women at the helm.
BIG SUR
a darkly comic drama about how grief transforms us
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THE STORY
Lady Ship Production's inaugural film, Big Sur is a darkly comedic drama short that explores the myriad ways grief transforms and haunts us. Big Sur follows Faye on the eve of her 40th anniversary, as she and her husband return to the beloved place they eloped to many years before. An examination of the legacy of mental illness, Big Sur sheds light and understanding on a taboo subject still shadowed by the stigma of guilt and shame.
THE PRODUCTION
Big Sur was shot in Malibu in the summer of 2021 and had its World Premiere on July 24th, 2023 at the Oscar-Qualifying LA Shorts International Film Festival in Los Angeles. To date, it has screened at the Catalina Film Festival, the Oscar-Qualifying San Jose International Short Film Festival, the La Femme International Film Festival, the Manhattan Film Festival (Best Family Short) and the Washington West Film Festival (Jury Award Best Short Narrative Film).
Big Sur's cast and crew was female-centric and diversity-focused with women in all department head positions. See more about our creative team below.
Writer/Director: Lila Dupree
Producer: Erin Doyle Cooper
Director of Photography: Jih-E Peng
Starring: Laura Gardner, Alma Martinez, Tiffany Yvonne Cox, Fernando Luis Vega, Lila Dupree
Casting Director: Jacqueline Gallagher
Editor: Daniel Myers
Re-recording Mixer/Sound Design: Michael Capuano
Colorist: Jenny Montgomery, Company 3
“Lovers of Valdaro” by: Daniel Zaitchik
Line Producer: Briana Goldberg
1st AD: Alec Schiff
Production Designer: Violet Overn
Costume Designer: Mariana Castro
Hair and Make Up: Kate Klein
Script Supervisor: Julie Rosing
First Assistant Camera: Andi Obarski
Second Assistant Camera: Andrew Cordero
Production Sound Mixer: Matt Burgette
Gaffer: Colvin Ang
Key Grip: Diego Patino
Swing: Keith Shattle
Production Assistants: Matt Kravitsky, Yuki Ward
Production Assistant/Driver: Hugo Ortega
CCO/Set Medic: Sharr Siamson
Catering: Spartan Bros Catering
THE CREATIVE TEAM
WRITER/DIRECTOR - Lila Dupree
Lila Dupree is a performer, producer, writer and director based in Los Angeles, CA. She was the creator/producer/co-host of The Witch Hunt, a 2018 all-lady monthly comedy variety show inspired by the #MeToo movement. She also co-created/co-wrote (as well as co-produced and performed in) the critically-acclaimed, sketch-based comedy hit El Grande CIRCUS de Coca Cola, which enjoyed a six-month run at the Skylight and Colony Theatres in 2015 and broke box office records for the Skylight Theatre. On-screen work includes Walk The Light, a rom-com short she co-wrote and produced, starring Michael Richards (Seinfeld), that played at over 40 festivals around the world and won several Jury Awards. On YouTube, you can find The Collective, an original comedy series she co-wrote, co-produced and co-directed, as well as other short-form comedic content on her own YouTube channel. Her sketches and original material have been seen on stages in NY and LA including the El Portal, The Kraine Theatre, The Moth, The Clubhouse, The Pack and iO West. She has also played on various improv teams including Drunkards & Dragons, Bobby Hot Stuff, Barbie’s Dream House, Zut Alors! and Cliffhanger (iO West, The Clubhouse, The Pack, Meltdown Comics).
