Queens World Film Festival 2020 – As One
Jill and Mike are confronted with the unimaginable and must give each other strength to keep on moving. As they lace up their sneakers and put one foot in front of the other, they discover that through connection every mile has a story.
Interview with Writer/Producer/Actor Tawny B Traversa
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Several years ago I was dealing with the death of a friend, and I began to write his story as I processed my feelings. As soon as my pen hit the paper I knew it was too soon. I was not ready to tell that story. And when I put my pen down I was left sitting with the emptiness. This feeling in my gut is where I began as I explored what grief means to me and how we each cope with loss. Two positive coping mechanisms I have used in my life are writing and movement, and in the past few years training with the running group Team in Training. The men and women I run with each week are probably the most incredible inspirations in my life.
As One is a story of love, loss, moving through grief through connection, and finding hope in this world when you feel the most helpless. I wrote this short narrative honoring Team and Training which raises life-saving funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, my fellow teammates, my beautiful friends who are survivors, and in loving memory of those we have lost. As a participant in this endurance running program, I wanted to give back to the cause in my own way and speak to why this team is so incredibly important to me. Our film is dedicated to LLS and everything the organization does for patients, survivors, family support, and groundbreaking blood cancer research. In addition to As One being a tribute to my experience on this amazing team, I wanted to create an awareness of philanthropic outlets in dealing with illness, recovery, grief, and support.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
As One is a reminder for those dealing with the trauma of loss that they are not alone. Everyone copes with illness and death in their own way, but at the end of the day, it is a shared human experience. Each story is unique, yet at the root, there will always be a source of connection. Right now we live in a world where we are often confronted with the worst people can inflict on one another. With our film, we wanted to share the positive and how we can go above and beyond help lift others out of their suffering. This is a film that promotes community, connection, and support.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Love and loss are universally identifiable themes, but we wanted to go beyond and create a motivational piece that moves from grief to acceptance through philanthropic outlets. Many people are unaware of this aspect of the running community and we wanted to shed some light on it. Another important theme of As One is the ability to overcome and finding your inner strength. For me as a runner, I know we often push ourselves beyond our physical limits for endurance events. These are the times that we could easily give up, but instead, we continue to push on. Our film parallels this emotional journey of running with that of the grieving process.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I wrote my first draft of As One in 2017, and the first person to read it was my dear friend Stacey Moser who also happens to be an Associate Producer on the film. As a leukemia survivor herself, I wanted to be sure that the script resonated with her and that the story felt genuine to our team experience. While it is fictional, the script is derivative of many personal stories that I have heard throughout the years. I wanted to be as sensitive as I could to all of their stories. Once the script was written I brought on board David Spaltro to direct and Charlotte Dupre to helm our cinematography.
In early drafts, I had many sequences in monologue form highlighting different reasons why people join Team in Training. Originally it wasn't working as I wanted the writing to reveal a sense of motion in terms of a film about running, and the moments of exposition stopped the action from moving forward. We ultimately blended the monologues together as one and overlaid them as a voice-over to avoid creating a break in the action. In the end, we achieved the three parts I aimed to create, starting with a sense of comfort, while forward motion to mirroring the feeling of stillness after the carpet has been pulled out from beneath you, to ending with a steady build-up of motion as the protagonist moves through her grief and reconnects with the world.
Much of our cast and crew have been affected by cancer, whether fighting a battle themselves or losing a loved one to the disease. The background actors consisted of many of my actual teammates on Team in Training. Once we were on set, everyone poured their heart and soul and talents into making this story come to life. Because of the intimate connection to the subject matter, the respect given to the material being filmed went above and beyond.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We have received beautiful feedback thus far. Team in Training and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society have beamed with pride as they can see how much their hard work is loved and appreciated by us all. At festivals, the film has earned six awards and six additional nominations. But more than any accolades we have been touched by the personal responses. From festival to festival there is always an extreme connection with audiences, many sharing their own experiences battling cancer or dealing with loss. And while there is an element of sadness within As One, I have been incredibly moved by the amount of hope audience members are left with as they walk out of the theatre.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
We have definitely attained the feedback we sought, and I am incredibly proud of every person involved in bringing our point of view to the screen.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
For me the greatest achievement for As One is to celebrate the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and to promote their mission in theaters across America. I think many non-runners don't fully appreciate the value of running clubs and their effect on participants. Having a community of support getting you across any finish line in life is an amazing thing.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
As we continue our festival journey we would love more festival directors and journalists to come on board with us to amplify our film's message.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would like our film to have a social impact on the lives of those who view it. Whether you are personally struggling with how to cope or looking for a way to help others who are suffering, there are a thousand ways to reach out your hand. There are a thousand ways you can put one foot in front of the other towards social progress and moving forward toward making this world a more loving and compassionate place.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
What are ways that we can all step out of our comfort zone to affect change in our own lives or the lives of others?
