Genre
Synopsis
Winnipeg 1919. In the aftermath of World War I, the Spanish Flu pandemic, and leading up to the general strike that derailed a fledgling city bound for greatness, the Martins—a respected medical family in an affluent Winnipeg neighbourhood—are about to do the unthinkable...
THEY'RE ABOUT TO MAKE CONTACT WITH THE DEAD.
But once a door opens, it opens on both sides, and what begins as a curious endeavour sparked by tragedy for the family matriarch soon turns into something much more sinister. Based on the book, “The Art of Ectoplasm” edited by Serena Keshavjee, which thoroughly documents the real life spirit photography and séances of Lillian and T.G. Hamilton, ANATOMY OF A SÉANCE is a serialized short-form dramatic horror series (8 episodes x 15 minutes) inspired by the untold true story of Winnipeg’s place in the once-popular Spiritualism movement, the invention of spirit photography and its use as hard proof that there is life after death, and the rise and fall of the controversial family at the centre of it all.
ANATOMY OF A SÉANCE uses horror as a lens to examine the human condition: how we love, how we live in fear, how we’re constantly searching for the unknown. But at its core, it’s a story of grief bound to a mother’s love, of how it consumes and distorts everything in its path. It’s a story of classism, of how the social divide places decent people in precarious situations, all in the name of survival, and how morals can be corrupted with the hope of becoming infamous. And, it’s a story of ghosts, of how one needs not be dead to be a spectre—the living can haunt just as well.
Bio
Jessica Landry is a screenwriter, director, and Bram Stoker Award-winning author. Her original horror feature, MY ONLY SUNSHINE, was accepted into Whistler Film Festival’s Screenwriters Lab in 2020 and is in development, with Jessica set to direct. In 2021, she was accepted into the CFC/Netflix Project Development Accelerator with her original horror/comedy series, CATASTROPHE QUEENS, which is currently under option; as well as TIFF’s inaugural Series Accelerator program (September 2022) and NSI’s Series Incubator program (November 2021) with her original limited drama series, GHOSTS OF LAKELAND. She’s directed a proof-of-concept short film based on GHOSTS OF LAKELAND, followed by TESTAMENT, a drama funded by the NSI’s Cinematoba program, and is currently gearing up to film her next original short, a dark comedy entitled I FALL TO PIECES.
Jessica has several original projects under option, including WE SHALL BE MONSTERS, a factual series about the history of women in horror that she will write and direct, and the horror feature, BODY COUNT. She’s also written several drama and thriller MOWs including LIST OF A LIFETIME, which was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award and Hollywood Critics’ Association Award for Best Made for Television Movie. Jessica has worked in the development room for the CBC show STRAYS; co-wrote and co-executive produced the feature documentary, TRUE STORY, for the History Channel; has written on FAMILY FIRST, a sitcom in development with Eagle Vision
Credits
Creator/Producer/Writer/Director - Jessica Landry
Producer - Shawn Watson
