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Logline

Young daughter and husband in tow, Gabby searches a neighborhood for her homeless and schizophrenic sister, Cat. She finds her sitting on a street corner — calm exterior and simmering, fiercely independent interior. Unsure if the situation will escalate, and unsettled by what her daughter might witness, Gabby softly strives to convince Cat to seek safety.

Synopsis

Gabby, an intense but empathetic woman in her late 40s, travels to her hometown in the hopes of getting Cat, her schizophrenic older sister, back into a stable and safe living arrangement after Cat’s house was destroyed in an explosion, quite possibly self- inflicted. Accompanied by her sheltered but well-meaning husband, Jeremy, and their bright and curious daughter, Parker, Gabby must navigate Cat without endangering the others.

After days of searching, the short opens on Jeremy slowly, nervously driving Gabby and Parker through a nondescript neighborhood as they look out the window for Cat. Jeremy asks what Gabby hopes to get out of an encounter and what the potential impacts of seeing Cat could be on Parker, when Gabby suddenly spots Cat. She sits shoeless and alone on a curb, barely wearing any clothes. Unwilling at first, Jeremy wisely unlocks the car doors so that Gabby can exit. Gabby tells Parker to stay and take care of Daddy.

The short follows Gabby’s conversation with Cat as she tries different strategies to overcome Cat’s independence, irrationality, and excuses. Gabby’s deep desire to save her sister underlies the conversation, along with the sense that Cat could easily explode or leave at any moment.

Two sets of ideals bookend the conversation. Cat asks for money at first and Gabby refuses, resulting in a tense standoff only to be interrupted by a honk from a worried Jeremy. When the conversation is at its end and all else has failed, Gabby relents, giving Cat $100 (followed immediately by another worried honk). The money represents a painful paradigm shift — at first Gabby wants to take care of all of her family. In the end, she realizes with a broken heart that she can only take care of some of them.

Meet the Filmmakers

Christina Mauro — Director/Writer/Producer/Actress
Christina Mauro recently played the title role in Irma (Roger Torres, dir). The film was shortlisted for a Student Academy Award in 2024 and began airing on PBS SoCal in October 2025 (in addition to streaming on the PBS SoCal app) as a Fine Cut Festival of Films nominee.

Based in Los Angeles, she is a native Texan and a graduate of the University of Houston Theatre and Dance program where she received her B.A. in acting. She studied Meisner technique for over five years at Playhouse West (PHW) under the tutelage of Jeff Goldblum and Chris Liebe. Currently she studies with Robin Meyers. She has produced 7 feature films (all distributed) and was a lead actor in two that were streamed on Netflix and one that was distributed by Cinetic Media. She has screened at more than 100 festivals and produced numerous shorts, garnering festival
recognition along the way for both her shorts and features.

Christina is currently a member of Voices Over Violence and the Peace Over Violence Advisory Circle and is a past board president of Peace Over Violence. This will be her first project as a writer and director.

Dawn K. Bey — Producer
Based in Los Angeles, Dawn K. Bey has worked in business management for 30 years. Most recently she served as a managing account executive at a business management firm, handling finances for high-net-worth clients, with a focus on the entertainment industry. She currently serves as the board treasurer for the non-profit organization Peace Over Violence. For the past 18 years she routinely trains crisis counselor advocates for the non-profit. This will be her first project as a producer.

Mihika Das — Director of Photography
Mihika Das served as cinematographer on Hand Woven (2024), a short film that screened at Cannes where it won Best Student Documentary as part of the American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase. During its festival run, the project was also picked up for distribution on PBS as part of the Fine Cut program. It appeared in dozens of festivals, garnering further awards and nominations along the way. Mihika was also cinematographer on La Cumbia (Soma) (2024) that premiered at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival. She hails from Mumbai, India. In 2024 Mihika received her MFA in Film Production (Cinematography) from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, having begun her film education at Mindscreen Film Institute in Chennai, India.

Zachary Hess — Editor
Zachary Hess’ editorial department credits include Frankenstein (2025), How to Train Your Dragon (2025), A Trade of Hearts (2025), and All God’s Children (2024). Additionally he was editor on numerous short films, including award-winners Irma (2024), Xander (2023), and Date Night (2021). Zachary grew up in Iowa and graduated from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. He received his MFA in editing from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.

Heather Konowal — Cast
Heather Konowal, PhD, is an actress and writer, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Most recently, Heather appears as Lizzie Ashby in the Edwardian web series C.Kingsley released on YouTube in October of 2025. She also played a veterinarian in the new Dexter: Original Sin. Next spring, she will appear in the new Karin Slaughter series The Good Daughter. In 2024, she starred in, co-wrote, and produced the short film Starling Street. She is a theater veteran. A few of her notable credits include George Brant’s Grounded and Amiri Baraka’s Dutchman for Oakland Theater Project, of which she is a founding member. She toured Grounded to venues including San Diego Rep and La Jolla Playhouse’s WOW Festival. She also performed in Missionaries, Doonesbury Flashbacks, and The Emperor’s New Clothes in NYC. Heather holds a B.F.A. in acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, an M.A. in theatre from CSUN, and a PhD in theatre and drama from UC San Diego. She studied Meisner technique at Playhouse West for six years with Jeff Goldblum.

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Contact

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