Would you like to add anything else?
This film is about teamwork and compassion. During filming, we introduced our cinematographer to the phrase "Team work makes the dream work." And although we all laughed about it, that saying is an empowering driving force. I train each week with Team in Training to get physically stronger and cross the race finish line ahead of me. And I named my cast and crew Team Heart & 'Sole' because most things that are meaningful in life are a collaboration. I adore all the heart and talents that everyone shared with our project. So whether you decide to run your first race and produce a film... we are all stronger as a team in making these dreams come to life.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Tawny Sorensen (Writer/ Producer/ Actress) currently has her short play A Project in rehearsals as part of the 2020 Estrogenius Festival in NYC. She is also continuing to develop her feature-length script House of Closing Doors.
David Spaltro (Director) is currently writing several projects including a feature-length adaptation of the novel A Short Stay in Hell.
Charlotte Dupre (Cinematographer) is in high demand as the Director of Photography. She has wrapped several short films upon completing As One and has several more on the horizon.
Craig Nobbs (Producer)is currently developing his feature film Stratum and a pilot script Twilight's Las Gleaming and is planning to direct and produce a feature this year.
Interview: February 2020
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
As One
Jill and Mike are confronted with the unimaginable and must give each other strength to keep on moving. As they lace up their sneakers and put one foot in front of the other, they discover that through connection every mile has a story.
Length: 14:40
Director: David Spaltro
Producer: Craig Nobbs
Writer: Tawny Sorensen
About the writer, director and producer:
DAVID SPALTRO is a multi-award winning, acclaimed writer-director-producer. After getting a BFA in Film from SVA in 2005 and working in post-production for a few years he wrote, directed and produced his first feature ...Around (2009) followed by two additional features Things I Don't Understand and Dark Exorcism. He has also directed several short films including Sorensen's first film The Cat's Cradle. Spaltro is currently in development on several feature films and TV projects.
TAWNY SORENSEN is a New York City-based actress, writer, producer, and filmmaker. Recent acting projects include Orange is the New Black, Russian Doll and The Sleeping Life of Sofia. Her plays have been produced by Manhattan Repertory Theatre, Short Play Lab, and Spare Change Theatre Company, and her original play A Project is being produced as part of the Estrogenious Festival in March 2020. Her award-winning short films The Cat's Cradle and As One have collectively screened in over sixty festivals across the United States and Europe.
CRAIG NOBBS is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, producer and director. His work has been commissioned, published, produced on stages in NYC and elsewhere, and screened in film festivals internationally. His short film Date & Time (writer/director/producer) completed a successful film festival run landed a distribution deal on Shorts.tv. His feature screenplay Stratum was a semi-finalist at the Austin Film Festival screenplay competition as well as a Quarterfinalist at the Screencraft Drama Feature Contest and WEScreenplay Screenwriting Contest.
Key cast: Nick Dillenburg (Mike), Tawny Sorensen (Jill), Bisa Y. Dawes (Stacey), Tatyana Kot (Natalia), Jim Purvis (Steve), Colin Fisher (John), Jill Anders (Jenny), Joel Repman (Neal)
Looking for: film festival directors, journalists
Facebook: As One, Over the High Moon Productions
Instagram: @tawnytwass
Hashtags used: #asone #drama #heartandsole #running #lls #tntnyc #goteam #somedayistoday #racingforacure #leaukemiaandlymphomasociety #fightbloodcancer #cancerfreeworld #womeninfilm #womenwhowrite #indiefilmmaker #nobbsink #overthehighmoonproductions
Website: www.tawnysorensen.com
Other: IMDb
Made in association with: Nobbs Ink
Funders: Seed & Spark
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Beaufort International Film Festival/ Beaufort, SC- February 21, 2020; Ocean City Film Festival/ Ocean City, MD- March 6, 2020; Sonoma International Film Festival/ Sonoma, CA- March 26 and March 28, 2020; Queens World Film Festival/ Astoria, NY- March 28, 2020; Monadnock International Film Festival/ Keene, NH- April 24-26, 2020; Blackbird Film Festival/ Cortland, NY- May 3, 2020.