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Logline

She’s done everything right to begin her dream career of becoming an elementary school teacher, but now self-loathing college graduate Sasha is back under her parents’ roof, grappling with the transition into “adulthood” as her own doubts and the world around her make this new chapter all the more daunting.

Synopsis

As an honors student, Sasha graduated with a degree in education always planning to become a teacher. Now, a full year post-grad, she’s still living under her parents’ roof in a small Indiana town, paralyzed by increasing anxiety about the world, and the fear that “adulthood” means the death of her younger self and the possibilities that come with it. Carrot Soup is a story that feels deeply human — tender, funny, and quietly devastating. It’s about the awkward, bittersweet process of realizing that adulthood doesn’t necessarily mean clarity, stability, or success — but that meaning can still be found in the small, imperfect moments. It’s a story that reflects the contradictions of growing up in this moment in history: how isolating and absurd it can feel, and how, despite it all, we keep searching for meaning, connection, and a place to belong.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

SARAH SAWYER — WRITER/PRODUCER/ACTRESS
Sarah Sawyer is an LA-based actress, writer, and producer originally from Connecticut. Her training includes the London Dramatic Academy, Stella Adler Studio (NYC), as well as receiving her BA in theatre and screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University.

Sarah’s TV credits include playing Ansel Elgort’s sister on HBO MAX’s TOKYO VICE. She has starred in shorts and indie features that have screened at Oscar-qualifying festival, Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, as well as Palm Springs International Short Fest, Raindance Film Festival, OutFest, and LA Shorts Fest.

Sarah has written, produced, and starred in her own shorts through her indie production company, Little Red Pictures. In 2022, Sarah was hired by a Golden Globe-winning production company to pen the first draft of a crime-drama feature, based on a true story.

Sarah began developing ‘Carrot Soup’ in 2020. The film explores the humming of fear, caution, and dread that exists in society today, as well as the ways in which stagnancy can help or hinder us.

Sarah is repped in both LA and NYC by Framework Entertainment.

BRYNN MITCHELL — DIRECTOR
Brynn Mitchell is an award winning writer and filmmaker interested in big worlds and morally ambiguous characters. She is a graduate from the American Film Institute Conservatory where she got her MFA in directing. Her films include The Witch Pricker and the Hare, a historical drama shot on 35mm film, Behind Glass, a sc-fi parable about abortion rights, and A Disturbance in the High Desert, a western drama about the conversations we have after instances of sexual assault.

Brynn has a decade of experience working in theater, editorial, commercial, and narrative spaces around the United States. She is deeply passionate about history, mythology, allegory and the ability to tell relevant stories in unexpected ways. She is a certified Intimacy Coordinator, photographer, and avid reader, excited to jump into a project with a more grounded world.

She is thrilled to be directing Carrot Soup, a film that is both grounded and imaginative—an inventive, playful take on the familiar coming-of-age narrative. At its heart, this project explores the poetry and pain of becoming an adult, especially when the world around you feels increasingly chaotic and uncertain. It’s a deeply personal story that navigates the strange, often beautiful contradictions of becoming an adult—and Brynn is eager to jump in and work with this team to bring it to life.

DAVID HEMPHILL — PRODUCER
David is the Founder + Creative Director of The Nancy Boy Corporation. His background is in ambitious and grass-roots story creation, collaborating with dynamic theater and film makers.

Previously he founded and led the growth of The Project [theatre] in Miami, and has produced an array of short films, music videos and commercials featured at film festivals around the country including Sundance, SXSW, Sidewalk and Los Angeles Cinefest.

He received his MFA in Film from the University of Southern California. His thesis film, STEAM!, won Best in Show at the Savannah Film Festival and is distributed on Revry. David served as Executive Producer on the Jesse Eisenberg/Riley Keough led film, Sasquatch Sunset, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Most recently, he completed production on his film Petunia which will premiere in 2026.

HELIYA ALAM— EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Heliya Alam is a producer who believes the best stories are the ones that shake you awake, whether through emotion, facts, or a single image you can’t forget. With a background in cinematography and a degree from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, she began her career at Warner Bros. marketing department producing promos and teasers for shows like Riverdale, Doom Patrol, and Teen Titans.

She left the studio to chase her true passion, storytelling, and within two years, she produced five feature films in multiple roles, from line producer to lead producer. Some of her films include but are not limited to, The Birthday Cake (Ewan Mcgregor, Val Kilmer, Penn Badgley), On Our Way (Michael Neeson, Jordana Brewster, James Badge Dale), A Place In The Field (Mishel Prada, Marlene Forte, Don DiPetta).

Her projects have partnered with Lionsgate, Screen Media, and Apple TV. While producing independent films, she continued to work with networks and studios on TV and film campaigns and nurtured those relationships with clients such as Netflix, Hulu, and Apple TV. Heliya’s work as a producer has screened at festivals including Cannes International Film Festival, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, and many more.

SARAH KEYES — CO-PRODUCER
Sarah is an independent film producer, theatre artist, and educator originally from Kentucky and currently splitting time between the Berkshires and NYC. She has a passion for uplifting stories by and about women. Recent producing credits include: In Transit (Deauville, NewFest (Audience Favorite Award), NHFF (Best Narrative Feature), Bears, Tell That to the Winter Sea, Invisible Girl, and Good Grief, where she first collaborated with Sarah Sawyer. Sarah trained at Interlochen Arts Academy, Fordham University Lincoln Center, and received a Masters of Fine Arts in Acting from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partnership with PlayMakers Repertory Theatre.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.