A Film Festival Case Study: HollyShorts 2024-August & Ebony Team Talk Chosen Family, Comedy and Sparking Joy
Narrative | Dramatic Features
Film Name: August & Ebony
Genre: 13 Minutes
Length of film: text
Date: 2024
Director: Sunyin Zhang
Producer: Pinar Binay
Executive Producer: Joyce Liu-Countryman
Writer: A. Cooper
Cinematographer: Garland McLaurin
Editor: Luqi Zhao
Composer: Xueshen Qiu
World Premiere: Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival ’24
Website: https://www.instagram.com/augustandebonyfilm/
The Official Trailer for Film
Watch The Trailer for August & Ebony directed by Sunyin Zhang
A Short Biography of Sunyin Zhang
Sunyin Zhang is a Chinese filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Her short film Wild Seed presented by Nowness China. It won the Marlyn Mason Award Grand Prize in Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival. Best Cinematography in a Short Award in Vancouver International Women in Film Festival. And Alison Doerner Award for Women Pioneers in Filmmaking. Nominated for International Shorts Program Best Short Film in DokuFest. It screened at Film Independent Project Involve Showcase. And it was selected by over 15 Oscar qualified and BAFTA qualified Film Festivals. Sunyin Zhang received her MFA in Film Directing Program from CalArts in 2020.
The Interview
indieactivity: What is your film about?
A. Cooper (AC): August & Ebony comes from the names of two of the main characters. They are a queer couple who met and married quickly – in what is commonly called a U-Haul relationship. If that isn’t enough to manage, Ebony realizes that she’s pregnant after a one-night-stand with her life-long friend, Justin. Just a month into her new relationship! The film centers Black Queer Joy and chosen family within the context of a fun and messy romcom. Ultimately, it is about people who desperately want to hold onto each other. Who are trying to figure out their place in each other’s lives. Romcoms wonderful and there should be an infinite amount of them! More queer romcoms! Long may they reign!
Tell us about the festival run, marketing and sales?
A. Cooper (AC): The two of the film festivals that have screened August & Ebony thus far have been long-standing organizations in the filmmaking community and are Oscar-qualifying festivals. We hope to keep up the momentum as our festival season continues to unfold.
Give the full Official Synopsis for your film?
A. Cooper (AC): Logline: Ebony, who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant after a U-Haul marriage, has to referee between her new wife, August and best friend-turned-child’s father, Justin, while finding her footing as a mother-to-be.
Full Synopsis: Ebony, visibly 4-months pregnant, listens to a podcast of wild childbirth stories while preparing a surprise breakfast for her wife of 3 months, August. Ebony’s anxiety spirals until August takes Ebony into her arms for a romantic moment of marital bliss.
Ebony almost forgets her anxieties until Justin, her best friend and hook-up turned-father-of-her-child, bursts into the house, armed with his binder of research—the “Justin Organizational Method” aka J.O.M.—and judgment about their lack of preparation. Determined to save them from their own devices, Justin invites himself to stay over—much to August’s dismay.
Reviewing the J.O.M. only leads Ebony to a crisis of confidence. She shares her fears with August, who tries to reassure her, but her anxieties only heighten when August and Justin clash over overstepped relationship boundaries and conflicting approaches to birthing. When Ebony tries to get help to create a birth plan, her asks go unheard. She finally confronts August and Justin, scolding them to work together for her well-being and the baby’s sake.
The two rivals sheepishly comply when Ebony tasks them to devise a plan to get to the hospital. With the help of handy visuals and toy cars, they collaborate on a plan and put their rivalries aside to enjoy a moment of camaraderie and celebration.
August, Ebony and Justin come together to form a united front, choosing to embrace each other and this lifelong co-parenting journey.
Development & Financing?
A. Cooper (AC): The core creative team was brought together by Film Independent’s Project Involve. Project Involve is a fellowship that groups a writer, director, producer, creative executive, director of photography, and editor together. Over the course of a year the team is responsible for their creative contribution to a project that is conceptualized by the writer.
Pinar Binay (PB): Starting with the seed funding from Film Independent, we mobilized our communities to help raise not only funds but awareness for the film. We ran a solid social media campaign which featured inspiration images, real-life stories, showcases of cast and crew members to gather support and with generous donations of our supporters, we were able to reach our fundraising goal for production.
Production?
Pinar Binay (PB): There were two main advantages of producing the project under Film Independent Project Involve: one, we knew it was going to be completed and two, we had our shooting dates from the start. When you have the dates on paper, it’s much easier to plan and gather your team for it. The casting and rehearsal process was joyful, getting to see the character come to life through the talent of our cast and their care for the story. We completed the shoot in three days in the West Adams neighbourhood of LA. We can summarize the whole production as HUMOROUS. Getting to watch the actors play off each other was truly incredible.
Festival Preparation & Strategy?
Pinar Binay (PB): Selecting key prestigious festivals who have a track record of supporting queer narratives and highlight comedy was part of our strategy. We have a good understanding of the qualities of our short and the audience engagement is the most important to us. We are so lucky that the first two festivals where we get to share August & Ebony with the world are Martha’s Vineyard African American FF and HollyShorts. Both are such strong platforms and we are honored to be a part of their selection. As for next stops in the festival journey, we are looking to play at festivals who are also in our hometowns.
The Release?
Pinar Binay (PB): We are still looking for a distribution opportunity for August & Ebony. We are excited for the next festival screenings but are also interested in collaborating with a shorts distributor to get the film in front of even more people. The message needs to be shared!
Advice from the Filmmaker?
Pinar Binay (PB): Make what excites you and make it count. Show up to every opportunity with the fullness of who you are because that’s how you give the project its best shot and how you find your people – the folks that you’ll want to collaborate with again in the future because you get each other.
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