My short film, Do Over, premiered August 18, 2023, at the Equinale Film Festival in Mecklenburg, Germany, and took home the award for best short film!
And then in November we follow up with a Best Student Film win at the Equus Film Festival in Albuquerque, N.M.
I never ever thought that I would become a filmmaker, let alone one whose movie screens and wins at an international film festival and then makes its North American debut and does it again.
There’s only one lesson to be learned from this, right?
“So don’t give up, okay? Don’t let
us forget what we want.”
Sometimes, things you didn’t even know you wanted turn out to be exactly what you needed.
So how did it happen?
Do Over: The Beginning
Do Over was my directing project for the spring 2023 semester. Along with my producer, Joy-Serene Adams, and a stalwart cast and crew, we filmed a sweet pony movie about a girl who time travels into the future at a low point in her young life, only to find out that her adult self never finished what she started. So together they set out to find happiness – a pony.
Do Over Actors
I was lucky enough to cast Kelly Fitzharris Coody, Marcus Barton, and newcomer Ramona Dinderman for the roles of Taylor, the Farm Owner, and Young Taylor. Shadow was played by Strider, a half-Arab, half-Andalusian gelding owned by Michelle Belisle of Rohan Stables (who provided the voice of the best line in the movie!)
All of the actors brought their A game to this little movie, including Strider, who was kind and patient with all of the actors and crew crowding around him with lights, camera equipment, screens, and more.
So Where Do You Go From Here?
Still a writer. Still a storyteller. In fact, I have a short story collection coming out early next year. What’s next is another film project for the upcoming Fall 2023 semester, an adaptation of Macbeth. This is going to be an ambitious project, and I’ll have more to share in December after filming.
More stories are welling up, as they do, and I’ve got two long works that need to get out into the world.
But I also have a feature-length screenplay that is a dream project so…
The point is, I’m still creating, still story-fying, still having fun being overwhelmed by learning to be a filmmaker.
What’s Next for Do Over?
For more information about Do Over, my books, random photos that I take of cool stuff and not so cool stuff, follow me on Facebook or Instagram (@patricesarath6).
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