The Haunted House Hotel is now available to watch online.
The year is 1999 and Edward DeWitt has a problem. He’s been murdered. But whodunit? And can he get an Oscar-nominated documentary out of it? But will it end up being just another ghost-directed True Crime doc, or will Edward learn something about himself?
The Haunted House Hotel was a wonderful challenge, and I think everybody involved is thrilled to see it available to the public. After a couple of years in festivals – including the In The Palace International Short Film Festival – it’s finally on YouTube.
I’ve spoken before about the fun we had making this film. We were getting ready to shoot The Cost of the Crown and got the opportunity to work on this as well – so long as it was done in a week. I wrote the script in a single sitting. The challenge was to make a Tim Burton-influenced crime documentary set in the 1990s, featuring four characters.
Moe Acharki directed The Haunted House Hotel and it was produced as part of Nu Boyana’s Film Forge program.
Anyway, here’s the film, and below I’ll post director Moe Acharki’s statement.
Director Statement:
The Haunted House Hotel began as a challenge that quickly became one of the most rewarding filmmaking experiences of my career.
In 2023, during my year-long internship at Nu Boyana Film Studios, I was offered a unique deal by the studio’s CEO. if I directed a short film for the studio’s training programme, I would be given the opportunity to produce my own project there as well. The brief was simple but intentionally restrictive: a fifteen-minute crime-mystery documentary set in the 1990s, featuring four characters, written in two days and shot just two days later.
Knowing the time constraints, I turned to my frequent collaborator Mat Growcott, who wrote the screenplay in a single sitting, allowing us to move immediately into production. The film was created with students from the studio’s vocational training centre, Film Forge, who formed the core of our crew, supported by experienced industry professionals.
What followed was an intense but exhilarating shoot; two twelve-hour days of production, followed by an overnight edit so the students could see their work the very next day. Despite the pressure, the atmosphere on set was extremely positive. The crew embraced the challenge with enthusiasm, and that collective energy became a defining part of the film.
Since premiering at the WLV Screen Awards in 2024, the film has continued to find audiences, including a selection at the Academy Award-qualifying IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival in 2025. For me, the film represents what can happen when creativity, collaboration and a tight deadline come together.
What began as a training exercise became something far more special; a film made with passion, hard work, and a group of people determined to make the most of a unique opportunity. I hope viewers continue to enjoy stepping into the strange and kooky world of The Haunted House Hotel.