ABOUT BLOODY TIME: After Birth - When Motherhood gets BLOODY!
Broken noses. Sleepless nights. Lost identity. And then she rips her face off in the sink.
Welcome to After Birth.
One of six projects selected for our inaugural About Bloody Time: Women Are Seen Project Showcase at FrightFest 2026, After Birth is a body-horror short turning one of the most common- and yet rarely honestly depicted- experiences into something gloriously visceral: motherhood.
THE KILLER LOGLINE 🩸
Her baby broke her nose, the house is in chaos, and she’s a sleep-deprived mess. Ma’s day couldn’t get any worse... until she rips her face off in the sink. Finding a new one will hurt worse than mastitis.
Yes. We were sold too.
SO… WHAT IS AFTER BIRTH? 🩸
Produced by Lucy Cudden through Childs Road Films and written and directed by her sister and filmmaking partner Amy Cudden, After Birth explores the psychological and physical transformation of becoming a mother through body horror.
And its rather bloody starting point came from real life.
Lucy’s toddler accidentally broke her nose- and, rather than immediately centring her own injury, she instinctively carried on caring for her child.
That moment became the spark for a film exploring matrescence, bodily autonomy, exhaustion, sacrifice and the gradual decentring of a mother's own identity.
There isn't an external monster waiting in the shadows here.
The horror is what happens when Ma herself begins to disappear.
ABOUT BLOODY TIME 🩸
The timing of the showcase couldn't have been better.
“We completed our short film the week of the showcase,” Lucy told us. “So being selected by FrightFest, Yes She Cannes, Etheria Film Festival, and Silicon Gothic was a huge boost ahead of its festival run.”
But being one of the projects on stage meant more than just getting eyes on the film.
“It was also incredibly inspiring to be selected alongside five other smart, ambitious and creative female filmmakers.”
And, of course, there was our slightly unhinged 60-second OUT OF BLOODY TIME pitch challenge.
Lucy summed that up rather perfectly:
“The 60-second pitch was a riot.”
Just as we bloody intended.
A BLOODY GOOD GIFT 🩸
Our showcased filmmakers didn’t leave empty-handed either!
A huge thank you to Cute & Spook, who very kindly gifted these spooky "girls will be girls" T-shirts for the After Birth team to take home.
Cute & Spook is a female-owned UK business creating spooky, horror and alternative clothing- basically, very much our kind of people. đź–¤
Go show them some love and explore the shop: Visit Cute & Spook
Thank you again to Lauren and Cute & Spook for helping us celebrate our filmmakers with a little extra treat! 🩸
AND NOW… SITGES 👀
Since the original application, there has already been another major development.
Childs Road Films has been selected for the inaugural Sitges WomanInFan Talent Accelerator Lab.
So since the Cudden sisters left our FrightFest stage, their journey through the genre world is getting even more bloody exciting!
WHAT DOES GENRE NEED NEXT? 🩸
For Lucy, the next step isn't simply more opportunities for women to show their work.
It is about connecting those projects to the people who can actually help get them made.
“I’d love to see more networking opportunities specifically connecting filmmakers with financiers, distributors, and sales agents,” she says.
“Access to financing is challenging- but given the built-in audience for genre at the cinema, the demand is clearly there. We just need to remove some of the barriers to getting these films financed in the first place.”
YES. THIS.
Creating space is important.
Making sure opportunities, finance and meaningful industry connections exist on the other side of that space is even more important.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR AFTER BIRTH? 🩸
With the film now completed, the team are heading into its festival journey and hoping to get After Birth in front of audiences far and wide.
And there’s a very easy way you can help.
FOLLOW + SUPPORT
🩸 Follow @afterbirthshortfilm on Instagram
🩸 Follow @childsroadfilms
🩸 Watch and share the After Birth trailer
🩸 And keep an eye out for upcoming festival screenings!
Because sometimes supporting a film really can begin with something as simple as helping more people discover it.
THE LASTING IMPRESSION 🩸
For Lucy, one of the loveliest parts of About Bloody Time was watching the other projects command the room.
“It was thrilling to see each film make its mark… and I can't wait to see all the projects featured.”
Neither can we.
THIS IS EXACTLY WHY WE CREATED ABOUT BLOODY TIME.
To put brilliant women-led genre projects in a room together.
To make some noise about them.
And then to keep following what happens next.
DISCOVER AFTER BIRTH 🩸
Instagram: @afterbirthshortfilm
Childs Road Films: @childsroadfilms
Project website: afterbirthshortfilm.carrd.co
The After Birth team included an incredible group of women across key creative roles including: Amy Cudden (Writer/Director), Lucy Cudden (Producer), Chloé Deleplace (DOP), Bianca Nicole Alexander (Co-Producer) and Helen Lyon (Composer) Ayanna Blair-Ford (Production Designer) and Sarah-Louise Davila (Sound Designer and Mixer).
ABOUT BLOODY TIME 🩸
About Bloody Time: Women Are Seen was created to celebrate, connect and champion women working in genre.
The inaugural Project Showcase took place at FrightFest 2026, presented by Yes She Cannes in collaboration with Silicon Gothic and Etheria Film Festival, bringing six female-led genre projects into the spotlight.
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