As Monica gets ready to host her older husband’s college classmates, a phone call from her estranged sister puts her mind at unease. With the age gap and her questioning the one sacrifice she made for love, she feels like an outsider in her own home. As the evening continues, tensions run hot as truths come to light. After the friends leave, she questions the perfection of her marriage and the power imbalance as her loving husband struggles to rein her in.
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1. What motivated you to make this film?
The original idea was for a feature film drama so I wrote a short film version in order to be able to get funding / show investors what the feature film would be about. The film is loosely inspired by my own life. I’m married to someone ten years older in real life. My husband and I both got judgment for the age gap, but we ended up deciding to move forward anyways. Having realized that it affected some of my friendships and relationships with others, I can only imagine what a large age gap like 25 or 30 years would do so that’s why I exaggerated the age.
As for the professor-student relationship, my grandparents met in a student-tutor capacity so I tied that into the love story of Reminisce. Power imbalance and a generational gap amidst the #metoo movement added an interesting dynamic to the story.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
I had written it towards the end of 2023. We began casting in the spring and ended up doing a crowdfunding campaign over the summer. We shot it in October 2024 over two days in Los Angeles. Post-production was done by April 2025. So all in all, about a year and a half.
3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Layered and Lovely
4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Casting for this was particularly tricky so Leslie Morris (the director) and I spent a lot of time with that. I was playing Monica and I had written the role of Brian for Wayne Jay. Since Diana and Patrick were Brian’s friends from college, we had to cast people who looked like they could have gone to college with Wayne, but also had the chemistry of long-time friends. We received a lot of submissions so we did self-tapes, virtual callbacks and then an in-person chemistry read. Elisa Nixon and Roger Gutierrez were cast and they did a tremendous job.
5. There are 5 stages of the filmmaking process: Development. Pre-Production. Production. Post-Production. Distribution.
What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process?
My favorite stage is the production aspect because I finally get to be on set with other actors and make art!
6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
It began in 2020 during the pandemic shutdown. Since auditions were scarce, I started writing short films. Eventually, I decided to actually make them into a 14 episode anthology web series by collaborating with other people I knew. We did it all remotely so everyone was safe and healthy. It was a large undertaking but I am really grateful for the community it built while we were lonely and stuck at home.
From that experience, I realized I had a knack for writing and producing. I realized that I no longer want to direct so I like finding directors to attach to my scripts.
7. What film have you seen the most times in your life?
Jurassic Park
8. In a perfect world: Who would you like to work with/collaborate with on a film?
My ultimate dream would be to get to work with Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, JJ Abrams, and Aaron Sorkin. The list goes on.
However, in the interim, I want to work with people who love art, exude professionalism and have talent.
9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
I’ve used Film Freeway for years for previous films. I like how easy it is to all be in one place.
10. What is your favorite meal?
I love all food…but if I had to pick, it would be Malai Kofta and Garlic Naan
11. What is next for you? A new film?
I have another proof-of-concept, Eggnog, that will be coming out in early 2026 that should hit the festival circuit soon.
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