A burnt-out actor surrenders to the beast inside her one more time during a career-defining audition.
Production (Shoot) Dates: December 1-4, 2026
IN VAIN is a psychological body-horror film exploring the unforgiving nature of artistic devotion. The Actor's world is auditions, but anyone who has wanted something badly and been told no will recognize her.
It marks my first solo venture as a writer and director. We're shooting it in Toronto this winter, and I'd love for you to be a part of making it.
The Story
After a failed audition, a burnt-out ACTOR staggers through a punishing day. An unpaid parking ticket, an empty bank account, a call to her unsupportive parents, and a shift at a busy restaurant. Nothing about this life is working.
Beneath it all, The Actor's body begins fighting to surface something she has been trying to keep buried: her hunger for the craft.
Pounding heartbeats. Sharp ringing. Trickles of blood.
The beast within her strains against its limits, demanding release, and it's only a matter of time before she surrenders to it.
Why I'm Making This Film
In Vain is deeply personal. While it is not a direct retelling of my own experiences, everything the actor represents reflects how I feel as an artist.
I have been working as an actor in Toronto for the past five years. When the work is good, it is the closest thing I have to transcendence. It is the only place I have ever felt fully present, fully myself, and fully outside myself at the same time. That feeling is the reason I started, and it is the reason I have not been able to stop.
But those moments are rare, and the industry rations them. The creative hunger that drove me was no longer being satisfied by the audition process alone.
This film grew out of that tension. It is an exploration of the
obsessive need to create, and the physical and emotional cost of
devotion to a craft that this industry does not always make room for.
The body-horror elements are not meant to sensationalize suffering,
but to externalize an internal reality that many artists quietly live with.
While the film functions as a personal catharsis, it is also
intended as a gesture of recognition toward other artists navigating
an industry increasingly shaped by economics, productivity, and
visibility. In a system that often prioritizes output over
expression, many creatives are left carrying a constant hunger to
give more than they are allowed to.
At its core, this film is a love letter to actors, artists, and anyone who feels the cosmic drive to create not out of ambition, but necessity.
The Team
- Illahi Rayani, Writer / Director. Vladimir (Netflix), Under the Bridge (Hulu), The Expanse (Amazon). NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Meisner Studio.
- Rojan Molanian, The Actor. The Handmaid's Tale (HBO), The Expanse (Amazon Prime), Slasher: Hell Motel (AMC+). Best Actress, Vancouver Short Film Festival.
- Daniel Hughes, Director of Photography.
- Produced by Raj Bandyopadhyay, Natalia Nahon and Camila Padilla, The Slate.
You can read everyone's full bio on the Team tab.
Tone & Style
The film is designed to keep the audience in lockstep with The Actor's inner turmoil and animalistic energy. Handheld camera movements stay close and restless. Stillness comes in temporary moments of respite from the endless cycle The Actor is trapped in.
The body-horror elements emerge from the actor's inner life, and manifest themselves as blood trickling out of the mouth, intense sweating, and eerie physical movements that build over time, culminating at their peak during the gruesome audition preparation sequence.
Sound design is central to the film's tension. Heartbeats, breath, and a high-pitched ringing are used as recurring motifs that intrude on otherwise naturalistic environments. These sounds grow louder and more invasive as pressure mounts, and are meant to personify the constant bestial presence within the actor throughout the film.
References: The Substance (2024), Black Swan (2010), Good Time (2017).
We did a concept shoot to find the look and feel of the film, and the images on this page come from it. Watch the concept trailer in the gallery above.
What your support makes possible
Our full budget is about $35,800, and this campaign is raising
$25,000 of it. Here's a very rough breakdown as of now, both in
numbers and percentages.
Note that film budgets and breakdowns constantly change upon
contact with reality, so we'll do our best to keep this up-to-date
as things evolve.
| Crew on set: camera, lighting, sound, makeup and special effects makeup, costume, set decoration, assistant director | $15,900 (45%) |
| Post-production: editing, sound design, visual effects, titles | $6,200 (17%) |
| Locations, catering, transport and equipment rental | $5,000 (14%) |
| Cast, all paid under ACTRA (low-budget indie production rates) | $4,700 (13%) |
| Insurance, legal and contingency | $4,000 (11%) |
| Total | $35,800 |
Anything we raise beyond our goal will go into sound design and post-production, where so much of the film's tension is built.
Your Part in This
Backing ...IN VAIN means following the film from the inside. You will get updates from prep through post, and depending on your tier, you can read the script with my notes in the margins, see how the look came together, and watch how we made it. When the film is finished, your name will be in the credits, because you are one of the reasons it exists.
