Film Name: Granny DJ
Director: Faith Elizabeth
Writers: James Alexander Allen, Faith Elizabeth
Starring: Jill Stanford, Ellie Torrez, Summer Elizabeth, with Daniel Wilmot,
Granny DJ is forced to slay her sunset years- literally. When her once-loyal squad morphs into a mob of manic Smilers, she can’t hide behind the beat any longer- she must confront her demons in one final act of love.
In a new exclusive interview on Blazing Minds, I got a chance to ask Director/Co-Writer Faith Elizabeth and Editor Jake Francis a few questions about the film ‘Granny DJ’, which will have its World Premiere at Horror-on-Sea on Friday, 23rd January at 20:00hrs.
Q. Horror-on-Sea audiences may recognise you as an actress from previous screenings at the festival, including work with Michael Fausti, Geoff Harmer, and Pat Higgins. With Granny DJ, you’re returning to the festival as a director for the first time. It feels like a perfect match for a film that blends horror, comedy, and chaos. For audiences going in cold, what kind of ride are they signing up for?
Faith: It’s genuinely exciting to be presenting my work to a Horror-on-Sea audience I’ve been part of for many years. Returning as a director, and getting to see the Granny DJ VHS cover sitting in the Video Dungeon, is something I’m incredibly excited about- and I agree, it really does feel like the perfect fit for the Horror-on-Sea crowd!
As for the film itself, it’s a neon, chaotic daydream that I hope is as funny as it is feral. I hope audiences enjoy getting lost in Granny’s world, feel deliciously irritated by her shouty daughter Hannah, and walk away wanting to hold the people they love a little tighter.
Q. You co-wrote Granny DJ with James Alexander Allen. This film has a very specific, unhinged voice. Where did the idea come from, and how did the two of you actually shape something this strange together without literally ‘losing the plot’?
Faith: I’d just finished making My Baby Cries (2022)- a dark drama about baby loss- and felt ready to step into a completely different genre. After working as an actress in horror for years, it felt like the right moment to finally direct in that space too. Granny DJ began much lighter- with her chaotic smiler zombies, plenty of blood, and Granny’s sassy one-liners- but underneath it was always a story about losing my mum to cancer.
It took a long time, and a lot of rewrites- including a few painful reshoots- for me to let that truth fully come through. For a while, I was avoiding the hardest part, until I couldn’t anymore. Writing with James throughout that process was incredible. He really helped me uncover what the film was trying to be, while bringing in some brilliantly funny ideas. Comedy is absolutely his strength- you should check out his other work!
Some of the best moments came from a long writing session in a pub garden, getting tipsy on wine and brainstorming- where somehow, amongst the chaos- the heart still found its way in.
Q. Granny is such a bold, unforgettable character, played by Jill Stanford. Did you have her in mind while writing, or did you find her once you started casting?
Faith: Granny actually started as an image before she was a person. I had designed the Granny DJ logo before casting, and I had this clear idea of a granny, wearing headphones and with a greying top bun. When we started looking through casting sites, I saw Jill’s headshot- bun and all- and immediately loved it.
We auditioned a number of brilliant women, but the moment Jill appeared on screen wearing an animal-print scarf and spinning imaginary decks, she completely stole our hearts. From that second on, she wasn’t just a Granny- she was our Granny.
Q. The film has a distinctive look that blurs horror with comic book parts- and some wild SFX choices. What were your visual and stylistic influences when building the world of Granny DJ?
Faith: Neon was non-negotiable. Between the Zahara nightclub lighting and a frankly irresponsible amount of budget items- weird and wild neon costumes and props- we fully committed to bold colours, bold lighting, and bold decisions all round.
The comic-book elements evolved later, but once they did, we anchored them to the Granny DJ logo and carried that look through the whole film, so everything felt like it belonged in the same loud, chaotic universe.
Q. The film plays with the idea of not wanting to “inconvenience” others, even in the face of death. Do you see Granny’s brave face as a form of resilience, self-erasure, or both?
Faith: I see Granny’s brave face as both resilience and self-protection. She’s doing what many women feel pressured to do- carry the pain quietly so no one else has too. It comes from a place of love, but the film questions whether sheltering others from the truth, really protects anyone.
Q. Comedy often becomes a shield in Granny DJ- a way to keep things light while something devastating sits underneath. How did you balance humour as survival rather than avoidance?
