Interview with Paolo Mancini and Daniel Watchorn (Cockroach, Panic Fest 2026)

It’s an honor to be part of Panic Fest as alumni. We truly feel blessed to be welcomed as part of this passionate community. Our first short, BLOODSHED, played at the 2021 edition and their Tricks & Treats Halloween program in 2020, thus we were fortunate to have experienced the excitement around the festival then. So, before we even finished Cockroach, being part of Panic Fest was high on our wish list. They are true champions of indie horror filmmakers.

How did this idea manifest for you?

Paolo brought the initial Cockroach idea to the table as a potential second short film for us to write and direct. I knew the subject matter was very personal for him and I felt the emotional weight the characters would need to navigate. That’s always a good place to start.

What can you tell us about Cockroach?

This is its World Premiere and we are thrilled to share it with the horror fans as we begin our journey on the festival circuit.  The film speaks to the resilience of the human spirit.  It’s a love letter to parenthood and the women in our lives.  

This is an incredible short film. Have you thought about making it a feature film?

Thank you for saying so! We appreciate the feedback and all the positive reviews we’ve received during Panic Fest. Knowing the film resonated with people is all we could ever ask for.   We feel like some ideas really sit nicely in the short film world. That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t expand on Cockroach, but it was meant as a standalone short rather than a proof-of-concept for a feature. The idea of expanding Cockroach into a feature is intriguing. And as screenwriters, once the idea is out there, it’s difficult to ignore. Never say never!

Could you tell us about the effects, and how everything worked?

We grew up mesmerized by the work of Rob Bottin, Tom Savini and other prosthetic makeup artists so we went into Cockroach wanting to prioritize practical effects. We felt like the results would be more visceral and impactful if Jenny Raven (Beth) and Michael Lipka (Sergio) had to interact directly with physical props. It creates an undeniable immediacy. This was our second time working with Jodie Rice as a Production Designer. She really transformed that little apartment and created a terrifying landscape. We worked closely with Christina Ziegler on all the other practical roach effects and Nakesha Chong created the nasty arm gash. Also have to give a shout-out to our absolutely incredible cinematographer Christian Bielz and our editor Geoff Ashenhurst who both helped mold our twisted and viscious little universe. We have our fantastic cast and crew to thank for working long hours to help us bring our loving couple, their baby Benjamin and the world around them to life. But none of this could have happened without the guidance and dedication of our friend and producer Hayden Baptiste at Wandering Worx Entertainment who corralled all these amazingly talented people. It truly takes a village to make a movie and raise a child alike. There are definite parallels there funnily enough.

Where can everyone watch Cockroach?

Well, for now they can watch by going to the Panic Fest site and choosing the ONLINE SHORT SHOWCASE BLOCK 3 till April 19th. Then we hope  to continue our festival journey so that more audiences can experience the film. Our first first, Bloodshed, is available on the WESHORT streaming platform.

What are you working on next?

We are working on a several feature screenplays; namely for a psychological horror-thriller that we pitched at Stowe Story Labs last year. The feedback we received from peers and mentors gave us the push we needed to continue developing the project. Please check out our Instagram: @bloodshed_movie for further updates. 

Our pleasure. Thank you for reaching out. We are most grateful.