Dennis Cahlo

THE LONG STORY

Dennis Cahlo is a self taught director, photographer, cinematographer, and musician. At the age of 18 Dennis joined BABY GOPAL and toured the world until the age of 20 when he formed the band THE REALISTICS with three high school friends Will Schalda, Mike Dos Antos, and Dave Patrikios. Becoming one of the formidable early aughts New York City bands, they toured with The Strokes, The Mooney Suzuki, and opened for legends Blondie and The Clash’s Joe Strummer. After disbanding in 2004, Dennis went on to form the moody wall of sound power trio SAINTS AND LOVERS with brothers Doug and Scott Meola, releasing only one album entitled STILLE. Dennis then released two solo albums WINTER IN MEDORA and SONGS FROM THE SEA OF YOU AND OF ME with his backing band THE CHANGE in 2014.

Dennis began taking photos professionally in 2013 beginning a long, prestigious career that naturally lead him to make his first short film THE WEEKEND in 2015. Still considered one of his best short form pieces, THE WEEKEND is a beautiful, understated piece of slow cinema that garnered overwhelmingly positive praise and a large festival run that solidified Dennis as a bona fide film director. He followed THE WEEKEND with short films DEATH (AND DISCO FRIES), LONELY HEARTS, and DOORS as well as a full length documentary IN FLOWERS THROUGH SPACE.

In 2024, Dennis was approached to create an ultra low budget six episode series for BLOODY DISGUSTING’s streaming service SCREAMBOX, leading to the creation of THE TROUBLE WITH TESSA. Alongside his partner BETHANY WATSON and writer WILL ROGERS, Dennis and team created a twisty, turny, small town horror series that garnered massive praise from fans and critics alike. Released in 2025, this marked his first foray into the longform space and introduced horror fans to a new voice in the genre.

In 2026 Dennis will release his 5th short film A SPECIAL DAY, a found footage style horror short, on YouTube on OCTOBER 15th, 2026. He also directed a music video for the band LOVEHONEY in the style of a 60’s b-movie style horror releasing Halloween 2026.