Graham Burrell is a Philly-based independent filmmaker whose passion for the craft began around the same time he learned how to say the word “camera.”

A Parkland High School and Muhlenberg College graduate, Burrell was heavily involved in the film programs at both schools. To date, he’s written, directed, and edited more than 25 shorts, garnering more than 20 awards and millions of views online.

His most recent short, “Grampy,” is a horror/dark comedy with a big beating heart at its core. It’s the story of a young woman who must spend a rainy night with the taxidermy corpse of an old man in a creaking farmhouse. With the help of other Lehigh Valley natives and despite having a shoe-string budget, Burrell has successfully woven a curious tale of dark humor, horror, and hope.

“Grampy” has been captivating festival audiences across the country, earning numerous awards including Best Director – U.S. Short Film at the Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival, Best Dark Comedy at the Allentown Film Festival, and Best in Fest at the Northeast Pennsylvania Film Festival.

The film will next be screened as part of this year’s Southside Film Festival, which will be held in Bethlehem June 11-15.

I recently spoke with Graham Burrell about “Grampy” and what it was like going through local school film programs in this new interview.

Where did the idea for Grampy originate? What inspired the story?

Graham Burrell: Back in 2021 I saw a comedic TikTok video about someone pretending that their friend was stuffed and immediately thought it would be a clever concept for a horror/dark comedy. The mental image of “taxidermy grandpa” was particularly compelling and felt ripe for a horror film. Unfortunately during the middle of pre-production, I lost my own step-grandfather to a battle with multiple myeloma. While mourning his loss, I realized that “taxidermy grandpa” could actually serve as a potent analogy for grief and the difficult process involved in saying goodbye to a loved one. The story went through a significant re-writing in order to give the film a deeper, dramatic edge. I added the backstory involving our protagonist grieving the loss of her father, and writing the film became an outlet for me after losing my own loved one.

You can read the rest of my interview with Graham Burrell by Clicking Here.