Past producing work includes multiple theatre productions in New York and LA with the theatre company she co-founded and co-helmed, The Common Tongue, including collaborations with artists such as Edward Albee, Marian Seldes, Lucy Thurber and Wendy MacLeod. She has a B.A in Anthropology and African Studies from Columbia University and completed post graduate training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) and the Atlantic Acting School in New York. www.liladupree.com
PRODUCER - Erin Doyle Cooper
Erin Doyle Cooper is a filmmaker and creative director whose career has spanned indie film, experiential production design, and advertising. She worked on several independent film projects before making her first short film in 2009. That same year, she recorded an EP of indie rock for kids to compliment her pilot Princess Elleanora and the Muddy Sneakers, projects that served as entry points into branded content. As Vaynermedia’s first Creative Director, she helped to grow a creative team from 7 to 200, and pioneered the agency’s first major video projects, including award winning pieces for MasterCard and Budweiser. From 2016-2018, she contracted in house at Pepsi, where she led creative for the promotion of Lady Gaga’s Halftime Show and Pepsi’s 2018 This is the Pepsi campaign, including the Super Bowl spot. Her most recent film Believe Her, starring Allison Tolman, premiered at the 2018 SCAD Savannah Film Festival, where it won Best Global Short: Narrative. Erin holds a BFA in Acting from the University at Buffalo, a post-graduate certificate from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), and completed UCB’s improv and sketch comedy programs. She lives in LA with her bearded actor husband and their Norwich Terrier. www.erindoylecooper.com
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY - Jih-E Peng
Jih-E Peng is a Taiwanese cinematographer based in the United States. Selected credits include THE LIGHT AND THE LITTLE GIRL (Toronto International Film Festival, BAM, BFI Future Film, Short of the Week), A PERIOD PIECE (SXSW), TOURISTS (Montclair Film Festival, Nantucket Film Festival, CAAM Film Festival), GOING PLACES (pilot selected for the 2017 Sundance New Voices Lab), and FAMILY GATHERING, starring Sharon Omi (Modern Family, Chicago Hope), Ken Narasaki (The Young and the Restless, Hawaii Five-O), and Keiko Agena (Gilmore Girls). Nonfiction credits include a feature length film entitled THE LIGHT OF THE SETTING SUN (in post-production, produced by Danielle Vega and funded by ITVS, CAAM, Sundance, and BAVC), and New York Times documentary 'I Just Simply Did What He Wanted' (front page of the Times 2018, 2019 Emmy nominee, 2019 Winner of a World Press Photo Award). Commercial and music video credits include work for Lake Street Dive, Roseanne Cash, Ally Bank, Thom Browne, Hewlett-Packard, Marriott, Advil, and more. She graduated from the American Film Institute's MFA program in cinematography and is a member of the ICFC and NYWIFT.
LINE PRODUCER - Briana Goldberg
Briana Goldberg is a jack-of-all-trades specializing in producing and production management. After getting a degree in Business Administration, Marketing, and Media Studies from Colorado State University in 2014, she tried her hand in a few different industries before realizing she couldn't escape her dream of working in film. As the classic tale goes, Briana packed up her car and set out to Los Angeles to pursue her career in film production. In the few years that she has been in the film industry she has worked on over 50 projects including nine feature films, two TV series, and countless short films, commercials, live events, and music videos. While Briana absolutely loves her work, in her spare time she can often be found volunteering for film festivals (it's not work if you're having fun, right?!), at professional sporting events, or somewhere on the road exploring as far as her gas tank (or a few) will take her.
ART DIRECTOR - Violet Overn
Violet is a Production Designer living between NY and LA. Recent projects include commercials for The Make A Wish Foundation, Spotify and Essie, as well as music videos for Wiz Khalifa, Vic Mensa and San Fermin. Growing up in the most haunted town in America, Sleepy Hollow, Violet has always been fascinated with legends and visual storytelling. Along with set design, Violet has worked at The Downtown Women's Center for the past four years at their social enterprise, MADE by DWC, in their job-training program. Violet is very excited to bring Big Sur to life and help shed light on the importance of mental health.
CASTING DIRECTOR - Jacqueline Gallagher
Originally from Massachusetts, Jacqueline Gallagher is a Casting Associate at Sarah Finn Company for Marvel Studios, as well as a freelance Casting Director/Filmmaker. Since moving to Los Angeles, Gallagher has been on casting teams for companies such as Amblin Entertainment and Blumhouse Productions. She has worked on popular television series and films such as "The OA", THE DIRT, MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN, "The Terror", "13 Reasons Why", as well as DANIEL ISN’T REAL which premiered at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival. Most recently, Gallagher has been working on the "Loki", "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" and "WandaVision" series for Marvel/Disney+.
EDITOR - Daniel Myers
Daniel Myers is originally from the Pacific Northwest but now lives in Los Angeles. He has a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Washington (2009), and an M.F.A. in Film Editing from the American Film Institute Conservatory (2013). He got his start as a professional video editor working on corporate video projects for Microsoft but for the last nine years he has worked as an Editor and Assistant Editor on projects spanning narrative features, documentary features, network television, commercials, music videos, live action and animated short films. In 2019 he cut feature film LORELEI which was an Official Selection of the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival. It won the Jury Prize at the 2020 Deauville American Film Festival. It was released in select US theaters and sold to Hulu in the US and Sky Cinema in the UK. Since 2012 he has been living with Multiple Sclerosis and hopes to help advance standards of excellence and inclusion for disabled filmmakers and other marginalized groups in the industry.