The Rushing of the Sea
A young woman who’s just lost her mother intrusively relives their last perfect day together.
A sensory meditation on the inexplicable ways grief moves through us as we move through it, The Rushing of the Sea follows Younger and Older, adult siblings who have just lost their mother to terminal illness. Younger has sunk into a grief where she intrusively relives the last perfect day the three of them had together: on the beach, with the rushing of the sea underscoring impermanence. When Older has to leave Younger alone for the first time since the memorial, Younger’s surreal, sensory grief threatens to drown her. She must turn into the swell and face it, accepting the help and love of her family — both here and gone — to resurface.
CAST & CREW
STARRING Isabella Jane Schiller, Dani Martineck
FEATURING Courtney McClellan, Katelynn Kenney
DIRECTED BY Molly Karna
WRITTEN BY Dani Martineck
PRODUCED BY Dani Martineck & Isabella Jane Schiller
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Austin Lee Smoak
PRODUCTION DESIGNER Maya Graffagna
EDITOR Ya-Ting “Itchy” Yang
SOUND DESIGNER Shanthal Caba Mojica
COMPOSER Eli Denby Wood
COLORIST Dalton Zongshian Lu
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Emily Louise Miller
GAFFER/GRIP Daniel Hughes
PRODUCTION SOUND MIXER Justin Woo
1st ASSISTANT CAMERA Aleko Syntelis
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS Christina Germaine, Cooper Mulderry
SCREENING & AWARD HISTORY
Urban Dreams Mental Health Film Festival (NYC), May 2024 - Award Winner - Best Female Filmmaker (Molly Karna)
Queens World Film Festival (Astoria, NY), April 2024 - Nominee - Best Narrative Short Screenplay (Dani Martineck), Outstanding Achievement Female Actor in a Narrative Short (Isabella Jane Schiller)
Blackbird Film Festival (Cortland, NY), April 2024 - Award Winner - Best Sound Design (Shanthal Caba Mojica); Nominee - Heart + Soul Award
Southern Premiere: Southern Oasis Film Festival (Sevierville, Tennessee), March 2024 - Nominee - Best Short Film, Best Director Short (Molly Karna), Best Actor Short (Dani Martineck)
Triborough Film Festival, January 2024 - Award Winner - Best Sound Design (Shanthal Caba Mojica) & Best Actress (Isabella Jane Schiller); Nominee - Best in Borough, Best Short Film, Best Director (Molly Karna), Best Writer (Dani Martineck), Best Soundtrack (Eli Denby Wood), Best Supporting Actor (Dani Martineck)
West Coast Premiere: Culver City Film Festival, December 2023
Chain NYC Film Festival, August 2023
Honorable Mention, Cindependent Film Festival, August 2023
Premiere: Big Apple Film Festival (Spring Edition), May 2023