Humanity has willingly surrendered control to AI—not just to replace human labor, but to determine human worth. Productivity, efficiency, and accuracy are the only metrics that matter. And those who can’t keep up are removed from the system. 

AFTER follows Solo, a lone survivor seeking shelter in the abandoned home of a deceased AI programmer. Inside, they find unexpected companionship in a small cat. But a single, fatal mistake triggers the AI system, and forces the question: how do you survive in a world that no longer values you? 

There are apocalypse stories about zombies, the climate, asteroids – but we don’t have a good contemporary example of an AI apocalypse. When I talk about this short with my parent’s generation, most of them cite The Terminator. But I think the insidious thing about AI is that the apocalypse will be slow. Entry-level jobs will become harder to come by, until desperate people turn to theft and violence just to survive. Eventually, this might lead a smart-enough AI system to determine that humanity is fundamentally flawed, and it might be better off if most of us (except those maintaining its water and electricity resources) were just… gone.

The story for After occurred to me as I was walking an abandoned driveway near my grandmother’s house in New Jersey. It struck me that we could make a contemporary AI apocalypse film pretty simply, using tools that currently exist in most households (because the truth is AI is already among us). 

As a producer and writer, I’ve been wanting to make a short film for a long time, but have been waiting for the right project to occur to me. After is simple, mission-driven, political, and teethy - exactly the kind of work I like to make. As an actor, I’m deeply engaged with the existential threat AI poses to those of us who make our livelihoods in the arts. After is one way I feel I can fight back against the continual discounting of our labor and craft.

Artificial intelligence has moved from the realm of science fiction into our daily lives—and faster than any of us ever imagined. When Soph first presented the concept of After to me, it landed immediately and personally. As both a filmmaker and a licensed therapist, I feel uniquely positioned inside this moment. AI-generated content increasingly threatens to replace writers, actors, and filmmakers. And therapy clients have begun turning to tools like ChatGPT for support between sessions. In both of my professions, I’ve felt a growing anxiety around my own value. With After, I hope to explore what happens when we decide our limitations make us expendable? And how does one make meaning—let alone survive—in a world that no longer values you?

My inspirations for After draw from post-apocalyptic narratives such as HBO’s The Last of Us and A Quiet Place, stories where characters are trying to survive against all odds. Additionally, I hope to incorporate the style of more naturalistic filmmakers such as Debra Granik and Kelli Reichardt, whose films center people living on the margins, often overlooked by larger systems. Their grounded, observational approach informs the tone of After.

 

At its core, After is an intimate, character-driven story that aims to redefine how we measure value. Curiosity? Love? Empathy? These are things AI can’t fully replicate—and they may be the last proof that a life still matters.

PRE-PRODUCTION | February/March 2026

We're currently in the midst of casting, location scouting, and assembling our crew.

PRODUCTION | April 2026
We'll be shooting the film over two days in West Milford, New Jersey.

POST-PRODUCTION | May/June/July 2026

We've already assembled an incredible post team, many of whom have worked on Katie's previous projects, to complete a cut in time for summer and fall festival deadlines.

FESTIVAL SUBMISSIONS | August 2026 Onward 

We plan to submit to top-notch film festivals including Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca. 

PREMIERE | Early 2027 

We hope to premiere the film at a film festival - and, shortly after, share it with all of you - at the beginning of next year.

Why Should I Donate
Your donation will go towards equipment rentals, production design elements, crew fees, transportation costs to our remote location in the woods, and most importantly, your donations will allow us to feed our hard-working cast and crew, who are lending their time and talent to this project.  

Risks and Challenges
We know that many of you have donated to passion projects in the past and still, months or even years later, are waiting to see the finished product. We promise that's not the case this time. AFTER will be made available as a private link to those who donate over $100 on the same day as our film festival premiere. We take the completion of this project seriously, and have every intention of sharing the finished film with you as soon as possible.

