTENAY SHERWOOD
1st assistant director: KATE LORD SCHNEPF
1st assistant camera: PABLO JARA
2nd assistant camera: GRAYCEN GODBEE
DIT: VICTOR PARRA
Gaffer: JAMES E. DAVIS
Best boy electricians: BRANDON ALPERIN, and MARK RAMSEY
Electrician: TEODORE DAVIS
Lighting console programmer: JOEY FEFFER
Key grip: EDUARDO LOERA
Best boy grips: CRAIG LERNER, and BRANDON FLOHR
Costumer: AZUCENA DOMINGUEZ
Set decorator: RODNEY HENDERSON
Art department assistant: ANTHONY HERNANDEZ
Script supervisors: ADAM BOLT, VICTOR PARRA, and SCOTT JONES
Casting associate: JILLIAN SEITHER
Intimacy coordinator: JAZLYN LEWIS
Animal wrangler: BOB DUNN’S ANIMAL SERVICES with REBECCA MURRAY
Puppeteer / fabricator: EMMA SIATE
Studio teacher: BETH MCMANIGILL
Location representatives: TIBOR TAKACS, and SHERRAL CLAYTON
Post Production Sound Mixer: VICKI LEMAR
Color Grader: MARCO MAUTI
Editing and VFX: HOKU UCHIYAMA
Coven house VFX: CHRISTOPHER CLEMENTS
Digital deliverables: MARK SPENCER
Associate producers: ADAM BOLT, MATTHEW BOYD, RAY FOLEY, SCOTT JONES, SEIBI LEE, MATT MILLER, JOEL SCHOOLNIK, JESSE SUNG, KIM UCHIYAMA, MĀHEALANI UCHIYAMA
Consulting producer: CARLOS GONZALEZ