Feature: THE 18TH ANNUAL DAM SHORT FILM FESTIVAL Celebrates Online

Photo by Kushagra Kevat

The 18th Annual Dam Short Film Festival will be presented online as a virtual event offering excellent and diverse programming, filmmaker Q&As, and scheduled virtual events that allow audiences and filmmakers to mix, mingle and learn about these original stories from around the world. The 2022 festival remains COVID-friendly, more accessible, and runs from Feb. 10-14.

BroadwayWorld spoke with Sara Oliva, who submitted the film Lioness in the festival.

How did you create and develop Lioness?

Sara Oliva: I was volunteering at a safe house (a domestic violence shelter for women), and the story was partially inspired by a woman I had seen there. One Thanksgiving, I was playing with the kids so the mothers could focus on preparing food for the feast later that evening. While playing a card game, one of the mothers caught my eye. There was a massive bruise on her arm was a massive bruise, swallowing half of her arm. I watched her as she pulled ingredients out of the kitchen cabinets; if she was in any pain, inside or out, it didn't show. She began to cook while all around us children were laughing, chiding each other, just joyous mayhem. She paid attention to nothing but cooking. There was a meal to prepare, a feast to be had, and joy to be spread as far these walls would allow.

Driving home later, I couldn't stop thinking about her and the kids living at the safe house. As a mother myself, I was thinking about my own daughter. I think the story just unraveled over a few hours after. It was apparent to me. You know, we grow up listening to sacrifices parents make for their children, but the more intimate, small sacrifices are just as colossal. I really wanted to show the unfathomable depth of sacrifices that mothers go through to protect their children from harm and how they will overcome insurmountable odds to give their children a sliver of joy, even when, especially when they feel anything but joy.

As for the filming itself, we had a very small crew, very bare-bones, and gritty. We shot it in a small motel room with its challenges. There was a lot of commotion going outside, ambulances, sirens, and, unfortunately, deaths right outside our door while filming. All of the ambiances are directly what was happening outside of the walls. Our entire crew had six people or so, and the majority were women; that was important to me to have that unspoken energy in the room.

Tell us a little about your background.

Sara Oliva: I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; my parents were immigrants from Sicily. I have always been first and foremost an actress, although the past few years, I have begun directing more seriously. I began my career in Chicago, got my MFA in Acting from Brandeis University, then I moved to New York City. After my daughter was born, I realized it really does take a village, so I decided to" temporarily" move to Orlando to be closer to my family. That was 10 years ago, and I am still here. Lioness was not the first short film I have acted in, but it was the first I also wrote and produced.

Is this the first time you entered the Dam Short Film Festival?

Sara Oliva: Yes, and I am so grateful to be a part of it. I had heard how great this festival is; how supportive and nurturing they are of filmmakers, and it's been such a wonderful experience. I can't wait to share our film and am most excited to see the other incredible movies.

How does the film get a message to the audience?

Sara Oliva: There is very little dialogue, maybe a couple of lines in the entire film. It can be difficult to watch at times, but I hope that the absolute love and unspoken strength of the mother and child bond are palatable in every frame. I didn't intentionally try to make a film with barely any dialogue- it just happened; I saw it in images. Also, I am not sure any words could replace the tenderness and might of an embrace of a mother and her child. It speaks to the depth of children, how much they see and understand without telling, and how much a mother will vigorously and lovingly use distraction to protect her child, despite her own trauma. This film was inspired by a woman's bravery, fragility, sacrifice, resilience, and above all, unyielding love for her child. Still, it is also a testament to all our mothers, sisters, grandmothers, friends, aunts, cousins, nieces, daughters, and the mighty and brutal sacrifices they make. They are all lionesses.

Any other projects in the future?

Sara Oliva: Yes, I have a few things I am working on- another short revolving around my first job when I was fifteen, some acting projects, directing projects, and I will hopefully revisit a play I have been working on for over five years now. Telling stories is the spine and guts of who I am, so I'll just keep going.

To sign up and more info for the upcoming The 18th Annual Dam Short Film Festival Feb. 10-14, visit damshortfilm.org.

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