Actress Camille Mana tells me about an indie feature she co-produced, The Things We Carry, directed by Ian McCrudden and starring Alyssa Lobit, Catherine Kresge and Alexis Rhee. It recently began its film festival run, premiering last month at the Boston Film Festival. Here's the synopsis:
The Things We Carry, a personal story, marks the debut of the Lobit Sisters (Athena, Producer; Alyssa, Writer & Actress).Based on the synopsis and the trailer, it looks pretty heavy. The Things We Carry will screen next week, October 18 and 22, at the San Diego Asian Film Festival and October 25 at the Hollywood Film Festival. For more information about the film, visit The Things We Carry website here.
Home from backpacking through South East Asia for three years, thrill-seeker Emmie (ALYSSA LOBIT) returns to Los Angeles, after receiving a mysterious letter from Ricky, a companion of her recently-deceased drug-addict mother, Sunny (ALEXIS RHEE). She's looking for Ricky to retrieve what Sunny left for her and has a single clue in hand: The Best Motel, the dingy den in the San Fernando Valley that Sunny last called home.
Tracking down a junkie is easier said than done and along the way Emmie gets help from various people who knew her mother. Among them are Kim (ILENE GRAFF), the woman-child who permanently lives at the dumpy Best, Jeremiah (JOHNNY WHITWORTH), the one guy who might make it out of this drug scene alive if only everything was different, and Leslie (DANIEL ZACAPA), a colorful man whose potential has long since faded.
The hunt is intensified when Emmie's sister Eve (CATHERINE KRESGE) shows up. The two had pushed rather than drifted apart, due to their different approaches in dealing with their addict mother. Eve stayed behind and took care of Sunny until the dirty end. Meanwhile, Emmie took off for more exotic pastures, determined to live her own life. United in the effort to find their mother’s package, the sisters maintain their stand-off, exposing old wounds, while also re-discovering their lost connection.
This journey through the San Fernando Valley and the past allows the sisters to come to peace with themselves, their mother, and each other about their different approaches to life.