A Mother's Soliloquy

A recovering alcoholic must make a moral inventory in order to reconnect with her estranged son.

Born out of personal experiences, "A Mother's Soliloquy" combines visual poetry with an original score to explore my own tumultuous relationship with my mother.

Best played loud.

  • Cameron Kostopoulos
    Director
  • Cameron Kostopoulos
    Writer
  • Daphne Daniels
    Producer
  • Lana Nguyen
    Cinematographer
  • Kamilah Barrett-Forster
    Key Cast
  • David Grannum
    Key Cast
  • Asia McNair
    Supporting Cast
  • Aurora Vaughan
    Supporting Cast
  • Jonathan Kim
    Supporting Cast
  • Sara Crossman
    Supporting Cast
  • Maddie Martin
    Supporting Cast
  • Matthew Perko
    Supporting Cast
  • Anthony Tette
    Supporting Cast
  • Seehon Gil
    Supporting Cast
  • Prateek Rajagopal
    Composer
  • Zach Manske
    Choreographer
  • Jordan Fox
    Set Design & Construction
  • Helen Morales
    Production Designer
  • Hope Abel
    Costume Designer
  • Mary Zhang
    Hair & Makeup
  • Jordan Halsey
    Projectionist
  • Jaimie Beebe
    Casting Director
  • Israel Gomez
    1st Assistant Director
  • Caden Hollander
    2nd Assistant Director
  • Karlie Teruya
    Stage Manager
  • Mikayla Davic
    Script Supervisor
  • Gao Yang
    Photography
  • Cameron Kostopoulos
    Visual Effects
  • Alexis Tran
    Stage Operators
  • Vasilisa Belokon
    Stage Operators
  • Leah Zhao
    Stage Operators
  • Charlie McCollum
    Stage Operators
  • Isabella Donato
    Stage Operators
  • Corey Tablan
    Stage Operators
  • Ethan Denning
    Stage Operators
  • Doug Kerner
    Stage Operators
  • Erik He
    Stage Operators
  • Ryan Zhang
    Stage Operators
  • Aidan Bates
    Stage Operators
  • Gabriel Gaurano
    Stage Operators
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Psychological, Experimental, Dance, Music Film
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    December 15, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    1,250 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • Student Academy Awards 2020

    Semi-Finalist
Director Biography - Cameron Kostopoulos

Cameron Kostopoulos is a current student at USC's School of Cinematic Arts, set to graduate in 2021. Originally from Dallas, Texas, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his interest in experimental filmmaking and visual storytelling. Throughout his education, he has worked primarily as a director and cinematographer, and has worked across a range of mediums including short films, interactive films, VR/AR technologies, and projection mapping installations. He hopes to write and direct dramatic content that blends narrative story structures with experimental elements.

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Director Statement

'A Mother's Soliloquy' was born out of personal experiences with addiction at a young age. Growing up in a family disrupted by alcohol took a toll on my own upbringing, and seemingly kept my family trapped in an incessant cycle of relapse and recovery.

Inspired by my own experience, 'A Mother's Soliloquy' aims to capture the violent, cyclical nature of alcoholism, and its disruptive effect on the family. Structured loosely around the 12 Steps of AA, the story sympathizes with those suffering from addiction, while attempting to explore the psychological toll that addiction may take. 'Soliloquy' presents a raw, visceral look at one woman's decision to drink, portraying relapse with unapologetic honesty as we see the path to recovery cut short.

Told without dialogue, much of the film is communicated visually and abstractly, with the human body becoming its own unspoken form of dialogue. Through this abstraction, the film attempts to create a more layered, intimate atmosphere, allowing audiences to follow the story while simultaneously projecting their own experiences. The film combines a deep, electronic score with an experimental visual journey in order to tell a poem of grief, loss, and addiction, and a mother's struggle to overcome her temptation. 

I created this project in hopes of shedding light on the nature of alcoholism in a postmodern world. Despite touching the lives of millions each year, the effects of alcohol abuse are rarely discussed on-screen. Through 'Soliloquy', I hope to generate conversation about the struggles of recovery, and to relate my own story to the experiences of others. I hope to transport audiences into a new world, to take each viewer into an inward, psychological journey.  I hope to speak directly to those who have been affected by alcoholism; those who face the daily struggle of the bottle, those mentally and emotionally hurt by its reach, and those forced to watch as friends and family suffer from its grasp.