If you’re interested in seeing what a team of Bermuda creatives can do, follow Quinceé Kaya Dill and Moss on social media.

It’s where they will announce the release date for Evia, the short film they collaborated on. Quinceé wrote, produced and acted in the lead role; Moss directed the ten-minute script.

The project was a first for both of them. Quinceé, who studied acting in California and has worked as a professional actor in the US and in the UK, spent about 18 months writing and editing before a mutual friend introduced her to Moss at the start of the summer.

“I’m an artist and a videographer,” he said. “I do a little bit of photography as well. I own my own business [and] my brand’s about telling stories, making fun content; I really get to share part of myself.

“I get to work and collaborate a lot with people around Bermuda which is so much fun and I’m grateful for that.

“I think when Quinceé approached me with the script and I read it for the first time, it got me in the story right away. It was such an honour and I said I have to, I want to, be a part of this.”

The film is based on an anxious and depressed Gen Zer who is desperate to live despite having a strong urge to take her life.

“The story follows Evia, the title character, as her mental health takes a turn,” Quinceé said. “She has an impromptu daydream that sends her on a path to recover herself, save herself from her fantasy. And the theme that’s kind of explored in this project is that sometimes you are the only person that can save yourself.”

The idea came from “poems and songs and excerpts of writing”. In 2020 she decided to put them together to create a film.

“I’ve written and produced a micro short film in the past and I’ve worked on several other projects in my time being an actress but this one was different because it was my own and it was a longer form than what I had previously done,” said Quinceé, who decided sometime around the age of ten that she wanted to pursue acting as a career.

“It was a completely different genre. Before I did comedy and this is a drama – which I never expected myself to do. But it was a very interesting and worthwhile time to do this project.”

The film features Hugh Holman and Keiasa DeSilva, “two extraordinarily talented people” Quinceé and Moss discovered through auditions.

“It was very exciting to meet both of them and have them on set,” Quinceé said.

Moss had never been part of a film before, but felt confident enough to give it a try.

“It was kind of a leap but at the same time I kept being told I was good at directing people in terms of some smaller productions,” he said.

“Obviously I’d shot video and some things like that but I’d never done such a big professional production as this was. I felt like I could do it. I resonated with the story and obviously when Quinceé came to me with the script I jumped on-board right away.

“I wanted to help, I wanted to be part of it. It was a lot of fun. I felt like I filled into the role really well and I was eager to learn.”

The real joy came in seeing just how talented other people on the island are, he added.

“Bermuda has so many amazing creatives but being on this, it’s really not just a ‘creative project’. This felt professional. This felt thought out, methodical. This wasn’t like hey, let’s go shoot a film with a camcorder. This was a proper short film.”

It wasn’t the career he had in mind when he left Bermuda for Canada. Moss spent five years studying computer science at Halifax’s Dalhousie University.

“I didn’t do anything in terms of design or art or film or video while I was there. I’ve been back on the island for the last two-and-a-half years.

“I actually started off with Sargasso [Sea Ltd, the online shopping delivery service] as their intern designer just before they launched. I was there from the beginning and that sort of started my career.”

He worked in graphic design until people started asking him to shoot their products.

“I borrowed a camera, kind of fell in love with that and started taking photos. And then, instead of photos being primary, videos started taking hold. I did a lot of stories, short form content as well as client work.

“It allowed me to expand and a lot of people know me a little bit more now because of that; because I put myself in front of the camera. I feel like, in order to properly direct people you need to know what it’s like to be in front of the camera as well as behind it.”

His hope is that he has the opportunity to get back into the director’s chair.

“I had so much fun and I felt that I was good at it,” Moss said. “At the end of the day I just want to keep creating. I think Bermuda’s just sort of just tapping into what creative power it has.

“There are so many amazing people here and, honestly, creating is fun but it’s working with all these cool people that really motivates me and makes me want to continue to create here.

“I want to do a little bit of acting as well. That would be the next leap naturally.”

Quinceé “will probably move back to the UK at some point” to further her career.

“It is a really exciting thing to meet people from where you’re from,” she said. “It’s such a small place where there is not really an industry. So I’m trying to take advantage of that.

Follow Quinceé Kaya Dill (@quinykdill) and Moss (@mossbda) on Instagram for details of Evia’s release