Faith: Honestly, Granny is quite avoidant- and comedy is part of that. Humour is her shield, a way of staying in control and keeping people at arm’s length. The film doesn’t pretend that’s healthy, but hopefully it does recognise it as human. Especially when that facade breaks and her true pain seeps through.
Q. For audiences who recognise themselves or their loved ones in Granny’s silence, what do you hope the film gently asks them to reconsider?
Faith: I hope it gently suggests that strength doesn’t always look like silence. You don’t have to ‘grin and bear it’, or protect the people you love by pushing them away- and you definitely don’t have to [REDACTED] your squad, [REDACTED] those sus creatures, or [REDACTED] anything at all- to find that out.
Q. Granny DJ centres 3 women, at very different stages of life, which still feels surprisingly rare in horror. What felt important to you about telling the story this way?
Faith: Centering women in the story and allowing each of them to exist fully, without being simplified or framed for anyone else, was at the core of this film. Lola experiences the chaos from a place of confusion and curiosity, Hannah is trying to maintain control while everything around her feels like it’s slipping, and Granny is protecting the people she loves by keeping painful truths to herself- even if that means becoming someone unrecognisable in the process.
That approach reflects how I think about representation more broadly. Through my work supporting women in film with Yes She Cannes, I’m constantly aware of who gets space on screen and whose stories are side-lined. With Granny DJ, I wanted to show women in horror who feel a bit more real- messy, unique, and not what you’re expecting.
We don’t see enough horror that focuses on female relationships, or that allows women to exist on screen without being sexualised, romanticised, or reduced to one-dimensional versions of themselves. Granny DJ aims to let women be loud, ageing, annoying, fun, furious, and complicated- and still be loved.
Q. Editor Jake Francis from Tripod Productions played a huge role in shaping Granny DJ during post-production. What did he have to say about bringing Granny DJ’s unique style and voice to life?
Jake: I wanted the story to be experienced through the mind of Lola, the young girl in our film, facing the loss of her grandmother. She deals with this by expressing her emotions through her comic drawings, and we explore the layered way a child processes grief — the thunderstorm, the monsters, the anger, pain and confusion she feels — while also revealing just how much her Gran meant to her. Through Lola’s eyes, we see her grandmother not only as someone she is losing, but as a larger-than-life presence who shaped her world.
Q. As the editor, was there a particular scene in Granny DJ that you found especially rewarding or challenging to shape in the edit?
Jake: When performance, editing, and score come together to genuinely elicit emotion, those are the moments that make the process worthwhile — even after watching a scene hundreds of times whilst editing, if it still makes you feel something, you know it works. In Granny DJ, the final scene still gets me every time, and I’m incredibly proud of everyone involved in bringing those moments together.”
Q. As the team behind Tripod Productions, you helped shape Granny DJ into the film audiences will see at Horror-on-Sea. How would you describe Granny DJ as a finished film?
Jake: It’s a wild, chaotic ride, but I hope audiences can see the deeper meaning beneath it all — the expression of grief, the love that exists within a family despite conflict, and the idea that you don’t have to simply grin and bear it.
Q. Thanks- it was great to hear from Tripod Productions. Looking ahead, Faith, now that Granny DJ is out in the world, are there themes or stories you feel drawn to explore next?
Faith: Grief is a subject I’m endlessly drawn to, particularly the quieter forms of it- the things we carry, suppress, or inherit without realising. I’m currently developing my first feature as a director, The Trabocchi Tails: Asrai, a dark fantasy mermaid film, set in Italy, that explores abandonment, loss, and identity in a world where love, grief, and myth are inseparable.
I’ve been writing and developing the project for around seven years, and it finally feels ready for the next phase. Making a first feature is a HUGE leap, both creatively and financially, but we’re beginning the next steps of the process through crowdfunding and an upcoming read through.
This film was challenging, and it asked a lot of us. We had to pivot, adapt, and discover it as we went, often with limited resources and a very scrappy budget. But I’m incredibly proud of what we made together.
At the end of the day, what matters most to me is how the film makes people feel. If Granny DJ helps someone feel less alone, or encourages them to reach out instead of hiding behind their pain, then it’s done something meaningful. And I hope audiences fall in love with Granny as much as we have. No cap.
You can follow on Instagram using the following handles @thegrannydj @lilfaif @tripodproductions
Granny DJ will have its World Premiere at Horror-on-Sea on Friday 23rd January at 20:00hrs.
You can find out more about Granny DJ and purchase tickets for the film here
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
