A young photographer haunted by a premonition of her own death arrives at an isolated artist’s residency in New Zealand, where she falls for a reclusive deer hunter. But as the line between desire and dread blurs before her lens, she begins to suspect that fate brought her here for a reason, one she may not survive.

Synopsis:

Claire, an Australian photographer drawn to capturing beauty in the unsettling, has always sensed things before they come. When she travels to mountains of New Zealand’s South Island for a prestigious creative residency at Driftwood, the secluded estate of esteemed photographer Eugene Du Bray, she searches for inspiration amongst the wild and rugged landscapes that surround her and the people within them. Despite the warnings of Driftwood’s strange and seer-like housekeeper, Lenka, Claire’s artistic obsession is brought into focus by a bruising love affair with a reclusive deer hunter, Hector, behind the back of Robyn, Hector’s troubled and volatile girlfriend and Eugene’s only daughter. But when Robyn goes missing, and Hector is suspected of being responsible, Claire is torn between her feverish desire for him, and a fear for her life. As she begins to uncover the mystery that her photographs have unwillingly entangled her in, and an unravelling Eugene begins to turn against her, Claire must learn to decipher between what she’s really seeing, and what is a trick of the light, refracting through a strange and dangerous lens.

An atmospheric psychological thriller with the soul of a gothic romance, Hold Still explores the intimacy between artist and subject, the tension between control and surrender, and the unnerving possibility that fate might already be in motion; and love, the beginning of the end.

Cast:

Julia Gardell

CLAIRE
Arlo Green

HECTOR
Hugo Weaving

EUGENE
Brit O'Rourke

ROBYN
Elizabeth Hawthorne

LENKA

Where the tortured characters and atmospheric landscapes of Wuthering Heights meets the contemporary and troubled romance of Twilight, and the gothic thrills of Daphne Du-Maurier’s Rebecca meets the erotic cinematic style of Jane Campion’s The Piano, Hold Still tells a darkly romantic tale of forbidden love, second sight, and artistic obsession, where the tension between fate and chance is explored through the lens of a photographer coming to terms with her own clairvoyance.

Hold Still takes place within and around Driftwood, a spectacular house nestled amongst the wild, windswept landscapes of Lake Wakatipu, Glenorchy.

Hold Still is currently in post production in Sydney for completion in September 2026.

Press:

The Team:

Orla Doyle

Writer I Director I Producer
A 2020 Young Australian Filmmaker of the Year Nominee for her debut short HEAD SPINS, Orla’s 2022 drama web series SIRENS garnered numerous awards at festivals internationally, including Best Direction and Best Student Series at the London International Web and Shorts Film Festival, before being acquired for ABC iView. In 2023 Orla co-founded production company SEYMOUR PICTURES to produce indie romance drama feature TWO UGLY PEOPLE. HOLD STILL is Orla’s debut feature film as a writer director.
Julia Gardell

Actor I Producer
Playing the lead role of CLAIRE in HOLD STILL, Julia’s breakout performance in web series SIRENS received international attention at festivals around the world. With experience working globally in the high-end fashion industry, Julia has since turned her attention to acting and producing as a co-founder of SEYMOUR PICTURES, where she produced and starred in short film SNAKES AND LADDERS and produced indie romance feature film TWO UGLY PEOPLE.
Peter Skinner

Producer
An Academy Award qualifying, St Kilda best film winning and Australian Directors Guild nominated writer and director, Peter’s debut feature TWO UGLY PEOPLE is due for completion in 2025. Also a Producer on the film and a co-founder of SEYMOUR PICTURES, Peter is highly experienced in the world of independent film production, and passionate about creating opportunities for exciting new cinematic voices in Australia.
Kaitlyn McMurtry

Producer
Kaitlyn McMurtry is a passionate Producer drawn to storytelling as a tool to create change in the world. Since graduating from the Australian Film, Television & Radio School she has been freelancing in long form Production on projects such as THE ARTFUL DODGER S2 (Disney+), THE LAST ANNIVERSARY (Binge) & THE IDEA OF AUSTRALIA (SBS). In 2021 she produced SIRENS, an 8 x 10 minute web series acquired by ABC iView after a highly successful festival fun. Now she’s back with the same team to produce her first feature film HOLD STILL.
Adric Watson

Director of Photography
Adric Watson is a Palme D’or winning Australian cinematographer based in London, England, whose work has screened in numerous top tier international festivals including Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival.
Joanna Mae Park

Costume Designer
Joanna Mae Park is a much sought-after costume designer, currently collaborating on the Irish/Australian co production MIXED TAPE with director Lucy Gaffy. Other recent credits include THE LOST FLOWERS OF ALICE HART, for director Glendyn Ivin, starring Sigourney Weaver; PIECES OF HER, directed by Minkie Spiro, starring Toni Collette and Jessica Barden. Joanna also designed Glendyn Ivin’s feature film PENGUIN BLOOM, starring Naomi Watts, Jackie Weaver and Andrew Lincoln, the film premiered at the 2020 Toronto Film Festival.
Joe Mount

Sound Designer
Joe Mount is a sound designer, dialogue editor and re-recording mixer with over 20 years experience in the Amsterdam, London and Sydney. Career highlights include sound effects editing for Jonathan Glazer’s Best Sound Oscar winning The Zone of Interest, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things and Brendan Bellomo’s Porcelain War, dialogue editing for Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness, re-recording mixing for Bonnie Moir’s AACTA Best Sound nominated TV series Exposure.
Stanley Doyle

Co-Composer
A classically trained cellist, guitarist and singer, Stanley Doyle is a musician, songwriter and composer based between London and Sydney.
As well as performing and recording with his London rock band PARLAY, Stanley composes for film and TV including ABC iView series SIRENS.
Tony Buchen

Co-Composer
Tony Buchen is an Australian record producer, mixer, arranger, musician and song-writer based between Los Angeles and Sydney who has worked with a varied and distinguished list of artists that includes Smashing Pumpkins, John Carroll Kirby, Eddie Chacon, Peter Garrett, Troy Sivan, Kirin J Callinan, Montaigne, The Church, Jess Cornelius, Tabitha, The Falls, The Preachers and many more.

Tony also composes for film, television and theatre including the feature films Lonesome and Two Ugly People.