Heirloom (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Heirloom is a 13-minute drama thriller centered on grief, inheritance and fixation. After receiving a sauce recipe from his late father, Tom becomes increasingly consumed by growing tomatoes, setting the short film’s intimate premise in motion.

Heirloom is a 2026 drama thriller written and directed by Dominic McDowell. The 13-minute short follows Tom, a grieving son who receives an heirloom sauce recipe from his late father.

What begins as a connection to family and memory develops into an obsession with growing tomatoes. The film’s compact premise places personal grief and an increasingly focused pursuit at the center of its story.

Heirloom movie details

Story without spoilers

After the death of his father, Tom receives an heirloom sauce recipe that carries a clear connection to his family past. Rather than simply preserving the recipe, he becomes preoccupied with the tomatoes needed to pursue it.

Heirloom frames that fixation through the combined lenses of drama and thriller. Its short runtime keeps the focus on Tom’s grief and the way his inherited recipe shapes his actions, without revealing how his story develops.

What to expect

The supplied premise points to a concise, character-led drama thriller built around bereavement, family inheritance and obsession. The tomato-growing element gives the story a specific practical focus, while the sauce recipe serves as the object connecting Tom to his late father.

At 13 minutes, Heirloom is structured as a short-form narrative rather than an expansive family drama. Viewers can expect a contained story driven by Tom’s emotional state and the tension suggested by his growing fixation.

Cast and creative team

Dominic McDowell writes and directs Heirloom and plays Tom, the grieving son at the center of the story. Katherine Evans appears as Charlotte, Nelson Wong plays a YouTuber, and Fiona Hogan plays Mom.

• Dominic McDowell as Tom
• Katherine Evans as Charlotte
• Nelson Wong as YouTuber
• Fiona Hogan as Mom

Release and production context

Heirloom is listed as a 2026 production with a release date of October 23, 2026. It has a runtime of 13 minutes and is categorized as a drama and thriller. The supplied details do not identify a production country, spoken language or production company.

Reported production figures:
Budget $8,000

Movies Dock view

With its brief runtime and sharply defined premise, Heirloom focuses on the emotional and unsettling possibilities within a family recipe. Its story is anchored by Tom’s grief and the unusual obsession that follows, while its writer-director, Dominic McDowell, also takes the lead role.

Film data:
TMDB · IMDb