someone I used to know
A blend of cityscapes, art and culture weave through a poetic breakup story. Told through real-life memories, someone I used to know is an empowering take on lost love and parallel existences.
Interview with Director/Producer/Editor Cris Romento
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Thank you so much! I am so stoked to be on Moving Stories! My film came from a very universal experience: thinking of “the one that got away.” I had been in that phase of reflecting when we met, almost a decade ago. Through drinking a lot of wine and really torturous playlists, this story started writing itself. I truly thought when I first had the idea, it was to believe our memories existed.
In the end, I realized it’s a love letter to who many women are in their 20s; figuring things out with a naively beautiful intensity. That’s the cathartic nature of making a film. You go in one person; you come out another.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
The resounding thing I hear is it makes people remember their first love. Our actors, Coco and Joshua, bring this wholesome vulnerability that makes you feel you’re reliving your story. I’ve seen this movie more than anyone else on this planet, and their acting still breaks my heart.
The thing this little film does is something I rarely see in romantic films; it lets you be ok with being alone. It’s an empowering breakup story. It lets you know don’t need to run into the arms of someone else to feel whole again. It doesn’t follow the normal tropes you see women go through, and that’s refreshing to watch. We should celebrate a goodbye as much as we celebrate people putting a ring on it, but we don’t.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I wanted it to be soft, relatable and divinely authentic to how we feel our way through a breakup. I wanted this film to feel like a choice everyone could see themselves in. It’s based on the memory, and that can be so nebulous. With memory, it’s not so much what was said, but the edges around it. How someone’s eyes felt, how the light was. These vignettes of our life that don’t have a sense of time.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
How long do you have? Just kidding. This was emotionally cathartic, but the film also forced me to grow the fuck up as a director. Before filming, I had a lot of confidence in directing, but had never done a narrative before. It’s horrifying to think of now. I share it because if I can prevent anyone from my mistake, I will! I’ve always heard "getting in the scene late and leaving early,” but I couldn’t figure this out until the hell pit of editing my own breakup while still seething from it.
I thought I would film a bunch of emo memories that meant something to me, and it would matter. But getting people to give a fuck—that’s the art of editing. I had to resolve in order to get better, I had to start by doing things badly. Editing something so personal deeply humbled me.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
heard someone in a theater whisper, “I need a whole hour to process this.”
My longtime friend of almost 20 years had been telling me about someone she had to let go. The colors of her breakup felt so similar to mine. I thought of her as my only audience; the single person I wanted to reach. I refined my edit thinking of her and my shared pain. I thought, if I could see her reaction, I would know. When I finally did show her two years later, she cried so profusely it scared me. We hugged and wept; holding space for each other as only two women can. It poured into me every feeling I ever had about wanting to be a filmmaker.
I also got to show the person who inspired it one scene. It’s a special scene at a bar cut from real life….our outfits, where we sat, the flow of how we truly just got to know each other. This is a person I’ve known the very depths of, and had never seen cry. I can’t begin to explain what that experience meant to me.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Well, the most surprising thing—and all I wanted—was to have someone other than my mom get to watch it. I mean, I made this film for the 26 year old me! So when I see men tearing up, young and old humans of all backgrounds— I mean, wow.
The most surprising thing is, even people fully coupled and happily married have told me it reminded me when they were first in love and felt joy.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
To share in the female collective and universal resilience of experiencing a breakup.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I would love film festivals to get on board with playing more silent film narrative, and also hopefully journalists who want to start talking about female narratives with love in a different way.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Number one, I want people to feel less alone when they see it. I made this film so people can feel whole by themselves.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How does courage look after a breakup?
Would you like to add anything else?
This is the most intensely personal thing I've made. It's my story, but it's also a story I wasn't seeing about love. And more importantly, empowering and honoring that the past can’t be any different. The enigma of love is that we are never fully prepared. The romantic tropes in film tell us to move on to someone else to feel whole again. This is not that kind of narrative.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I’m working on 2 documentaries. One about the meaning of aloha and how it's the answer to world peace. The other is about plant-based vegans of color revolutionizing the food world.
Kayla, our wildly talented cinematographer has several films on their festival run, and is busting doors in the DP world. Our lead actress Coco has a new album out on Spotify, and Joshua is kicking ass as a film director.
Interview: March 2022
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
someone I used to know
Length:
4:08
Writer/Director/Producer
Cris Romento is a filmmaker illuminating the human experience of love, celebrating BIPOC stories and Hawaiian culture. Her first film, someone I used to know (2021) premiered at Local Sightings in Seattle and Phoenix Film Festival. Credits also include: documentaries NOT YOUR VEGAN (2022) and the aloha film (2022).
Prior to features, Cris worked in the Middle East profiling startups and innovative science. She's also spent 15 years editing and producing commercials and entertainment TV in America.
Key cast:
Coco Osowski (Lead Actor), Joshua Smith (Lead Actor)
Looking for:
journalists, film festival directors
Hashtags:
#ladydirectors #femalefilmmakersrock #bipocfilms #lovestories #womenfilmmaker #shotinAZ #shotonred #bipocstories #younglove #azfilms
Instagram:
http://instagram.com/siutkfilm
More info:
Phoenix Film Festival/Phoenix, AZ:
Saturday, April 2, 2022
Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Sunday, April 10, 2022