Over Dinner (2016)

A 20-minute short film written, directed, and edited by me.
The Story
Frustrated by her eccentric mother's carefree​ role as grandmother, a young single mother unravels their complicated past over Thanksgiving dinner.
Screenings + Recognition
  • Yale Student Film Festival - 2016 Senior Thesis Works
  • Official Latino Short Film Festival 2016 - 
    Nominated for Best Actress in a short film
  • Los Angeles CineFest - Official Selection 2016
  • The Director's Chair Film Festival - Official Selection 2016
  • Katra Film Series (New York) - Official Selection 2016
The Work
The inspiration for this short film came from my mom’s side of the family and their ability to whistle-in-the-dark, sometimes in spite of gravity of situations. I wanted to create a story that offered a more absurdist version of this coping mechanism.

It was also important to me that the story gives the impression of being told from child’s point-of-view. “Over Dinner” is my most personal work to date, but it also takes inspiration from work such as Little Miss Sunshine, Grey Gardens, Bellissima, and Mermaids.

I developed this short film, which included not only writing, directing and editing the final work but also raising financing for it, over the course of two semesters, as part of my senior thesis for Yale's Film and Media Studies program.

Return to Multimedia