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Ari Groobman

@ari_groobman

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Six years in after our gotcha day ❤️🎃🐾

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Stowe Story Labs Croatia Writers’ Retreat is in full swing. Screenwriters and filmmakers collaborating to develop skills, projects, and relationships. Thank you to our partners at HAVC and SPID. We look forward to another day here in beautiful Lovran at Hotel Excelsior.

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🎬🔪🩸 #horrormovies #wardrobestylist #costumedesign #filmmaking #filmmakersworld

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She played no games! 😳

PROJECTION By @ari_groobman
*Available on YouTube*

The name says it all @wepostviralcontent 🤳🏿

#viralreels #WePostViralContent #SayViral #moviescenes #shortfilm

The 2025 psychological horror short film Projection, written and directed by Ari Groobman (rather than Oren Gruen), is a haunting, twelve minute exploration of domestic abuse survival and emotional trauma.

The narrative follows a young woman named Katie, played with vulnerability and intense grit by Mikey Gray, who has fled an abusive household alongside her younger sister Haley and a rescued, de-voiced dog. Desperate for a fresh start, Katie rents a rundown, affordable apartment in a seedy neighborhood. The atmospheric tension builds rapidly as eerie, unsettling neighbors begin watching the sisters with a menacing interest.

What starts as a grounded drama about two sisters trying to rebuild their lives quickly spirals into a dark, visceral thriller. The film relies heavily on atmospheric low-light cinematography and visual symbolism, using the silent dog to mirror Katie's initial lack of a voice against her abusers. In the brutal, effects-heavy third act, the lingering psychological weight of their past manifests into physical danger. This explosive climax serves as a cathartic, metaphoric projection of the defensive rage, fear, and exhaustion experienced by survivors fighting to protect themselves.

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What would you do in this situation?

Projection, directed by Ari Groobman, is a poignant and visually inventive short film that explores the intricate connection between memory, grief, and the ways we preserve our past. The narrative centers on a protagonist grappling with the loss of a loved one, utilizing the metaphor of film projection to externalize their internal emotional landscape.

Groobman employs a unique aesthetic where the boundaries between reality and recorded memory begin to blur. The protagonist obsessively screens home movies, but through clever cinematography and editing, these projections interact with the physical space of the room. This technique transforms stagnant memories into a hauntingly tangible presence, illustrating how we often try to hold onto the past by projecting it onto our present lives.

The film operates with minimal dialogue, relying instead on a resonant soundscape and expressive lighting to convey the weight of absence. It serves as a meditative study on the human tendency to project our desires onto ghosts of what once was. Ultimately, Projection is a masterful exercise in visual storytelling that captures the paralyzing yet comforting nature of nostalgia, offering a profound reflection on the difficult process of letting go and finding a way to move forward.

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What's going to happen next? 😳

PROJECTION (2025) By @ari_groobman
*Available on YouTube*

The name says it all @wepostviralcontent 🤳🏿

#sayviral #wepostviralcontent #viralreels #moviescenes #ShortFilm

The 2025 short film Projection, written and directed by Ari Groobman, is a visceral horror drama that explores the enduring impacts of domestic abuse and trauma. The narrative follows Katie, a young woman who escapes an abusive home environment with her younger sister, Haley, and their dog, Trudy. They attempt to establish a sense of security in a new apartment, but they quickly discover that their search for a fresh start does not guarantee freedom from the dangers of the past.

The film effectively blends family drama with psychological horror, using its twelve-minute runtime to build tension through atmospheric lighting, sound design, and practical effects. Groobman, who identifies as a survivor of domestic abuse, collaborated with other survivors to capture the raw, internal reality of trauma. The story depicts the struggle of regulating intense emotions and defensive rage, illustrating how external threats often mirror the internal battles faced by survivors. Through the lens of an indie horror thriller, the film serves as a poignant commentary on how trauma can follow individuals even when they believe they have successfully walked away from it. It ultimately emphasizes resilience and the painful process of healing after surviving deep personal and physical violence.

