LYCEUM (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

LYCEUM is a 17-minute comedy short about an obedient maths teacher facing an absurd training session after an unexplained student exodus. Directed and written by Dareos Κhalili, the film uses deadpan and offbeat humor to frame a strange struggle for employment.

LYCEUM is a 2026 comedy short built around an unusually empty school and an intensely practical problem: finding work. After the entire student body mysteriously drops out, a young maths teacher is left trying to survive a bizarre training session that could determine whether he gets the job he needs.

Written and directed by Dareos Κhalili, the English-language film has a 17-minute runtime and features a cast led by Fintan Dineen as Nathaniel Johnson. Its supplied genre and keywords point toward a compact, deadpan and absurdist approach to workplace and institutional behavior.

LYCEUM movie details

Story without spoilers

The film follows Nathaniel Johnson, a young and obedient maths teacher whose prospects are complicated when every student at the school suddenly drops out. Despite the unexplained situation, Nathaniel must navigate an absurd training session in pursuit of the first job he urgently needs.

The premise places an ordinary employment goal inside an unusually illogical setting. Rather than presenting a conventional school story, LYCEUM uses the deserted student body and the training process as the basis for its comedy, with the title’s school setting providing the central backdrop.

What to expect

LYCEUM is identified as a comedy with deadpan, offbeat and absurdist-humor keywords. Viewers can therefore expect a short-form story centered on awkward institutional circumstances, restrained comic behavior and a deliberately unusual premise. The supplied keyword “banality of evil” also suggests that the film’s humor is connected to ordinary systems or conduct taking on an unsettlingly absurd quality.

At 17 minutes, the film is designed as a concise experience rather than an extended school drama. Its focus is the pressure placed on Nathaniel during the training session and the strange conditions surrounding his attempt to secure employment.

Cast and creative team

Fintan Dineen plays Nathaniel Johnson, the young maths teacher at the center of the story. Louise Thomas appears as Ms Wadsworth, while Russell Biles plays The Headmaster. Leah Graham is credited as The P.E. Teacher, with Taj-Levi Matthews as the Sporty Caretaker and Noah Aldhous as the Tall Caretaker.

Dareos Κhalili wrote and directed LYCEUM. The film’s production company is SWICK cinema.

• Fintan Dineen as Nathaniel Johnson
• Louise Thomas as Ms Wadsworth
• Russell Biles as The Headmaster
• Leah Graham as The P.E. Teacher
• Taj-Levi Matthews as the Sporty Caretaker
• Noah Aldhous as the Tall Caretaker

Release and production context

LYCEUM is listed as a 2026 release with a release date of November 2, 2026. It has a runtime of 17 minutes and is classified as a comedy. The film is associated with France, Greece and the United Kingdom, and its spoken language is English. SWICK cinema is credited as the production company.

Production companies: SWICK cinema

Reported production figures:
Budget $20,000

Movies Dock view

With its short runtime, empty-school premise and emphasis on deadpan absurdity, LYCEUM presents a tightly contained story about an ordinary job application unfolding under extraordinary circumstances. The available details place the film’s interest in the collision between obedience, bureaucracy and an inexplicable institutional crisis.

Film data:
TMDB · IMDb