Sci-Fi Short Film THE EDENBOUND is About The Dehumanising and Indoctrinating Effects of War

War teaches certainty. Empathy complicates it. In The Edenbound, director Andrew McGee drops us into a future where loyalty is programmed, emotions are repressed, and one young pilot finds herself at the breaking point between both.

The short film centers on Cara, a young soldier raised in a society gripped by an endless planetary war. When she’s chosen to command her late mother’s ship for a critical nova-nuclear strike, it seems like the ultimate honor, until her craft crashes deep inside enemy territory.

Stranded in the mysterious City of Echoes, Cara makes a single human connection that begins to unravel everything she’s been conditioned to believe.

Suddenly, the mission isn’t just about carrying out orders, it’s about questioning who gave them in the first place.

The official logline reads: “Amid an unending planetary war, a pilot’s loyalty is tested when she crashes into enemy territory, where she must face a devastating decision between duty and compassion.”

McGee describes The Edenbound as a reflection on how war strips away individuality and empathy:

“In The Edenbound, I wanted to tell a story about the dehumanising and indoctrinating effects of war, particularly by drawing parallels to current real-world conflicts—something science fiction is uniquely positioned to explore."

Though the film’s core is a deeply personal moral dilemma, The Edenbound doesn’t skimp on scope. McGee and his team used virtual production to build a striking futuristic world on an independent scale:

“While the narrative is contained and intimate, I was keen to create a real sense of scope and spectacle that’s often seen as out of reach on an independent production. We achieved this by harnessing the power of virtual production, and combining it with the exceptional skills of every creative department."

“From the intricately built cockpit and thoughtful costume design to the coordinated lighting and agile camerawork, it was rewarding to see so much talent seamlessly coming together to create such a compelling and immersive world.”

At its heart, The Edenbound is a story about the collision of belief and experience of what happens when the stories we’re told about “the other side” come face to face with the reality of shared humanity.