Birthday Cake

A family grieves the death of a child while eating his birthday cake.

  • Steven Mannino
    Director
  • Steven Mannino
    Writer
  • Steven Mannino
    Producer
  • Auni Sanders
    Producer
  • Colten Dietz
    Producer
  • Stu Chaiken
    Key Cast
  • Corinna Harney-Jones
    Key Cast
  • Daniel Warner
    Key Cast
  • Steven Mannino
    Editors
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 11 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 31, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    1,200 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:
    No
Director Biography - Steven Mannino

Steven Mannino is an aspiring artist with a passion for telling emotional stories through compelling dialogue. His favorite movie is La La Land (2016), particularly because of the film's ambiguity and overall message to its audience. Steven has participated on many film sets. He wrote, directed, and produced his first short film, Birthday Cake, in 2022.

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Director Statement

A very significant part of film making is suspension of disbelief. This factor is imperative to an audience because if what happens in the story isn't plausible, the audience would not be able to enjoy the film, and more importantly, they wouldn't be able to relate to the characters. One must be extra careful when implementing this. Suspending disbelief for the sake of amusement is deceiving. Ambiguity is also very important to me. I always try to find new ways to have the audience participate in my stories. There are many rules when it comes to making films, and yes, sometimes it is okay to break those rules. However, one must never deviate entirely. Even creativity has rules.