Andrew de Burgh

Andrew de Burgh
Born
Andrew de Burgh Sidley

(1990-06-16) 16 June 1990
Shrewsbury, Shropshire, United Kingdom
Alma materPepperdine University (BA)
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • producer
Years active2015–present

Andrew de Burgh (born 16 June 1990) is a British filmmaker. He began his career with the psychological thriller short film Just One Drink (2015), which starred Barbara Nedeljakova and was released as an Editor's Pick by ShortsTV, the distributor behind each year's Academy Award Nominated Short Films.[1] The film received critical acclaim, holding a 100% rating on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.[2]

After founding the production company Sacred Ember Films, he made his feature filmmaking debut with the science fiction film The Bestowal (2019), which premiered at MegaCon and was released on Amazon Prime Video, Tubi, Google Play and YouTube Movies by Indie Rights.

His second feature film as writer-director, the horror thriller film The Seductress from Hell (2024), which starred Jason Faunt, James Hyde and Andrew Lauer had its World Premiere at the Glendale International Film Festival and its Los Angeles premiere at the Micheaux Film Festival.[3]

Early life

de Burgh was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire and moved to Binfield, Berkshire as a child. Fascinated with movies from a young age, early favorites of his included Home Alone, Toy Story and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. He studied at Lambrook in Winkfield and spent a lot of his teenage years watching movies at the Vue Cinema in Reading, Berkshire.[4]

Relocating to the United States, he attended Pepperdine University in Malibu, where he double majored in Film Studies and Advertising. While in college, he wrote, produced, directed and acted in numerous student films.[1]

Career

In 2015, de Burgh wrote, produced and directed the psychological thriller short film Just One Drink. Telling the story of a mysterious woman (Barbara Nedeljakova) who uses Facebook to lure two young men to her apartment for a New Year's Eve party, the film premiered at the Chinese American Film Festival. In his review of the film, Cinema Crazed critic Felix Vasquez said of de Burgh, "if Just One Drink is anything to go by, he has potential to create a cinematic masterpiece".[5] In 2016, he played series regular Sean Mercer in season five of the Daytime Emmy nominated web series Youthful Daze alongside Chrishell Stause, Melissa Archer, Bryan Dattilo, Sarah Joy Brown, Eden Riegel and Sean Kanan.[6]

In 2017, he wrote, produced and directed the short silent film The Twisted Doll which premiered at the Polish Film Festival Los Angeles. In the same year, he wrote and directed the virtual reality horror short film Queen of Hearts starring Christina Calph of the film Arthur.[4]

After founding the production company Sacred Ember Films,[7] he wrote, produced and directed the science fiction film The Bestowal (2019) which had its World Premiere at MegaCon and also screened at the Dhaka International Film Festival and the Lake City International Film Festival (where he won the festival's Best Director award). The film tells the story of a suicidal businessman (Sam Brittan) who is visited by an inter-dimensional being appearing in the form of a beautiful woman (Sharmita Bhattacharya). Drawing comparisons to Interstellar,[8] the film scored an approval rating of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 8 reviews.[9] Starburst critic Ryan Pollard called it "unique, challenging and thought-provoking".[10] It was released on Amazon Prime Video, Tubi, Google Play and YouTube Movies by Indie Rights in November 2019.[11]

In 2021, de Burgh co-produced and directed the animated short film The Legend of Santa which premiered at the BAFTA qualifying film festival DokuFest. Based on the children's book A Magical Christmas Adventure by British author Daniel Colyer, the film tells an origin story of Santa Claus that combines historical fiction and fantasy elements. In his review of the movie, Film Threat critic Bobby LePire said of it, "the film's world is inviting and feels truly magical".[12]

Season One of his debut TV series as creator and writer-director, the crime thriller The Twisted Doll premiered on October 31, 2024, on ZEE5 and Cpics. Executive produced by Kavi Raz, the show tells the story of a young Indian woman who embarks on a revenge mission in Los Angeles after her and her husband are scammed by two real estate agents. Starring Summer Singh, Xander Bailey, Bree Mignano, Felix Merback and Andrew Ghai in the lead roles, it also featured guest appearances from Will Roberts of Oppenheimer, Chelsea Gilson of Hawaii Five-0 and social media influencer Carrington Durham.[13]

His second feature film, The Seductress from Hell (2024), which starred Jason Faunt,[14] James Hyde, Andrew Lauer, Rocio Scotto and Raj Jawa had its World Premiere at the 2024 Glendale International Film Festival and its Los Angeles premiere at the Micheaux Film Festival where de Burgh was nominated for the festival's Outstanding Directing for a Feature Award.[4] In his review of the film, Film Threat critic Terry Sherwood gave it a score of 7 out of 10, stating that it is "quirky enough to fit next to the more extreme Asian and European offerings".[15]

