A romance-obsessed rug shop employee tries to make a sale to a highly-conflicted couple in Rug Burn. We talk with filmmaker Devin Gillis about producing her latest short and the inherent nature of love.
Rug Burn centers on Rosemary (played by Cassidy Karin), a Persian rug shop employee and armchair relationship expert whose idea of love is thrown into doubt by a dysfunctional and somewhat suspicious couple (played by Puja Nundy and Jedd Sharp) looking to make a quick purchase of a new floor covering.
Written and directed by Devin Gillis and produced by Vancouver-based Fourth Floor Films, the short is a follow-up to the 2023 dramedy Oopsy Daisy (which also featured the character of Rosemary employed as a hopelessly romantic florist).
Gillis says her goal with both films has been to say something thought-provoking about love, but to do so in an entertaining and memorable way.
“Most of my work is centered around romance and challenging the way it’s usually portrayed,” she says. “So, I guess my genre is kind of sad or shocking rom-coms. I want to surprise people, while also leaving them with something to think about.”
Like its predecessor, Rug Burn leans heavily into its setting for inspiration, something Gillis says stems from both her creative roots and approach to storytelling.
“When it comes to short films, I like to start with location. I think this is in large part a result of my photography background,” she says. “When I was taking photos in high school, I always would drive by places and think, ‘Wow, it’d be so cool to shoot there!’ That carried over into my filmmaking as well.”
“I believe genres are enhanced when intertwined with other genres. With this film, it makes the direction and ending unexpected, more relatable and true-to-life.”
She adds that, while the film was always envisioned as a comedy, it didn’t stop her from drawing on elements that were both darker and more dramatic.
“I had this idea that it would be a horror film, but one that read very much like a comedy,” Gillis says. “I believe genres are enhanced when intertwined with other genres. With this film, it makes the direction and ending unexpected, more relatable and true-to-life.”
Gillis notes that Rug Burn was more challenging to make than Oopsy Daisy, due in part to a last-minute scramble to find a new location (after the original one dropped out) and the fact that the film was shot in parallel with a soon-to-be-announced third installment of the trilogy.
“With Oopsy Daisy, everything fell into place quite easily, whereas with this, there was a lot more to juggle,” she says. “At the same time, there were a lot of the same people involved, but also a lot of new extremely talented crew members who I’ll definitely continue to collaborate with over and over again.”
“This is why I love film so much. You don’t have to pick just one art form, you can showcase and celebrate them all!”
She adds that the experience has also allowed her to combine a wide-range of creative interests and helped her find a great group of people to work with.
“Filmmaking is such a collaborative, multi-layered medium and is the perfect culmination of any and all art forms, which is why I love combining music, fashion, interior design etc. in my projects,” Gillis says. “This is why I love film so much. You don’t have to pick just one art form, you can showcase and celebrate them all!”
Rug Burn is currently streaming on the project’s official website here, but if you want to see it on the big screen (and happen to be in New York City), they will be rolling out the red carpet for the film at the Iron Mule Short Comedy Film Festival this October.
“I’m very excited to attend and see how audiences react live to it,” Gillis says. “It’s always so fun to see what people laugh at, because sometimes you’ll screen it in different places and get completely different reactions and laughs. Sometimes people laugh at things that aren’t even jokes or visa versa.”
While Gillis warns against being too prescriptive when it comes to what audiences take away from the film, she adds that she hopes the they will at least see that love is really about “making it work.”
“When it comes to love, you’ll always be settling or compromising – that’s just inherent to its nature. So, I guess you could say, I’m making a case against the existence of a perfect match,” she concludes. “Also, while love can bring so much joy and passion, there’s something inherently upsetting and unsettling about the things we do and accept in the name of love.”
Follow Rug Burn on Instagram here (@rugburnmovie) or visit the film’s official website here.
