Filmmaking
I write and direct movies. There’s a lot of pressure as an artist to box yourself in and perfectly articulate what kind of movies you do and don’t make. So in buckling to it immediately and without question, I make movies existing in a tonal bandwidth of grotesque or absurd comedy to drama-comedy, movies I want to see but haven’t, movies I wanna watch with friends I’ve got and ones I’ll make along the way.
Writing/Directing Reel
Sizzle Version
Full Version
Current Projects
“Don’t Come Home Before Midnight” (13 min, 2025)
“Don’t Come Home Before Midnight” is a narrative short film directed by Allison Torem, written and produced by Allison & Emily Torem, shot by Cory Popp, starring Bradley Grant Smith, Danny Rhodes, Meg Thalken, and Amy J Carle, produced and assistant directed by Alex Thompson, edited by Alex Thompson and Max G. Mooney, sound designed by Zach Scheitlin, colored by Nicholas Lareau, associate produced by Fayem Khan and Hamid Bendaas, and with music by Simon Hanes.
Synopsis
An actor goes method while investigating a corrupt tennis camp owner equal parts ruthless and lazy, but the deeper “Inspector” delves into the narrative, the blurrier the lines become between the case on the court and the mysteries that consume him in his own home.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33257939/?ref_=nm_flmg_unrel_2_dr
Screenings: World Premiering in the Midnite shorts block at Nitehawk Shorts Festival 2025 on April 3rd, 2025 (tickets: https://nitehawkcinema.com/williamsburg/movies/nsf25-midnite/)
Stills
Past Projects
“ROAD HEAD” (15 min, world premiere 2023)
“ROAD HEAD” is a narrative short film directed and written by Allison Torem, produced by Allison Torem, Lisa Cisneros, Adam Rebora, Eva Fabray, Danny Rhodes, and Phil Ortiz, shot by Phil Ortiz, starring Allison Torem, Elan Maier, & Danny Rhodes and featuring Zako Ryan and Adam Rebora, edited by Eric Marsh & Max G. Mooney, sound designed by Keifer Douglas, colored by Kalvin Johnson, and with music by Lisa Torem and Will Kyriazis.
Synopsis
Stuck on the side of the road on their way to a social distance party in the burbs, two contact-starved millennials process loneliness, grief, and political anxiety while trying not to connect on an intimate level in this dark, absurd, sex-positive and genre-fluid reformed-Jewish comedy about loss, changing plans, and the lengths we'll go not to communicate directly with the people we love.
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27318177/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt
Trailer
Stills
BTS Photography
Photos by Miles Strong-Austin, Luis Chavez, Araceli Gaucin & Eva Fabray
“Essentials” (16 min, world premiere 2022)
“Essentials” is a narrative short film directed and written by Allison Torem, produced by Allison Torem, Adam Rebora, Eva Fabray, and Phil Ortiz, shot by Phil Ortiz, starring Allison Torem & Austin Pendleton, edited by Eric Marsh & Max G. Mooney, sound designed by Thaw Audio Post, colored by Jeff Altman, and with music performed by Clay Corso.
Synopsis
Schlepping home from an ill-conceived grocery haul in early lockdown, Vivian is interrupted by a corny joke made by a senior citizen on his nightly walk. While their reasons for isolation differ, each finds excuses to remain in the moment in a tentative connection which could, and perhaps should, end at any moment. Essentials is a celebration of the transformative power of "small talk" in large, misunderstood urban environments.
Short Clip
Stills
BTS Photography
Photos by Luis Chavez
