Cold & Sara
Emmy mourns a tragic loss while her sister, Sara, relentlessly tries to lighten her spirits in this increasingly frenetic interaction starring real-life siblings.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer/Editor/Actor Brenna Power
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you! I've been thinking about this film since 2017 when my (now) husband lost his father really tragically and suddenly. As my husband went through an obviously intense grieving process where he experienced many new emotions like deep anxiety and anger for the first time, I found myself wanting to help him, but also having to confront a lot of the selfishness within myself of just wanting things to go back to the way they were. That was something I hadn't seen on my screen before, and I thought unpacking my experience could be especially interesting through the lens of a sister relationship.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Grief is a timeless issue because death is a part of life. My film is a really honest look at how it specifically impacts our living relationships. Coming out of Covid, Cold & Sara is especially relevant to feelings of isolation, hopelessness, and mourning those that we lost and our past ways of life.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
There are personal themes for me of sisterhood, anxiety and learning to listen. Universally speaking, my film explores life and death, mental health and searching for healing.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
My sister and I did a lot of improv in the writing phase of the script which was really fun, including some improv while we were shooting as well. The film evolved the most during the editing phase, however. During the edit, we really found the arc through seeing everything on camera truly through Emmy's POV and playing around with the moment where we finally see both sisters onscreen together. The film evolved in the edit as a result to be much more anxiety-inducing with a constant metronome ticking underneath, as opposed to the more slow and methodical approach I had anticipated during the writing phase.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
One person told me that I should warn people to bring tissues to the viewing. Others have said that it feels very documentarian and real. Overall, I am really happy to see it resonating with people, and that it seems people feel very seen after watching it. I am really excited for more people to see the short after it has its World Premiere at Slamdance and continues on the festival circuit.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I am really happy to see how much you can trust your audience. This short doesn't take a lot of time with exposition, and it's been really cool to see how much audiences have picked up in just a single viewing, and that the story has been effective in its short timeline. It's a really good thing to keep in mind for the future.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I am hoping to get more excitement for the short and garner some interest and hype for the feature that I am developing that's based on it! I am really grateful to have the opportunity.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
It would be great to have some distributors. The more publicity Cold & Sara gets is wonderful for future festivals and for bringing the story to more viewers.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would really love for the film to bring some hope and comfort to those that have experienced tragic loss themselves or have really loved someone who has. The very best would be if there was someone who was having a difficult time communicating with their sibling/parent/friend/partner about their grief, they watched Cold & Sara, and then felt that if Emmy and Sara can take steps toward communicating, then maybe they can too.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How do you move on from tragic loss? Should you move on? What IS moving on?
Would you like to add anything else?
Not much else! I hope you enjoy it!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am writing the feature-length version of my short, Cold & Sara, which I am super excited about. It's great to have more time to see what else happens to these sisters over the course of a long weekend, in a story that includes new themes of suppressed anger, religion and even seeing short moments of joy in an emotional roller coaster of a film.
Interview: January 2023
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Cold & Sara
Emmy mourns a tragic loss while her sister, Sara, relentlessly tries to lighten her spirits in this increasingly frenetic interaction starring real-life siblings.
Length: 11:02
Director: Brenna Power
Producer: Larson Rainier, Dawson Doupé, Ryder Doupé and Todd Tapper
Writer: Brenna Power
About the writer, director and producer:
After receiving her BFA in Acting from Carnegie Mellon University in 2019, BRENNA POWER made the move to Los Angeles, where she bounced around making shorts, acting, and seeking out any opportunity to be on set. After practicing with four short films, one web series, three music videos and a few experimental pieces, she is so excited to share her "first film." Most recently as an actor, you can find her in Damien Chazelle’s film, Babylon, in theaters now. You also can see her in Season 4 of Betrayed and Season 4 of People Magazine Investigates. This is Brenna's first short film she has written that has played the festival circuit. She is very excited to share Cold & Sara with the world, as well as her upcoming feature-length version that is based on the short.
LARSON RAINIER is an actor, director, writer and producer based in Los Angeles. He met Brenna Power a decade ago in an English class at Roosevelt High School, and the two have been friends and frequent collaborators ever since. After graduating from the University of Southern California, Larson dove headfirst into filmmaking, working on a documentary production team while writing, directing, producing and acting in his own narrative projects.
DAWSON DOUPÉ, RYDER DOUPÉ and TODD TAPPER are a filmmaking team based in Seattle, Washington. The children of two actors, brothers Dawson and Ryder met Tadeas (TODD) Tapper, a Czech immigrant, when they were teenagers and the trio’s diverse perspectives and backgrounds have helped their creative partnership flourish for over ten years. Through their production company Cascadia Films, they have produced, written, and directed multiple award-winning short films, two music videos, and two feature films. Additionally, the trio were finalists at 2022 ScreenCraft TV Pilot Script Competition, which led to their pilot getting an option agreement.
Key cast: Sophia Power (Emmy), Brenna Power (Sara)
Looking for: distributors
Instagram: @coldandsaramovie
Hashtags used: #sisters #indiefilm #grief #mentalhealth
Website: www.brennapower.com
Other: IMDb
Funders: Self-funded & GoFundMe
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
Slamdance Film Festival/ Park City, Utah - 01/20 & 01/25