Black Button - Short Film

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-YouTube Awards 2007 - Top Six Finalist, Best Short Film
-WINNER: Fitzroy Short Film Festival (Melb, Aus)
-WINNER: DearCinemaFest Short Film Festival (Int.)
and more...

Mr Roberts finds himself awoken inexplicably in a white room. A man sits before him at a desk and in between them stands a black button. If Mr Roberts pushes it, he will receive a briefcase filled with millions of dollars. Or he can take the key to the door and leave penniless. The catch? Pushing the button will result in the death of a human being. What would you do?

EDIT 1: Some people have observed a similarity in the premise of this film and an revival episode of The Twilight Zone in 1986. Please note (1) We had never seen the episode and only learned of it long after we'd finished the film. (2) The Twilight Zone weren't the first to do it. There was a short story before that, which was in turn based on an old premise called the 'Faustian Bargain', around since the 16th century (deal with the 'devil'). An almost identical premise exists in several cultures. Richard Kelly is even making a film with this premise called 'The Box'. (3) Our film is similar in premise, but different in plot, characters, dialogue, aesthetics, setting, moral meaning, religious undertone, twist etc. Each version, including ours, aims to bring something new to an old idea. Please have the respect to not accuse us of plagiarism.

Additionally, we have no particular religious affiliation; this is a fictional work and its ideas are designed to encourage thought and debate, not comment on any particular theology.


Our first professional short film. We made it for $200 and shot it on the stage of our old school in Melbourne, Australia. Fortunately, professional actor Robert Grubb agreed to act in it for free after reading the script. This film took nearly a year to put together, working on it in stages and creating the 'white' effect on a home PC. Please note that the younger actor, unlike his father Robert Grubb, has no formal acting training whatsoever.

The Making of "Black Button" is now on YouTube.

Two of our other shorts have been released on YouTube, 'Campsite' and 'The Window'. Click on our profile if you'd like to see them and subscribe for updates on new films. Thanks!

Channel: Film & Animation
Uploaded: January 25, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Author: DarkHeartProductions

Length: 00:07:06
Rating: 4.66
Views: 1078596

Tags: Black Button Dark Heart Productions drama intense short film Crandles Grubb Faust

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numbing numbered numerous Comments:
leaherss (December 1, 2008 at 10:17 pm)
well done
axehero123 (December 1, 2008 at 10:00 pm)
so everyone in hell is rich?! sweet.
CMxPROD (December 1, 2008 at 9:30 pm)
nice job
xLightFilmsx (December 1, 2008 at 9:05 pm)
Yeah, you can definitely tell the young man doesn't know how to act. But the old dude is awesome.
Yuns36 (December 1, 2008 at 8:49 pm)
We are all going to die, just face it.

Stop arguing about that xD
Edengoth (December 1, 2008 at 7:22 pm)
Oh, I am a happy person. I live what I do have while I can. I just mean the *preservation* of human life isn't a very good goal. People are horrible no matter how good things get, and we've trashed the earth.
Just the idea that life is SOOOO precious and important is folly. In many parts of the world, people don't live to see adulthood. Life, by virtue of it being life, dies. I think it's worth a lot less than 10 million.
namestook (December 1, 2008 at 7:21 pm)
Wow is right
mypatronusisanotter (December 1, 2008 at 6:57 pm)
wow
0nly0neWay (December 1, 2008 at 6:52 pm)
In the end we are all dead because all humans have committed sin. It is not just killing another human being, it is resisting and avoiding God's want for a relationship with us. We can't earn our way to salvation by not pressing the black button for we have all pressed the black button of sin on our own lives. Only Jesus Christ can erase our death, reuniting our relationship with God. It is not by works we have been saved but through faith in Jesus Christ.
malachiparker1985 (December 1, 2008 at 6:13 pm)
In this type of situation, the end never justifies the means.

World peace, all disease cured, no more poverty or suffering, no racism or religious hatred, all for the price of one single life.
I wonder, if the life that was taken was from a family member, would you push the button?

If all those wonderful things were accomplished by simply murdering one person maybe an old man, a mother of two, or even a child, would you push the button?