Us and In Between is a charming drama about two past lovers who rekindle their love in one of the strangest of places. When main character Agnes finds herself locked in a home for elderly care, she learns that someone she once loved has also found himself stuck in the same elderly nursing facility. After locating Eddie, her lost love, the sparks fly almost immediately between them. However, each flame they attempt to rekindle is quickly snuffed out by the facility staff, and their constant guidelines. Being committed to the facility against his will, Eddie has been planning to enact what he believes is his final living right; the right to life and death. Day by day, he has been stockpiling antidepressants, planning to use them to take back what right he has left. Luckily, Agnes came back into his life convincing him that there is more that he has the right to. That is the right to love. This is a charming story that tells the viewer that death isn’t the option, and there is always more to live for.
Congratulations to Katia, and a big thank you for taking the time to speak with us.
Q: What inspired you to start making films?
My journey into filmmaking began at the age of 9 when I learned about a national youth contest on CBC. This contest offered a $500 prize for the winning script, which would be turned into a short film and screened at a festival. I saw it as an opportunity to surprise my family with a trip to Walt Disney World, so my initial objective was quite commercial. Surprisingly, I won the competition, and that experience planted the seed of storytelling as a viable career path.
Over the next few years, I developed an interest in photography, which further solidified my love for visual storytelling. I realized that the process of filmmaking encompassed a vast array of craft skills and soft skills, and that you could spend your entire life honing them, which made it an endlessly fascinating and fulfilling pursuit. I got into Film School and never looked back, driven by the desire to evoke emotions and connect with people along the way.
Q: Were there any challenges in making this project?
Every project has its specific challenges. With Us & in Between, the major obstacle was securing a location that not only looked believable as a care home, with features like wide doorways, but also had an elevated and colorful atmosphere that allowed love to flourish. I roamed the British countryside from Wales to Staffordshire to find it, and then my wonderful producers worked their magic to convince the owners of the estate to let us roam the grounds for 4 days.
It was also a challenge to find the right Agnes, partly because of the pressure on older women to always look and play young. We needed someone who would be comfortable allowing the camera to capture signs of aging, and moments that are unguarded and unfiltered. For a lot of actresses, that’s outside of their comfort zone because as soon as the public sees that side of them, they get typecast into ‘care home’ roles. I needed someone with a lot of courage, and who had the spirit of Agnes, and Kika Markham has that in spades.
Q: Is there any type of message or emotion that you hope the viewer takes away from watching this film?
Call your grandparents? In all seriousness, I want audiences to feel the bittersweet pull of love and time, and to leave feeling like maybe they can see aging as separate to the people who are aging, in that they are still inside, who they are at their core when they are young, so no need to infantilize them.
Q: How does it feel to be able to screen the film at HollyShorts?
Oh, it’s an absolute blast to screen the film at HollyShorts! This is our World Premiere, and we couldn’t have asked for a better festival to showcase it. We have a special fondness for HollyShorts because they truly care about bringing filmmakers together and creating
opportunities for them. And guess what? The proof is in the pudding! I met the editor of Us & in Between, Mark Van Heusden, through HollyShorts 2020, as we both had films in the same program. So, being back here with our latest project is like coming home to a festival that’s not just about showing films, but about fostering meaningful connections in the film community.
Q: What’s on the horizon for you?
I am in the process of transitioning from short-form to long-form directing, and currently developing a grounded comedy series titled “Vi” This series revolves around two couples deeply immersed in passionate first-loves—one in their twenties and the other in their eighties. While working on “Us & In Between” I realized there is so much more I want to say about first loves, intergenerational relationships and how we treat our elderly, therefore “Vi” is a continuation of that exploration. The fact that we’re treating it as a comedy also provides a perfect platform for blending situational humor with insightful societal commentary.
Both cinema and television allow me to showcase the raw and messy aspects of humanity while crafting stories that challenge audiences yet offer a sense of hope. Every project I’ve directed has involved the on-screen representation of a disability, and that’s something I’d like to keep bringing forward in my work.
Thank you to Katia for taking the time out for this interview. You can see their film and many others at the HollyShorts Film Festival, which runs from August 10th-19th in Los Angeles at the TCL Chinese Theater. Tickets for the festival, as well as the screening schedule, can be found here. They can also be viewed digitally, with tickets available on BitPix.
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