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‘Daughters’ short film debuting in Indy stars Jess Berry and mom Janae
When we last left Greencastle native Jess Berry, the intrepid redhead was on TV as a screaming victim in a “Chicago Fire” episode and had a couple of Hefty Bag TV commercials in the can.
Then COVID-19 hit and Hollywood went on hiatus, shutting down and backing away like everything and everybody else.
But Jess Berry, a 2004 Greencastle High School graduate and the 30-something daughter of Janae and Jack Berry of Greencastle, didn’t sit around binge watching “Friends” and playing Wordle. She invested in herself by writing and creating movies and roles for herself.
And now, 2-1/2 years later, she’s bringing her short film, “Daughters,” to Indianapolis this weekend as part of the Indy Shorts Festival, one of three Academy Award-qualifying film festivals in which it is entered (HollyShorts and LA Shorts International are the other two), along with a screening at the No Coast Film Festival in Emporia, Kan.
Jess not only stars in the nine-minute film, she wrote it, directed it and produced it. She and boyfriend Scott Hanson even did the hair and make-up on set and shot the film themselves.
“Really, it was me and Scott with my sister (Jenna) holding a mic in my parents’ kitchen,” Jess said as she prepared for this weekend’s Midwest premiere at Indy Shorts presented by Heartland International Film Festival. “Daughters” can be seen as part of a nine-film block at the Newfields Toby Cinema at the former Indianapolis Art Center beginning at 3 p.m.
The genesis of the project, Jess said, is that she wanted to try to start building a portfolio to compete for a film fellowship. She had saved up some money and planned to “do it properly,” hiring actresses, a film crew and securing a location in California where she now lives.
“But Covid had different plans,” she said, explaining that she used the money to buy a movie-making camera and “packed everything up and moved across the country to see if we could do it ourselves.
“It was a blessing doing it this way. We wouldn’t have had the shots of the farm. We wouldn’t have used Mom. But because we did, there’s a really authentic feel to it.”
Entirely shot on Berry’s family farm outside Greencastle, “Daughters” stars Jess and her mother, Janae Berry.
“The headline needs to say ‘Janae Berry, star of film,’ that’s the headline,” Jess said.
Janae isn’t so sure. In fact, she hasn’t seen the film and won’t until Sunday when her face is on the big screen.
“I tried to pawn my part off on Shelly McFadden, who’s a friend of mine,” Janae said of the longtime Putnam County Playhouse actress and director, “but she had scheduling conflicts.
“So I thought, ‘She’s my daughter, I can do this.’”
As a Hoosier story, “Daughters” touches a lot of the mother-daughter relationship, Janae said, noting that she was emphatic that she couldn’t cry on demand. “But Jess was such a good director, I did get emotional.”
“At the end of the day, she was so incredible,” Jess said of her mother. “It was cool to feel her trust and support in that choice, too. She really brought her A game and was willing to go to the emotional things. I got to really lean on the directors I’ve learned from and apply the situation directly to Mom. She emotionally had to dig into herself.
“She was really a little adverse for a moment” but proved to be a real trouper, immersing herself “in the importance of family and community and working together and I’ll-do-anything-for-my-girl mentality.”
“My Mom has been my best friend and champion my whole life,” Jess stressed.
“Daughters” explores what it means to find independence from your mother and the pain that accompanies growing up. Inspired by actual events, “Daughters” follows a career-driven Sarah, home for a birthday visit when she receives a life-changing call revealing she’s landed her dream job and must leave her family’s farm immediately. Anxiety builds as Sarah tries to break the news to her beloved mom – and is ultimately forced to come to terms with the heart-breaking differences she has with her mother.
The Berry farm is a star of sorts too as a drone flies over it at the beginning of the film.
“The whole thing is pretty sweet,” Janae said. “They shot it in July, so the corn and beans are really green.”
“Daughters” will compete in the select Indiana Spotlight Competition with its principal production in Greencastle and showcasing its two Indiana actresses along with colorist Jenny Montgomery, an Indiana native from Michigan City, now living in New York City.
In addition to the Indiana Spotlight Competition, “Daughters” is also in competition for Academy Award-Qualifying Best Narrative Short and Best Directorial Debut.
The film’s finishing team is gold-standard – collaborating with Emmy Award-winning Scott Hanson (editor and cinematographer), award-winning Company3’s Jenny Montgomery (color) and legendary Skywalker Sound collaborators Erin Grote (sound mix) and Liz Marston (re-recording mix) with an original score composed by Sebastian Fritze.
“They all did it for little or no money,” she said. “To work with people at the top of their game like that, the best of the best. It was so special, so validating.
“All of this has been such a learning experience for me.”
Meanwhile, Jess has been very active auditioning for roles the past few months. None of those has come to fruition yet, but she feels she’s been very close.
“It’s amazing how close you can get,” she said. “I’ve been so close to so many parts the last four months. We’re all out there hustling for that next job, that next paycheck.”
Which is why she puts so much energy into her own projects where she has more control and can tell stories she thinks are important.
Jess has a number of other projects in development, including a full-length film, “Fairgrounds,” for which she shot research footage, or the “sizzle,” as they call it, to entice financial support while home in Greencastle last summer. She’s also done a TV coming-of-age story pilot, “Little Jess,” which was a finalist for the 2021 Sundance Episodic Lab competition. She called it a dramady set in Indiana “with a ‘Back to the Future’ vibe.”
“As you see, there’s kind of a theme to my work” she said of the Indiana setting.
“I’m very grateful for where I came from even though I live across the country,” she assured.
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Midwest Premiere Sunday, July 24 @ 3 p.m. at Newfields in Indianapolis
Virtual Screening Thursday, ,July 19 - Link: https://watch.eventive.org/indyshortsfilmfestival2022/play/629f89b709dac400939ea...