Bestial Ones follows a young discontented single-mother who must chose between her troubled son or the freedom she desperately craves after a chance encounter presents an opportunity for escape. The story is inspired by my relationship with my own mother, who sacrificed so much while raising a difficult child as a single-parent. It is also influenced by the decision to give up my own child when I was sixteen. This was the hardest thing I’ve had to do. It was the right decision for everyone involved, but to this day I still grapple with the choice. What would that life have looked like; would we be happy or would I’ve found myself discontent, mourning the loss of freedom and youth? My goal with this film was to create an intimate character-study of a struggling disjointed family, a narrative where each character is viewed through an empathetic lens so that their actions aren’t judged but rather understood. The film is many things; it’s an ode to my mother, it’s an exploration of my lingering doubts and guilt, but above all it’s a story of family, choice, and learning to make the difficult decision to grow.

Miles is an award-winning director and screenwriter originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan currently based in Dublin, Ireland. Miles is a recent graduate of the National Film School of Ireland with a BA Honours degree in Directing and Producing, where he also received the Screen Director's Guild of Ireland award for Outstanding Direction and Student of the Year. His graduation film, Bestial Ones, recently won Silver Screen at the Young Director Awards Cannes; Best Undergraduate Drama, Best Cinematography and Best Sound at the Royal Television Society Awards in the BFI, and Best Student Film at the Emerging Director Awards Ireland. His work is primarily character-driven, exploring themes ranging from the intricacies of family dynamics to the duality of human nature.