Anxiety

In his dramatic short film Anxiety, Canadian filmmaker Vladyslav Fidryk serves as co-director, writer, and star. He plays Alex, a young artist suffering the lingering aftereffects of terrible trauma suffered when he was a child. He has recently recovered from injuries, he tells the police, that he sustained in an attack at a nightclub. Detective Harris (Corey Johnson) visits him at home and assures him the case is under investigation. In the meantime, he is experiencing episodes where he is violently acting out against family members in his sleep. Alex seeks the truth about what happened to him, but will he be able to handle the information when it comes? 

Fidryk has created a psychological film that exposes Alex’s deteriorating mental state with minimal dialogue and exposition. The audience sees only what he sees. It becomes clear that his grasp on reality is slipping, and his anger and panic are palpable. 

The events portrayed are a reaction to real trauma Fidryk experienced. The film idea originated while he was recuperating: “The script for Anxiety was written during a six-month period of physical disability following a violent assault that resulted in hospitalization. While recovering physically, I found myself confronting severe anxiety firsthand.”

“…a young artist suffering the lingering after effects of terrible trauma…”

Fidryk shared the process of shooting this short: “This project was created in just 48 hours, without a traditional crew and with very limited filmmaking experience. It was never about perfection—it was about honesty. I wanted to build something raw and real, something that reflects what anxiety actually feels like from the inside, rather than how it’s often portrayed from the outside.”  

Short films are the forge in which filmmakers are made. The story’s emotional impact must hit hard and come to a resolution quickly. The time limitation allows for no filler and no masking of inadequacy. 

Fidryk is planning to expand Anxiety into a full-length feature. Through first-person POV with an unreliable narrator, the audience feels his confusion, fear, and anger, impressively compressed into just a few minutes. He is a filmmaker to watch.