Oscar®-qualifying short “Last Days of the Lab” by María Alvarez explores a heartfelt story

Indeed Rising Voices – Oscar®-qualifying short film Last Days Of The Lab

Los Angeles, CA (Oct. 12, 2023). Last Days Of The Lab reflects on the end of an era. As you follow a mother and daughter’s conflicting emotions surrounding the closure of their family-run photo lab. It is a story about how each of us grapple with the passage of time and the tangibility of memory. This live action short film is in qualification to be for consideration for a 2024 Academy Award.

This film was presented at the Tribeca Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and HollyShorts Film Festival. It was made as part of Indeed’s Rising Voices program. An initiative set up to discover, invest in and share stories created by BIPOC filmmakers and storytellers. And, it has qualified to be considered for a 2024 Academy® Award. Rising Voices was created in collaboration with Lena Waithe, Hillman Grad Productions, and 271 Films.

Logline: A mother and daughter sift through old memories as they prepare to permanently close down their family’s photo lab.

María Alvarez is an internationally recognized Cuban-Dutch filmmaker. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a BFA in Film & Television Production. Her short film, SPLIT ENDS, was a 2021 Horizon Award Finalist. It premiered at the NALIP Latino Media Fest. And then went on to screen at the Cannes Court Métrage and NewFilmmakers LA hosted by the Academy. Her short film, DID I LOOK CUBAN THEN?, premiered at the 2022 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. It won the nomination for Best Documentary at NFFTY. María is currently in the 2023 Sundance Institute Latine Collab Scholarship program. There she is developing her feature film script, GUAVA TREE.

The Official Trailer for The Last Days of The Lab Directed by María Alvarez

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Co-writer Ethan Newmyer is a Korean-American writer, director, and photographer. He graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts with a B.A. in Critical Studies. Shortly after graduating, he wrote, directed, and produced a short drama entitled NOVEMBERS & EMBERS IN AMBER. He has been in the process of writing his first feature film. While working on a number of other film and television projects that he plans to write and direct alongside his creative partner María Alvarez.

The short is in qualification for consideration for a 2024 Academy® Award.

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Additional Information
Indeed exists to help people get jobs. And while we know talent is universal, opportunity, especially for people in the film industry—is not. Data shows that BIPOC directors remain critically underrepresented as directors. Rising Voices was born out of the question. What would happen if we took the production budget for a national TV spot. And instead invested it in 10 BIPOC directors to create short films?

To help get the program right, we partnered with Lena Waithe and Hillman Grad Productions. This is to structure and launch Rising Voices. Mentorship was core to the program. To ensure we were creating sustainable pathways to a career. So, we also brought on a number of top filmmakers as mentors. The directors each received a $10,000 script payment and $100,000 in funds to create their films. While they were hard at work shooting and editing. We turned our focus to the release strategy by launching a partnership. One with The Tribeca Festival to debut the entire Rising Voices slate of films.

Following their Tribeca premieres, the mentors helped the directors network and make connections in the industry. Rising Voices was written up by more than 20 major entertainment and mainstream publications. With individual films and directors getting countless press hits as well. All this helped set the filmmakers up for long-term success with multiple filmmakers. Selling films, signing with agents, and getting hired to direct feature films. Through 3 seasons, their films created over 1,500 industry jobs–many going to people of color.

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