Soph Metcalf | Co-Writer, Producer, Actor 

Soph Metcalf (they / them / theirs) is a NYC-based actor, writer, and musician. They recently made their Off-Broadway debut with Machinal at MTC. On-screen: I Am No Longer Here (Netflix), Mean Girl Murders (HBO), and the award-winning short films What Are We? (Cannes Indie Short Awards) and Riis: A Gay Odyssey (NewFest 2025). They are a frequent collaborator on new work, most recently with Tectonic Theatre Project, Prospect Musicals, The Village, and Maker’s Ensemble. They have their MFA in Acting from UC Irvine and their BA from McGill University. IG @sophmetcalf. www.sophmetcalf.com 

Katie Schiller | Co-Writer, Director 

Katie Schiller is a queer filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York.  She has developed, directed, and produced projects ranging from short films and branded content to television and feature-length productions. Katie received the John Cassavetes Award at the 2022 Film Independent Spirit Awards for her work on Emma Seligman’s feature directorial debut, SHIVA BABY (SXSW, TIFF 2020). Katie’s narrative short, A Portrait of Frances, Enclosed, co-directed with Jacob Levy was an official selection at the Palm Springs International Film Festival’s 2020 Shortfest. Katie produced the narrative short film, CHAPERONE (Sundance 2022) and the documentary short, BETWEEN EARTH & SKY (Big Sky Short Film Winner 2023, Oscar Short-Listed 2024), co-produced the Netflix documentary series The Principles of Pleasure, served as a segment producer on Lady Gaga's The Power of Kindness for Facebook Watch, and produced the 3-part docuseries Lesbian Bar Project now available on the Roku Channel. Katie holds a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a Masters of Social Work from Fordham University. Katie owns and operates It Doesn’t Suck Productions where she carries out soup to nuts producing with a focus on women, the LGBTQIA+ community, and stories it would really suck not to tell. Additionally, Katie has a small therapy practice with a focus on supporting creatives and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Melissa Langer | Director of Photography
Melissa Langer is an artist, Director and Emmy-nominated Cinematographer based in Philadelphia. In her work as a Director, she draws from methods of experimental cinema, offering non-linear, layered portraits of systems, labor and urban infrastructure. She recently completed her first feature, IN EXCESS (Jihlava New Visions Forum - U.S. DOCS 2023), a gritty dive into the lifecycle of one city's trash, traced through its streets, sewers, and waterways. She is a Cinema Eye Honors Nominee in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking and her films, including MY ALEPPO, have played at festivals internationally, including Telluride Film Festival, SXSW, San Francisco Film Festival (New Visions Award), IDFA (ARRI IDFA Award), ZagrebDox (Movies that Matter Award), and MoMA’s Doc Fortnight. She’s a member of the experimental artist collective Vox Populi and has exhibited expanded cinema projects at Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Automat, and Icebox Project Space.

Her work as a Director of Photography includes STATE OF FIRSTS (XTR and Level Ground Productions, Tribeca 2025),  PRAY AWAY (Netflix + Multitude Films) and the acclaimed Netflix series CHEER, for which she received a primetime Emmy nomination in Cinematography. She also served as the DP for PRINCIPLES OF PLEASURE (Netflix), a 3-part docuseries that examines the world of female, transgender, and non-binary sexual pleasure, and its lack of understanding in modern science. She was also the Cinematographer for ATTLA (a 2019 co-production of Vision Maker Media and ITVS), NOT EVEN FOR A MOMENT DO THINGS STAND STILL (NY Times Op-Docs), and THE POWER OF KINDNESS (Facebook), featuring Lady Gaga, Dr. Alfie Breland-Noble, and a group of young people in conversation about kindness and mental health. Among others, she is currently lensing HOLLYWOOD DOES ABORTION, MEET ME AT THE MALL, and UNTITLED CRUISE TOURISM FILM, which explores the real world implications of an industry selling fantasy vacations at sea.

She is a 2025 Flaherty Fellow, a 2024 Artist in Residence at RAIR in NE Philadelphia, and holds an MFA in Documentary Film & Video from Stanford University and a BA from Carleton College.