Director BT Meza has opened up about his latest project Affection, a haunting sci-fi film that stems from a ‘deeply personal space’ exploring the complexities of love, grief, and identity
Affection director shares inspiration behind new horror film
With the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival underway, director BT Meza has shared an inside look at the making of his brand new sci-fi horror movie Affection.
Affection – which spans 90 minutes – is featured at this year’s horror festival in Brooklyn, New York, and includes a talented cast and crew including former Happy Death Day star Jessica Rothe. Affection follows the main character of Ellie who is continuously struck with violent seizures that erase her memory leaving her to forget those closest to her, including her own husband and child.
Unlike the indie film CAMP (2025) also featured in the film festival, Meza took an entirely different approach to the horror genre and aimed to create a lingering fear and tension for his audiences. Sharing his vision for the film, he told The Mirror US, “Fear in Affection isn’t about shock as much as it’s about tension. The horror comes from anticipation, from the anxiety of waiting for something inevitable and not knowing when it will arrive.”
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Meza shared that the inspiration for the film stems from “a deeply personal space.” He explained that the plot is inspired by his own complicated relationship with his family after losing his father at a young age.
Former Happy Death Day star Jessica Rothe stars in Affection (Image: ONE Media Coverage)
He explained, “When I was a child, my father passed away, and in the years that followed my mother entered an abusive relationship that moved us from the home I knew to an isolated place cut off from society — no power, no water, no neighbors, just silence and control.”
The filmmaker continued, “I watched her identity slowly disappear. This film became a way to give her back what was taken — to resurrect my father, relive my childhood, and mend the moment where everything changed. It’s about grief, identity, and imagining a version of life that never got to exist, but could have.”
Sharing some of the core themes and messages his film explores, Meza said, “Affection explores love, grief, and identity. I wanted to examine what grief can do to a person – the parts of themselves they’re willing to lose just to feel whole again, the destruction that comes from refusing to let go of the past, and how love can blind us to who we truly are.”
Tackling how he wanted to bring this story to life on the big screen, Meza explained that he chose to portray the story through the eyes of himself as a child.
Affection drew inspiration from the director’s personal life(Image: ONE Media Coverage)
Meza shared, “I remember moments of quiet anticipation — the sense of something building. There would be this beautiful golden-hour light stretching through the windows, but beneath it, a paralyzing helplessness. The feeling that something was about to happen. When writing Affection, I wanted to capture that — the dread that lives just under the surface. I want audiences to feel that haunting unease and carry it with them long after the credits fade.”
Meza went on to express his gratitude for being featured in this year’s Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. He shared, “Having Affection screen at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival means the world to me. It’s a festival run by people who truly understand horror and care deeply about filmmakers. To share the film with such passionate fans of the genre and alongside so many other incredible films was an incredible experience.”
Affection invoked fear and unease through anticipation(Image: ONE Media Coverage)
Concluding his thoughts on the films debut, Meza shared, “I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who’s taken the time to watch Affection and connect with it. It’s such a personal film, and my hope is that it stays with people — that it lingers, and makes them reflect on it long after it’s over.”
The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival runs from Oct. 16-25 with screenings at Nitehawk Cinema Williamsburg and Nitehawk Cinema Prospect Park. For a full lineup of projects featured and tickets to screenings, click here. If audiences are unable to attend the festival, Affection will also be featured in the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival on Oct. 29th and at Frightfest Halloween on Nov. 1.
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