CELESTE IN THE SUMMER, the new short film from writer-director Hobby Holmes, will make its World Premiere at the HollyShorts Film Festival. Set within an idyllic world where one endless summer day seems to stretch on forever, the film follows a couple whose seemingly perfect reality begins to unravel when one of them starts questioning the nature of the world around them. Starring Alice McMillan and Freddy Carter, the film blends intimate romance with subtle science fiction to explore love, memory, identity, and the fine line between devotion and control.
The film was written and directed by Hobby Holmes, a London-based filmmaker whose work explores memory, identity, and human connection through emotionally grounded and visually distinctive storytelling. Following more than a decade directing acclaimed cinematic music films through Mahogany Sessions, where he worked with artists including Billie Eilish, Hozier, Florence Welch, Leon Bridges, Ludovico Einaudi and Olivia Dean, Holmes brings a distinctive visual language to narrative filmmaking, combining emotional precision with immersive atmosphere. CELESTE IN THE SUMMER marks another step in the development of his unique voice, blending grounded emotion with subtle genre filmmaking.
The cast is led by Alice McMillan, whose screen credits include The Souvenir, The Souvenir: Part II, Roadkill, Cursed, and Outlander, alongside Freddy Carter, best known for his starring role as Kaz Brekker in Netflix's Shadow and Bone. Together, they deliver nuanced performances that anchor the film's shifting emotional landscape, balancing tenderness, uncertainty, and psychological tension as the boundaries between love, memory, and reality begin to dissolve.