Perks
Our perks follow The Actor's road to a role, from The Submission all the way to Booked. Every backer, at any amount, gets a thank-you shoutout on our social media. Everyone who gives $50 or more also gets their name in the Thank You credits, an invite to an exclusive event for all our private backers, and behind-the-scenes updates from prep through post. You can find every tier on the Perks tab.
The Rejection Room - A live event
This film is about rejection, so we are throwing a night for it. The Rejection Room is an evening where anyone can bring their rejection story, from a failed audition to a lost job to a grant that never came through, and share it with a room full of people who understand.
Know Someone Who's Been Rejected?
From a job, a gig, a grant, an apartment, a second date, a group chat? Send them this page. They will understand The Actor better than they would like to. Then bring them, and their story, to The Rejection Room.
Every share puts IN VAIN in front of someone new, and that matters as much to us as any contribution.
About The Slate
IN VAIN is produced by The Slate, a Toronto company making short films funded by the people who want to see them. Its first film, The Cage, was made the same way.
Content note: Body horror. Contains blood, sustained psychological distress, and a graphic sequence of audition preparation.
Your contribution is a gift to the film, not an investment. IN VAIN is not a registered charity, so we cannot issue tax receipts.
Thank you,
Illahi Rayani
Your Perks
Every actor starts here: you send yourself out and hope someone's looking. Back the film here, and someone is.
Includes:
- A thank-you shoutout on our social media
- Your name in the Thank You credits
- An invite to an exclusive event for all our private backers
- Behind-the-scenes updates from prep through post
The pages you get before an audition. You go over them until you know every line. At this level, you get to know the film almost as well as we do.
Includes:
- A thank-you shoutout on our social media
- Your name in the Thank You credits
- An invite to an exclusive event for all our private backers
- Behind-the-scenes updates from prep through post
- A digital poster and stills pack
- Early access to the trailer
Alone in a room, a phone propped up on a tripod, doing it again and again until it's right. $250 covers a full day's pay for one of our actors on set.
Includes:
- A thank-you shoutout on our social media
- Your name in the Thank You credits
- An invite to an exclusive event for all our private backers
- Behind-the-scenes updates from prep through post
- A digital poster and stills pack
- Early access to the trailer
- The script, with my notes in the margins
- A plus-one to the exclusive event
They want to see you again. Now it gets real. $500 feeds our whole cast and crew for more than half a shoot day.
Includes:
- A thank-you shoutout on our social media
- Your name in the Thank You credits
- An invite to an exclusive event for all our private backers
- Behind-the-scenes updates from prep through post
- A digital poster and stills pack
- Early access to the trailer
- The script, with my notes in the margins
- A plus-one to the exclusive event
- The making-of video: how we made a body horror film in four days
The room where they decide if you fit. $1,000 covers almost all of our special effects makeup artist's time on set, where the body horror comes to life.
Includes:
- A thank-you shoutout on our social media
- Your name in the Special Thanks section of the credits
- An invite to an exclusive event for all our private backers
- Behind-the-scenes updates from prep through post
- A digital poster and stills pack
- Early access to the trailer
- The script, with my notes in the margins
- A plus-one to the exclusive event
- The making-of video: how we made a body horror film in four days
- A digital lookbook showing how the film's look came together, from references to final frames
Casting has put you on hold. You're so close you can taste it. $2,500 covers most of the sound design that carries the film's horror, from the heartbeats to the ringing.
Includes:
- A thank-you shoutout on our social media
- An invite to an exclusive event for all our private backers
- Behind-the-scenes updates from prep through post
- A digital poster and stills pack
- Early access to the trailer
- The script, with my notes in the margins
- A plus-one to the exclusive event
- The making-of video: how we made a body horror film in four days
- A digital lookbook showing how the film's look came together, from references to final frames
- An Associate Producer credit
- An exclusive first look at the final cut, before it goes to festivals and before anyone else sees it
You got the part. Whatever it cost you. $5,000 covers our entire cast, every actor paid under ACTRA.
