Millicent Simmonds and Troy Kotsur lead deaf-majority thriller Alone
Millicent Simmonds, Troy Kotsur, Nyle DiMarco and Phylicia Rashad lead Alone, a psychological thriller short from director Garrett Patten.
The cast is set. The shoot is done. The film wrapped principal photography, the main shoot with the full cast and crew, in Brooklyn and is now in post-production, Deadline reported on 29 September 2026.
Simmonds plays Samantha, a deaf woman living alone. She receives an advanced humanoid robot, a machine built in human form, designed to make her life easier. The robot studies her routines, emotions and past behaviour. That growing connection takes a dark and unsettling turn.
Kotsur, DiMarco and Rashad star alongside James Broderick and Cameron Sault. The ensemble features a majority deaf cast, according to Deadline. For general audiences, that means most of the acting company are deaf performers, with deaf experience placed at the centre of the story rather than at its edge.
Patten co-wrote the short with Tiziano Tucci. The pair also produce alongside Brenda Linkous and Austin Lantero. William Lowery of Range Media Partners and David Keinath of DFA serve as executive producers, the senior figures who back a project financially and creatively. Orlando Herrera worked as director of photography, the head of camera and lighting.
A short is a brief, self-contained film, often made quickly and with a tight crew. Principal photography is the phase when all the scenes are shot. Post-production follows, covering editing, sound design, music and picture finishing before any public screening can be booked.
What makes this stand out is the plan beyond the short. The film-makers hope to expand Alone into a feature film with the same actors, Deadline reported. That short-to-feature route is a familiar path in independent film, where a compact shoot tests the idea, the cast and the tone before a larger production is attempted.
