In a dystopian United States, a woman who does not give birth to a healthy living baby is immediately sentenced to execution.
What inspired you to start making films?
I originally began as an actor. It’s actually quite funny how I was inspired to even do that. When I was 11 years old I remember seeing the first Spy Kids movie and thinking, “I can do that”. I’d like to say the rest is history but the road from actor to directing is much more complicated. It wasn’t until after giving birth to our first child that I was fueled by so much passion to finish a script. I finished my first feature screenplay, Let Me Do Right By You, in 6 months and then it got into festivals such as BlueCat, Scriptapalooza, and Flicker’s Rhode Island. It’s funny that it took me creating a whole other human being to finally be convinced that excuses were no longer an option for me. I’m still acting, as it is my first love, but there’s something about screenwriting and directing that make me feel right at home.
Were there any challenges in making this project?
Absolutely. I wrote Labor + Justice in January of 2019. It was fueled out of rage at something Trump had done(I’ve lost track at what). I wrote it at the same time I was finishing up my feature screenplay. It wasn’t until Fall of 2021 that I felt inspired to film it. In the Spring of 2022 we started to move forward with pre-production, RIGHT before the draft of Roe v. Wade being overturned was leaked. We received some pushback about shooting it during the upheaval, but doors kept opening for us in a radical way, so we kept it as a sign to keep moving forward. We heavily considered the gravity of SCOTUS’ decision, returning to this script wasn’t a coincidence.
Is there any type of message or emotion that you hope the viewer takes away from watching this film?
Oh man… yes. I always like a little bit of a shock factor in my films, something that really sticks with you. I always joke that if I don’t make my viewers feel uncomfortable in any capacity then I haven’t done what I’ve set out to do. But in all seriousness, with a message as heavy as this, I want it to be something my audience carries with them. If it’s something that my viewers forget about the next day, week, year, how have I really made an impact? I can’t expect change if it’s easily forgotten. And there’s so many underlying themes in Labor + Justice too. I have paragraphs about this stuff, but in short, it touches on the racial injustices of women in the delivery room, to religion being in government decisions where it doesn’t belong, to the weight of value of a mother’s life versus the infants. Don’t get me wrong, I have my own children, and I would lay down my life for them; in some instances I have. But I feel society is wired in this inequality, and it runs deep.
How does it feel to be able to screen the film at HollyShorts?
Incredible. Honestly, a dream come true. Me and my whole team feel incredibly honored. I wish they could all be here with me to experience it.
What’s on the horizon for you?
I’d still like to shoot my award-qualifying feature, Let Me Do Right By You, at some point. Before 2020, it was my goal to source funding, but obviously covid and having a second child put a pin in that. I also have another short film ready to shoot, and a pilot and another feature in development. But like with all things, funding is my biggest hurdle. I’m very excited about my projects in development. They all range in genre from comedy to drama, to a surrealistic, heavily-designed piece like Labor + Justice. Ideally, I’ll be shooting at least the short film next year.
A big thank you to Sarah for the interview! All of these amazing films, as well as all others from the 19th Annual HollyShorts Film Festival will be available in person, at the TCL Chinese Theaters in Los Angeles on their scheduled nights throughout the festival. 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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