On Christmas Eve Santa’s Helper, Angela, drives her estranged daughter to the airport to catch the red eye flight home to Angela’s ex-husband. On the car ride she reveals the truth about her past mistakes and why he took their daughter on Christmas Day 16 years ago.

Do you believe in Santa?

Creative team

Writers: John Robert McGie, S. Siobhan McCarthy
Director: S. Siobhan McCarthy
Producers: Lori Watt, Asha Gill, S. Siobhan McCarthy

Filmmaker’s statement

I have always been fascinated with the human condition and why we do the things we do. Why do we lie, cheat and steal? I am particularly intrigued with how humans court, mate, act in relationship and how we foster family. What brings us together? What tears us apart? What keeps a couple in union? What keeps a family whole?

In Red Eye I was excited to explore the notion of estranged family members reuniting. I wanted to explore the unspoken sadness that Christmas can bring to many people. I wanted to show the delicate intricacies of how addiction and poor life choices can haunt us and rip our lives and families apart. I also wanted to show the soft space of hope and how we can learn to forgive ourselves and our loved ones for our mistakes.

I wanted to explore the mother/daughter relationship and pay homage to my own mum who would talk to/at me about the important and awkward things in life, in the car, because she didn’t have to look at me, and I couldn’t escape. I was a captured audience.

About S. Siobhan McCarthy

Award-winning film and web series producer, S. Siobhan McCarthy, is the CEO and executive producer of blyssful PRODUCTIONS and red trike media inc. She is the co-creator, executive producer and showrunner of the award-winning comedy web series Parked which received funding from the BC Film + Media Interactive Fund, IPF and Creative BC, and was part of CFC Media Lab’s ideaBOOST Affiliate Program. Parked screened at numerous prestigious web festivals and was nominated for best comedy, best Canadian series, best actor and outstanding achievement in comedy. Peter DeLuise won best director for Parked at Vancouver Webfest 2015. Parked also won a Leo Award and has gone viral on three separate platforms.

Down Here, her first feature film that she produced, premiered at Whistler Film Festival 2013 and had its theatrical debut in April 2015. Down Here won the Award of Excellence at the Canada Film Festival, in the Canadian Feature Film Competition.

An innovative, transdisciplinary artist and educator, Siobhan also produced WAM, BC’s first international disability media festival through Kickstart Disability Arts when she was the co-artistic director. While there, Siobhan executive produced five short films including Will, which won the Golden Sheaf at Yorkton Film Festival 2013, and Patience and Absurdity, which represented Canada at the 2012 Paralympics Games in London. Siobhan has been the production manager of Vancouver International Film Festival Forum for almost two decades. She has a slate of film, television and web properties in development.

In 2014 she was chosen as a Bell Media National Fellow and won the Women In Film Toronto Banff scholarship.

In 2015 Siobhan was invited to join the CMPA Berlinale EFM delegation where she pitched her slate of films to industry stakeholders. In 2015 she attended Cannes March du Film’s Producer’s Network to pitch red trike media inc’s slate and to represent The Twisted Slipper in Cannes Court de Metrage.

After spending the past decade and a half producing films and series, Siobhan was thrilled for her debut as a director at Cannes Court de Metrage 2018 with her short film Red Eye that was made with an all-female cast and crew.

Siobhan moonlights as an educator, actor, writer and director for hire, as well as creating digital strategies and acting as a social media community manager for various broadcast properties.

She’s excited to direct her first feature film, Evelyn (previously Glendale) in the Yukon. Evelyn was incubated in Whistler International Film Festival’s Feature Project lab and is in development with Super Channel, The Yukon Film and Sound Commission, Creative BC and Northwest Tel with Raven Banner slated to distribute.

Siobhan has been profiled and published in the Canadian Theatre Review where she was credited as being one of “Canada’s foremost cross-over artists.” The University of York has documented her and archived her body of work as she has been identified as a ‘trailblazer’ in performance creation across Canada.

She also loves to perform and is a proud UBCP/ACTRA member and master clown, BLYSS. Cirque du Soliel scouted her in 2005 when she headlined Toronto Festival of Clowns. She remains in their talent bank.

Siobhan is represented by Kim Barsanti at Lucas Talent.