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Did you watch part 1 yet? 👀

Movie: PROJECTION (2025) By @ari_groobman
*Available on YouTube*

The name says it all @wepostviralcontent 🤳🏿

#viralreels #WePostViralContent #SayViral #moviescenes #shortfilm

Projection (2025), a compelling twelve minute short film written and directed by Ari Groobman, serves as a visceral exploration of trauma and the psychological aftermath of abuse. The story follows Katie, played by Mikey Gray, who escapes an abusive home with her younger sister, Haley, and their dog. They move into an inexpensive, unsettling apartment, hoping to forge a new life, but soon realize their surroundings are anything but safe.

As Katie attempts to maintain normalcy, she encounters sinister neighbors who seem intent on threatening her fragile peace. The film masterfully balances a grounded narrative of domestic survival with intense horror elements, utilizing effective lighting and practical effects to visualize the chaotic, defensive rage often associated with complex trauma. Groobman, drawing from his own experiences with Borderline Personality Disorder, crafts the film as a collaborative effort among abuse survivors. By blending elements of slasher cinema with psychological depth, the work functions as both a tense thriller and a profound meditation on the difficulty of escaping one's past. The result is a hauntingly atmospheric study of vulnerability, hypervigilance, and the violent outbursts that can occur when a survivor is pushed to their limit.

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What's going on here? 👀

Movie: PROJECTION (2025) By @ari_groobman
*Available on YouTube*

The name says it all @wepostviralcontent 🤳🏿

#viralreels #WePostViralContent #SayViral #moviescenes #shortfilm

Ari Groobman’s 2025 short film Projection is a visceral, twelve-minute experimental horror that deeply examines the lasting psychological wounds of domestic abuse. The story follows a young woman named Katie as she flees a highly toxic household alongside her younger sister, Haley, and their dog. Seeking safety, they move into a bleak, unsettling temporary apartment complex managed by an uninviting landlady.

While they hope to find a fresh start, the deep-seated trauma and emotional dysregulation from their past continue to haunt them. The narrative quickly escalates when a frantic home-invasion threat forces Katie into a corner. What begins as a tense, atmosphere-driven psychological drama builds into a chaotic and bloody climax.

Groobman utilizes striking practical effects, forced perspectives, and German Expressionist styling to capture the overwhelming anxiety, disorientation, and defensive rage felt by survivors. The film's title beautifully encapsulates its central theme: the raw, terrifying way internal agony can violently project outward. Ultimately, Projection is a masterful blend of family tragedy and body horror that highlights how escaping a physical environment does not automatically guarantee freedom from the horrors trapped inside your mind.

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#ShortFilmReview: Projection: Who’s your neighbour?

Read our review and watch the short film. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview SupportIndieFilm

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Thank you so much to our early supporters and believers!! Please keep spreading the word - link in our bio to donate to our @seedandspark crowdfunding campaign! The Act of Witness social media shoutout coming soon! 🚀

Fiscally sponsored by @fromtheheartproductions
Thank you to @carole.joyce.18 for your guidance and support!

#freerhidale #restorativejustice #documentary #seedandspark #prison

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Projection is absolutely worth a watch! #horror #horrorshort #horrorfilm #horrorjunkie

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Short Film #filmreview: “Projection”

***LINK*** https://onefilmfan.com/short-film-review-projection-horror-and-healing-collide-in-a-quietly-building-then-conclusively-intense-turbulent-look-at-the-impact-of-abuse/

@variablexpictures

Writer/Director/Producer/Editor: @ari_groobman

Producer: @visualsbywolf

Cinematography: @marcparroquin

Music: @alexanderarntzen

Starring/Supporting Cast: @mikeygrayay @presleaelliott Diego Garijo @vcdamore @toulousecontrol @tiffany.a.herbert Elisabeth Parroquin @jim.todd1 John Parroquin “Pumpkin” the Dog

#supportindiefilm #shortfilm #indiefilmmakers #indiefilmmaking

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