A Canadian Short Film

now on YouTube

THE CAFFEINE RABBIT HOLE

written, produced & directed by John Bandler

Photo credit: John Bandler; Logo & image processing: Rachelle Ho & John Bandler

Plot Summary

Two extraterrestrials in humanoid form trying to figure out whether coffee shops provide a clue to the extinction of humans experience feelings for the first time.

click HERE for CHCH-TV interview

Gary Smith, Theatre and Dance Critic, Hamilton Spectator: “Loved the show. The satirical aspect of it really worked for me. And the way it disclosed the anxieties of modern life was frightening and curiously moving. It was terrific to see those two fabulous actresses...”

Steph Christiaens as DARA

Jaclyn Scobie as LENIK

Steph Christiaens (DARA), “The Caffeine Rabbit Hole … will make you think, laugh, sigh and cry! And in the end... well, you'll just have to watch it to find that out!”

click HERE for a trailer

click HERE for Jaclyn’s pitch

click HERE for Steph’s pitch

behind the scenes with Emily Wood

behind the scenes with Jaclyn Scobie

Jeff Mahoney, The Hamilton Spectator, “The shows featured this summer are full of the humour, experimentation, challenge, darkness, light, improvisation and piquant writing that lovers of the Fringe have come to expect.

For instance, “The Caffeine Rabbit Hole” is a 19-minute film by John Bandler (writer/producer/director), streamed on demand July 15 to 25, 2021, that centres on extraterrestrials Dara and Lenik looking for clues to the extinction of humans through the evidence they find in coffee shops. ”

click HERE for Hamilton Spectator article

Michael Kras, Urbanicity, “The unique premise alone makes this worth a look!”

click HERE for Urbanicity article

Joe Szekeres, Chief Toronto Critic/Columnist for OnStage Blog, “I found Caffeine’s writing rather clever in its satire of a real-life social commentary on possible human extinction with credit to John Bandler’s subtle direction, to the solid actor performances, to the haunting musical piano underscoring by Emily Wood, and to Jeremy Major’s extremely sound video editing skills as Technical Consultant.”

click HERE for Joe Szekeres’s review

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Emily Wood, Composer/Performer, “I really hope they [the audience] leave thinking about what it means to be human, what makes us human, what is really unique about humans. These are all themes I thought about a lot when working on this.”

click HERE for our CFMU interview

Megan Vierhout, Assistant to the Director, “The Caffeine Rabbit Hole has undergone a breathtaking evolutionary process.”

Our Team

DARA—Steph Christiaens
LENIK—Jaclyn Scobie
John Bandler—Writer/Producer/Director
Emily Wood—Composer/Performer
Megan Vierhout—Assistant to the Director
Jeremy Major—Technical Consultant/Editor
Rachelle Ho—Logo and Promo Image Design and Processing
Beth Bandler—Co-Producer
John Bandler—Executive Producer

Setting

A coffee shop

Acknowledgements

Gregory Atkinson, David Brennan, Caroline Concordia, Olivia Fasullo, Ruth Flynn, Heather, Kanabe, Danielle LeBlanc, Peter Lloyd, Tom Mackan, Eric Martin, Franny McCabe, Ian Rayburn, Elizabeth Indianos, Kit Simmons, Christopher Stanton, Konrad Swierczek, Daniel VanAmelsvoort, Vikki Velenosi