

Ten minutes. One scientist. A neighbor who should've minded their business.
In a dystopian future, where one ex-government scientist holds the key to ending the nation's famine, only a government investigator can stand in his way. His secret research is threatened when a neighbour reports his suspicious behaviour.
Acting
Beckett's ice-cold inspector chills in seconds.
Direction
Mathewson wrings dread from fluorescent lighting.
Editing
Ruthless compression—no frame wasted.

Director
Tracy Mathewson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Mathewson shot this during her MFA at NFTS; it played Clermont-Ferrand, rare for a UK student short. The 'woman director' keyword isn't identity—it's survival in genre spaces.
The title 'Appellation' refers to naming—and Slovik's research is literally about renaming survival as treason. The inspector never says his crime aloud.