Includes:
- A thank-you shoutout on our social media
- An invite to an exclusive event for all our private backers
- Behind-the-scenes updates from prep through post
- A digital poster and stills pack
- Early access to the trailer
- The script, with my notes in the margins
- A plus-one to the exclusive event
- The making-of video: how we made a body horror film in four days
- A digital lookbook showing how the film's look came together, from references to final frames
- An exclusive first look at the final cut, before it goes to festivals and before anyone else sees it
- An Executive Producer credit, on screen and submitted to IMDb
Highlights
See all activity4Cast
 |
THE ACTOR The Handmaid's Tale · The Expanse · Hell Motel Rojan Molanian is a Toronto-based actress trained at Seneca College, who has continued to refine her craft through ongoing study with leading studios across the city. Her screenwork includes appearances in acclaimed series such as The Handmaid's Tale (HBO), The Expanse (Amazon Prime), and Slasher: Hell Motel (AMC+). Her performance in the 2019 shortfilm Toward You earned her the Best Actress Award at the Vancouver Short Film Festival. Drawn to deeply human stories with psychological and thriller elements, Molanian is known for her ability to inhabit powerful emotional landscapes with authenticity, bringing a grounded intensity and subtle surrealism to her work. She is passionate about character-driven storytelling that explores vulnerability, transformation, and the unseen inner worlds of her characters. |
Crew
 |
WRITER & DIRECTOR Under the Bridge (Hulu) · The Expanse (Amazon) · NYU Tisch, Meisner Studio Illahi Rayani is a Toronto-based actor and writer, and a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she trained at the Meisner Studio. She has appeared in Under the Bridge (Hulu), The Expanse (Amazon), and a range of short films created in collaboration with friends and fellow emerging artists. IN VAIN marks her first solo venture as a writer and director. The process has been both empowering and creatively expansive, pushing her to take greater ownership of her artistry and approach storytelling from a new perspective. With this growing sense of agency, Illahi hopes to carve out space for stories that live at the intersection of identity, belonging, and emotional truth. |
Activity
Every actor starts here: you send yourself out and hope someone's looking. Back the film here, and someone is.
Includes:
- A thank-you shoutout on our social media
- Your name in the Thank You credits
- An invite to an exclusive event for all our private backers
- Behind-the-scenes updates from prep through post
The pages you get before an audition. You go over them until you know every line. At this level, you get to know the film almost as well as we do.
Includes:
- A thank-you shoutout on our social media
- Your name in the Thank You credits
- An invite to an exclusive event for all our private backers
- Behind-the-scenes updates from prep through post
- A digital poster and stills pack
- Early access to the trailer
Alone in a room, a phone propped up on a tripod, doing it again and again until it's right. $250 covers a full day's pay for one of our actors on set.
Includes:
- A thank-you shoutout on our social media
- Your name in the Thank You credits
- An invite to an exclusive event for all our private backers
- Behind-the-scenes updates from prep through post
- A digital poster and stills pack
- Early access to the trailer
- The script, with my notes in the margins
- A plus-one to the exclusive event
They want to see you again. Now it gets real. $500 feeds our whole cast and crew for more than half a shoot day.
Includes:
- A thank-you shoutout on our social media
- Your name in the Thank You credits
- An invite to an exclusive event for all our private backers
- Behind-the-scenes updates from prep through post
- A digital poster and stills pack
- Early access to the trailer
- The script, with my notes in the margins
- A plus-one to the exclusive event
- The making-of video: how we made a body horror film in four days
The room where they decide if you fit. $1,000 covers almost all of our special effects makeup artist's time on set, where the body horror comes to life.
Includes:
- A thank-you shoutout on our social media
- Your name in the Special Thanks section of the credits
- An invite to an exclusive event for all our private backers
- Behind-the-scenes updates from prep through post
- A digital poster and stills pack
- Early access to the trailer
- The script, with my notes in the margins
- A plus-one to the exclusive event
- The making-of video: how we made a body horror film in four days
- A digital lookbook showing how the film's look came together, from references to final frames
Casting has put you on hold. You're so close you can taste it. $2,500 covers most of the sound design that carries the film's horror, from the heartbeats to the ringing.
Includes:
- A thank-you shoutout on our social media
- An invite to an exclusive event for all our private backers
- Behind-the-scenes updates from prep through post
- A digital poster and stills pack
- Early access to the trailer
- The script, with my notes in the margins
- A plus-one to the exclusive event
- The making-of video: how we made a body horror film in four days
- A digital lookbook showing how the film's look came together, from references to final frames
- An Associate Producer credit
- An exclusive first look at the final cut, before it goes to festivals and before anyone else sees it
You got the part. Whatever it cost you. $5,000 covers our entire cast, every actor paid under ACTRA.
Includes:
- A thank-you shoutout on our social media
- An invite to an exclusive event for all our private backers
- Behind-the-scenes updates from prep through post
- A digital poster and stills pack
- Early access to the trailer
- The script, with my notes in the margins
- A plus-one to the exclusive event
- The making-of video: how we made a body horror film in four days
- A digital lookbook showing how the film's look came together, from references to final frames
- An exclusive first look at the final cut, before it goes to festivals and before anyone else sees it
- An Executive Producer credit, on screen and submitted to IMDb
