Sidewalk Film Fest

The day after her fortieth birthday, Anna comes to the conclusion that it’s time for the madness to stop. She lives in her friend’s back yard tool shed; her career as a filmmaker isn’t paying her bills and worst of all it’s been ten years since she’s had a girlfriend. A hardscrabble life that seemed charming and adventurous in her twenties seems desperate and dire in middle age. She was once an adventurous jet setter & queen of night. Most move on from such a lifestyle before they hit 40. But not Anna. That’s why something has to change. And soon.

Anna devises a plan to make all her dreams finally come true: make a film and win over her leading actress and art school wunderkind; Katia. Borrowing a storyline from her most beloved film ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ she recruits her friend Penelope (former screen-writer turned actress) and Chloe (former child model with a flair for fashion and drama) to start production of her feature film debut ‘Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf?’

As with all great feats, there were several obstacles standing in her way, first, there’s no money. Second, she will have to give up her role opposite Katia if she wants the much-desired Penelope to even consider taking the roll. Third, her Cuban mother has never been thrilled about her making lesbian films, let alone, her being lesbian. She’d much prefer Anna pack up her shed and move home to Miami. But, Anna persists until her obsessive crush on Katia paralyzes with fear of intimacy, rejection, and her own internalized homophobia. Julia, the cinematographer supports Anna through it all, compelled by her own romantic feelings for Anna.

Finally, despite her fears, Anna asks Katia out on a date only to be summarily rejected. Anna’s descent into a crippling, self-sabotage begins. While Julia tries her best to help and revive her spirits, Anna’s belief of “what should be” rather than “what is” makes her blind to Julia’s affection. Instead, Anna is enraged when her best friend, Penelope, begins a love affair with Katia. When Katia confronts Anna about her actions, the two end up at blows. Horrified, the cast, crew and even the devoted Julia, have seen enough. Anna is left alone, no friends, half a film and an eviction notice from her shed. The descent is over. The rock is at bottom.

Alone, Anna takes time to ponder her life, work and the mess she has made of it. She realizes that all her friends and especially, Julia were there for her and she blew it. In order to change, Anna must stop listening to her old demons and reach for a new sense of self-acceptance. A surprise visit from her mother puts things into perspective for Anna. They talk about the wounds of Anna’s turbulent childhood and Mami finally accepts it is important for Anna to make art that expresses her identity as a lesbian Latina. Anna reaches out to her friends and apologizes. They realize Anna is genuine and give her a second chance. She even asks Julia out on a date. Forty might even be heaven.
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