The winner of the Audience Choice Award at the 2014 Gasparilla Film Festival, the short film …And a Bag of Chips! is about self discovery. It shows how "we are human, we are flawed. We are fearful."
This Sunday, ShortsHD Channel will premiere the widely-lauded local short film (ShortsHD can be found on DIRECTV, AT&T U-Verse, CenturyLink and US Sonnet). The short’s star and writer is Tampa Bay-based Jannette Sepwa.
Sepwa has had a very healthy career in film, appearing the television-movie version of Zombieland, the film Sunlight Jr. (starring Naomi Watts and Matt Dillon), and working for the casting department on Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers.
Filmed entirely in St. Petersburg, the pre-production of the short film began in April 2013. Shot in over three days in June, post production of “…And a Bag of Chips!” was completed in the fall. The short film debuted at the Pan African Film Festival in Feb. 2014.
“It’s been a long process getting here,” Sepwa said. “Now, it will be shown all across the country, and we couldn't be happier.”
According to Sepwa, she wrote the screenplay in order to illustrate the importance of living a genuine life — being true to ourselves. She also wanted to create a character which she would otherwise not have had the opportunity to portray.
“I knew if I was ever going to play a role like Abigail, I was going to have to write it for myself and then cast myself,” Sepwa said.
With the support of her fiancé, Pedro Anaya Perez (who produced the short), Sepwa enlisted Sabyn Mayfield to direct the film. They met while working on Harmony Korine’s cult hit, Spring Breakers ( notoriously filmed in St. Petersburg).
After bringing producers (and friends) Mattox Gardner and Mary Rachel Dudley on board, Sepwa’s story began to take life.
…And a Bag of Chips! follows Abigail, a recovering addict, as she moves back into her childhood home after rehab. According to Sepwa, the story is about the courage it takes to define ourselves from within, rather than the exterior. In that way, the Abigail is exceptionally relatable.
“She's flawed, she's vulnerable, and she's been through some tough times. I see every one of those traits in myself, and I think most people — if they are honest — can see that in themselves as well,” Sepwa said. “Even though she's made mistakes, she's trying. She's decided to look in the mirror and really see what's there. In a lot of ways she's braver than I am, because she says what's on her mind, and she doesn't apologize for her feelings.”
Sepwa said that Mayfield’s attention to detail and cinematographer Dave Newbert’s attention to detail makes the short film incredibly real, watchable and visually stunning.
“The film truly captures the essence of personal turmoil and the search for healing,” Sepwa said. “I think we all just want to try and to be better versions of ourselves, even if we aren't sure what that means yet.”
…And a Bag of Chips! will go live online for audiences around the world on Dec. 20.
This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2014.