The Shadow, UMBRA
Seb Gillmore
Fifty-Fifth
Director's Works
Seb Gillmore is a Director working across narrative, documentary, and branded film. His work is intimate, stylised, and symbolic - exploring identity, creation, and transformation through a distinctly visual lens.
Rooted in myth and memory, his films often look for echoes of the past within the present, tracing the quiet cycles that define human experience. His work has been recognised internationally, with features in Director’s Library, Harper’s Bazaar Italia, and SHOWstudio, with accolades at the Berlin Commercial Awards, HollyShorts, Stockholm Film Festival, and London’s International Film Gala.
UMBRA is an art documentary exploring the struggles of a former bodybuilder as he battles with his body and mind. After moving from Romania to London, Dan Avasilcai sought success on the bodybuilding circuit, only to uncover the sport’s darker side.
Through stylised visuals and Dan’s own words, the film reveals how his obsession with his physique led to steroid use and an unexpected unhappiness. Yet his drive for bodybuilding was always matched by a deeper desire - to become a father. It is his love for his son that ultimately brought him lasting happiness and changed his life for the better.
At its core, UMBRA is a meditation on masculinity, the body, and fatherhood - allowing audiences to step inside the experiences of a man who continues to face his inner shadow.
