Soul Tied

Soul Tied is an upcoming 25 minute short film that follows Alan, a classic hopeless romantic. After being told by a mysterious, bureaucratic agent that the woman he was destined to end up with has died before even meeting him, he has three days to sort out his life before forgetting what he's learnt. 

This film challenges the ideas of the 'hopeless romantics', toxic masculinity, and brings to question that there's more to life than just the 'one' at the end. But Alan's 'destined soulmate' didn't just die randomly, she chose to end her own life.

Ultimately, this story is one about the effects suicide has on those left behind, yet how relating through trauma can help build new bridges in unexpected ways. Soul Tied is a conceptual, emotional story that'll explore some heavy, enriching themes, all while telling it through an interesting lens that challenges classic tropes.

We're a small, emerging group of filmmakers working under the name Killing Karma Studios, who have been working together and growing their network for over three years.

Our group recently worked on our first 30-minute film, Was it Funny When He Died?, which is currently amidst Post-Production as we work hard on the final touches on the film. With a test screening giving us positive reviews, we're very proud of our film that wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for the support on our Boosted campaign last year.

Killing Karma Studios also participated in the 48 Hour film competition in 2025 (and will again in 2026) and was nominated for several awards, including being a regional finalist under 4 categories, with Hugo Montgomery winning Best Performer for his role in MOUSETRAP!

Miro Hannah-Smith will serve as the Writer and Director of this film, returning from co-directing Was it Funny When He Died? last year. Serving as the creative lead of the film, Miro will guide this project throughout all areas of development. The script for Soul Tied was first drafted over a year ago, delving into personal topics with a lot to say, while bringing in fantastical elements to remain interesting, a staple of Miro's work.

Hugo Montgomery will serve as Head Producer on this project, with his experience from previous Killing Karma Studios films making him the perfect fit for the job. Hugo will be driven to keep the set safe, as well as sort out or locations, permits and more! Both Miro & Hugo (as well as a few other crew members) are currently studying Film Production at Massey University in Wellington.

Returning from previous projects is our talented DOP and Editor Ben Smith, an alumnus of Massey University. Ben is ready to bring his all to this project, bringing forward his drive to try out new, inventive shots in ways never seen in a Killing Karma Studios Film before. By experimenting with different aspect ratios and film cameras integrated with digital cameras, the cinematography on this film has a lot up it's sleeve thanks to Ben.

More crew from Was it Funny When He Died? will return in this film, with Klara Toth as our incredible 1st Assistant Director, and Sophie Papps in our Props & Art Department, both ready to bring their A-game towards this new project.

Liam Butler will serve as our lead actor, playing Alan, returning from previous Killing Karma Studios projects, ready to take on a more emotionally rich role he's more than talented enough to handle. 

Liam will act alongside a much larger supporting cast, which is yet to be announced, but will feature many new faces to the Killing Karma lexicon, with many familiar faces as well.

For this film to be possible, we'll need your help. Your support would go directly towards:

• Location Booking (several locations for shooting the film)
• Feeding our cast & crew (all of whom are passionate volunteers)
• Props/Costumes
• Any new gear/equipment to make the film possible
• Paying Cast & Crew
• Any fees for submitting to festivals if deemed fit

No matter how small a contribution is, it means a lot and goes towards making this film the best it can possibly be!

Soul Tied is an upcoming 25 minute short film that follows Alan, a classic hopeless romantic. After being told by a mysterious, bureaucratic agent that the woman he was destined to end up with has died before even meeting him, he has three days to sort out his life before forgetting what he's learnt. 

This film challenges the idea of the 'hopeless romantic', and brings to question that there's more to life than just the 'one' at the end. But Alan's 'destined soulmate' didn't just die randomly, she chose to end her own life.

Ultimately, this story is one about the effects suicide has on those left behind, yet how relating through trauma can help build new bridges in unexpected ways. Soul Tied is a conceptual, emotional story that'll explore some heavy, enriching themes, all while telling it through an interesting lens that challenges classic tropes.

We'll be filming around November-December 2026, having already begun pre-production. This film is aiming for a mid-2027 release date, where it will eventually be released on YouTube alongside our other films on the Killing Karma Studios Channel.

As young aspiring artists, we want to work on more films to kickstart our careers, and have high hopes that this film could be something special, with a message that could help many people suffering.

By supporting this project, you'll be directly supporting young creative voices, giving us more experience and more opportunities to find people in our filmmaking community.