The stop-motion animated short film The Magic of Santa Claus (2025), which he wrote, produced and directed, premiered at the 2025 Dhaka International Film Festival. The film tells a story of Santa Claus receiving tragic news just as he's about to travel around the world to deliver presents on Christmas Eve.[1]

His third feature film, the horror comedy The Demoness (2026), which stars Akihiro Kitamura, Riley Nottingham, Bella Glanville, Sydney Culbertson, Mark Pontarelli, Haruka Igarashi and Amelia Gotham, was released on Video on demand on January 5, 2026.[16] It tells the tale of a demonic succubus who visits Earth to torment the human race. Norman Gidney of HorrorBuzz gave it a 6 out of 10, writing "The shots are nicely composed and even have some creative flair. The pace could be better and the dialogue could be polished but The Demoness is at least fun".[17] Douglas Davidson of Elements of Madness gave it a 2.5 out of 5 and compared it to the Terrifier series, stating "In an era of Art the Clown, where violence can occur for the sake of it, sometimes mayhem can scratch an itch something more cerebral can’t satisfy; yet, in the absence of intellectualism, even creature kills lose their luster".[18] Lúcio Reis Filho of Film Obsessive praised the film, writing "de Burgh’s The Demoness is a refreshing, provocative piece in the landscape of contemporary horror cinema. Although at first glance it may pass for a mere ‘blast from the past’, the film goes much further, presenting a critical approach and a distinctly modern visual aesthetic".[19] In his review of the film, Don Anelli of Asian Movie Pulse wrote "The film’s true strength lies in its unapologetic energy. There is a palpable sense of glee in the Succubus’ execution of her victims".[20]

Filmography

Feature films

Television

  • The Twisted Doll (2024)

Short films

References

  1. ^ a b c Ribeiro, Bidhan (24 December 2024). "Diverse cultural background shaped filmmaker Andrew de Burgh". Cinema Dorshon.
  2. ^ "Just One Drink on Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  3. ^ Ntim, Zac (17 September 2024). "2024 Micheaux Film Festival Lineup". Deadline.
  4. ^ a b c Ribbeck, Michael (2 March 2026). "Filmmaker lands films on global streaming platforms". Bracknell News.
  5. ^ Vasquez, Felix (25 February 2016). "Just One Drink Short Film Review". Cinema Crazed.
  6. ^ Chukwuemeka, Chijioke (30 March 2016). "Youthful Daze Exclusive Interview: Andrew de Burgh Discusses Role Of Sean Mercer, Dishes On New Movie 'Just One Drink'". Soap Opera Spy.
  7. ^ Garcia, Melissa (9 April 2019). "Introducing Sacred Ember Films, a production company founded by filmmaker Andrew de Burgh". Voyage LA Magazine.
  8. ^ Goodyear, Mark (4 September 2019). "The Bestowal Review". Battle Royale with Cheese.
  9. ^ "The Bestowal on Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  10. ^ Pollard, Ryan (28 August 2018). "The Bestowal Review: An equally brilliant and frustrating debut feature from Andrew de Burgh". Starburst Magazine.
  11. ^ Chopra, Ananya (1 June 2021). "Andrew de Burgh: Inspirations behind The Bestowal". No Film School Magazine.
  12. ^ LePire, Bobby (20 May 2021). "The Legend of Santa Review". Film Threat.
  13. ^ Armstrong, Kristen (8 December 2024). "Meet Andrew de Burgh". CanvasRebel.
  14. ^ Asankomah, Tony (12 January 2024). "Behind the scenes of "The Seductress from Hell" - A chat with writer-director Andrew de Burgh". GH MovieFreak.
  15. ^ Sherwood, Terry (13 May 2024). "The Seductress from Hell Review". Film Threat.
  16. ^ Friar, A.J. (5 January 2026). "The Demoness Now Available on Digital Platforms". PopHorror.
  17. ^ Gidney, Norman (30 December 2025). "The Demoness Review". HorrorBuzz.
  18. ^ Davidson, Douglas (3 November 2025). "The Demoness attempts grafting supernatural horror onto moral quandaries to ill-effect". Elements of Madness.
  19. ^ Reis Filho, Lúcio (2 March 2026). "In The Demoness, a Succubus Serves Up A Social Reckoning". Film Obsessive.
  20. ^ Anelli, Don (27 February 2026). "The Demoness by Andrew de Burgh Film Review". Asian Movie Pulse.
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