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Logline

Vowing to spend a day in silent contemplation to rescue himself from malaise, trans writer Seb teams up with his omniscient, godly smoke detector to resist his increasingly demonic puppeteered cat. A slapstick spiritual struggle to rediscover the queer joy right in front of us.

Synopsis

Seb is a young, transmasc writer who hasn’t been able to type a word since he moved into his new apartment. Everything is on hold, even his transition, as he yearns to get his life together without ever being able to take the first step. His desperate prayer from amidst the throes of his paralysis finds an answer in an unlikely place: his smoke alarm—a device with a strange, eye-like flickering light that seems to channel something divine. Taking its perfectly-timed beep as God communicating with him directly, Seb jumps up, falls to his knees, and vows to spend a day in silence, fasting, and holy contemplation. He locks himself in, skips his testosterone, and neatens his apartment with extreme prejudice. But there is one thing he hasn’t bargained on: his attention-seeking cat.

For his cat—a cute, slightly creepy puppet who seems to have walked out of a fairy tale book—the tedious stillness of Seb’s day in meditation will not do. She and Seb begin to battle: the cat trying to entice a reaction as Seb tries to demonstrate his willpower and detachment. But as the cat’s talent for finding the exact thing that threatens to break his concentration and commitment grows, Seb begins to suspect his cat is literally a demon sent to tempt him off his holy path. Meanwhile, the fasting and the quiet are getting to him, and reality begins to warp.

Meet the Filmmakers

Nik Cook — Writer/Director
Nik Cook is an NYC-based director with a passion for the sonic and musical secrets of cinema. They graduated with a degree in film studies and astronomy from Columbia University, where their thesis on cinematic ghostliness won the Pat Anderson Prize in Film Criticism. Their most recent film, The Nana, is currently in its festival campaign. Aside from writing and directing, they are a committed teacher, founding and leading the Morningside Moviemakers film classes for kids ages 8-10. As a director, they seek to tell stories about queer people and the unique, personal, and creative rituals and faiths we develop to sustain us through our lives.

Karen Zasloff — Puppeteer and Puppet Designer
Karen Zasloff, a New York-based artist and educator, has created multimedia puppet performances in the US and abroad with shadows, toy theater, masks, giant puppets, and video. Karen has performed at New York City venues including St. Ann’s Warehouse, National Sawdust, Here Arts Center, and Soho Repertory Theatre, and has worked with the Bread and Puppet Theater of Vermont. Her charcoal drawings are featured in the documentary Banished, which premiered at Sundance 2007. Karen’s recent work has centered on Africa and explores puppet theater as comment on political violence. She wrote a master’s thesis at the NYU Gallatin School on post-genocide Rwanda, the reconciliation process, and the aesthetics of puppetry. This study culminated in “Regarding Shadows on the Grass,” which she performed at the St Ann’s Warehouse puppet festival. As a 2012-2013 Fulbright scholar with South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, she co-directed a giant puppet parade and performance for the annual Day of Reconciliation in a rural Western Cape township. Karen has continued collaborations with South African theater artists and musicians, including her workshop showing, Right of Admission Reserved, performed in Cape Town in April 2016, and her shadow work with Hear Be Dragons at National Sawdust.

Tris Arthur — Producer
Tris Arthur is a film producer and filmmaker operating out of New York City through her independent production label, Overexposed Productions. As co-lead producer of the ambitious, low-budget genre-fusion feature, Dying Alone (now in post-production and targeting a 2027 release), she spearheaded shoots across 7 states and over 30 locations. Alongside producing partner Luis Salazar, she has added several shorts and features to the company’s development slate, with two shorts in active pre-production. Prior to Overexposed, Tris graduated with a BFA from Emerson College and gained experience working at the Emmy- and Cannes Lions-winning Partizan (Better Man, Be Kind Rewind) and with documentarian Emily Branham (Being BeBe). Tris’s films have screened internationally in Buenos Aires, NYC, Boston, and more—and have earned accolades from Wicked Queer and Emerson’s own student awards, where she won for Outstanding Music Video.

Luis Salazar — Producer
A Madrid and New York-based filmmaker, Luis Salazar brings extensive experience in producing, logistics, and financial capacities. He is currently a Producer and Financial Director at Overexposed Productions. His past body of work centers on studio production and broadcasting, in both executive and in-studio management roles: He produced 3 seasons of the award winning true crime show, Criminal Acts, and 3 locally broadcasted editions of The Emerson Channel Comedy Special. Luis previously worked as an intern for the international sales group The Exchange (Drive, 2 Guns, The Spectacular Now) and for Randall Emmett’s EFO Films (The Irishman, Silence, 2 Guns). Luis is currently producing the feature film Dying Alone (currently in post-production), having raised $40,000 in investments and over $70,000 in total fundraising, while producing multiple additional projects in various stages of development alongside Tris Arthur. Always eager to bring a project to life, Luis highlights his ability to produce a project professionally, frugally, and without compromising the artistry of the film.

Evariste Gindrey — Cinematographer
Evariste Gindrey is an internationally award-winning cinematographer from the USA and France. Currently based out of New York City, his work has been screened at film festivals as far as Mumbai, Berlin, Porto Alegre, Amsterdam, and elsewhere. After studying at Emerson College, he began working on an ambitious feature film, Dying Alone, with a team of creatives in New York. This project involved him with Overexposed Productions, of which he is now a managing member, bringing his extensive cinematography experience into each of their projects together. Their feature is set to premiere in 2027, but they are already looking ahead to several more projects together.

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Contact

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