Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program opens the door to nonprofit funding for independent filmmakers and media artists. Donate today and help bring For a Minute There to life.
 

Logline

A plain-spoken mechanic pulls his son out of school for a surprise trip to the MOMA in New York City. As the weekend progresses, the boy begins to notice his father’s strange behavior, and slowly realizes that they’ve made the trip for an entirely different reason.

Synopsis

When Sam, a blue collar father, unexpectedly pulls his young son Tommy out of school for a surprise “guys’ weekend” in New York City, Tommy’s unsure what to think.

At a dingy Jersey motel, Tommy finds pages of a script, and thinking they belong to someone famous, asks Sam to read it with him. Sam refuses and says he’ll bring it to the motel’s lost and found, but when we follow him into the hallway, we see him tuck the script into his back pocket.

The next day, Sam drags Tommy to an upscale Manhattan office, promising museum tickets while leaving him in a hallway. Peeking through a door crack, Tommy realizes the truth: his father is auditioning for a TV show.

Inside, Sam stumbles through the audition, reading opposite a slick young actor. For a fleeting moment, he nails the read-through of the sides. But when the casting director asks him to improvise, his confidence collapses into panic and anger. Tommy watches his father unravel, unloading his rage on the casting director. The “guys’ weekend” was never a trip to the city, it was Sam’s desperate shot at a long-suppressed dream.

Humiliated, Sam rushes Tommy out. But before they return back home, the two stop at the MoMA. Sitting in front of a Pollock painting, Tommy softly quotes a line from the script, getting a smile out of his dad.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Major Dorfman — Writer/Director
Major Dorfman is a writer and director from a small mill town in Massachusetts. He has an MFA in Directing from Columbia University’s School of the Arts.

Major’s films are often about good people who are forced to do bad things, and have screened at numerous festivals including Palm Springs International ShortFest, Hamptons International Film Festival, and Cinema Jove. His latest short film, Classmates, was recently featured as a Vimeo Staff Pick.

He lives in Los Angeles and is currently developing his first feature film.

Grace Merriman — Producer
Grace Merriman is a producer and former child actor from New York City with a passion for stories about identity, belonging, and the search for self that spark meaningful conversations and amplify emerging voices. Grace has produced a diverse slate of short films that have screened at festivals including the Hamptons International Film Festival, Palm Springs International ShortFest, Provincetown International Film Festival, Woodstock Film Festival, HollyShorts Film Festival, the Asian American International Film Festival, CinemaJove, and Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, among others.

Her short Classmates had its world premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival, received a Special Mention at Proof Film Festival, and was featured as a Vimeo Staff Pick. Grace holds a BFA in Drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, an MFA in Creative Producing from Columbia University, and an MBA from USC Marshall. In 2026 she founded Moody House Films, an independent production company based in New York and Los Angeles.

Make a donation to For a Minute There.

Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.