Good Grief

Dr. Meredith Warmaker, PhD, leads a grief support group whose participants seem more interested in hooking up, carrying around strange pets and reading tarot than actually dealing with their lives no matter how hard she tries to keep them focused.

  • Gemma Massot
    Director
  • Michael Buono
    Co-Director
  • Ed Harcourt
    Composer
    Severance, Remember Me, Damages
  • Gemma Massot
    Writer
  • Gemma Massot
    Producer
  • Michael Buono
    Producer
    The Night Shift, Second Chance
  • Isabelle Link-Levy
    Producer
    Cam, Swiss Army Man
  • Eddie Register
    Producer
    Doorbells and Gunshots, The Hankerbox
  • Gemma Massot
    Key Cast
    "Dr. Meredith Warmaker"
    The Looming Tower, Revenge, The Mentalist
  • Sean Cullen
    Key Cast
    "Ethan Galland"
    Mindhunter, Bull, Michael Clayton
  • Allison Jean White
    Key Cast
    "Skyler Fairborn"
    The Family Fang, The Blacklist, High Maintenance
  • Eddie Register
    Key Cast
    "Roger Spanner"
    Avenue 5, The Wrong Side of the M25
  • Rami Nasr
    Key Cast
    "Nigel Chaucer"
    Murder on the Orient Express, The Night Manager
  • Laura Garnier
    Key Cast
    "Mickey Murphy"
    The Seed of Juna
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Alternative Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    Best Cast
  • Couch Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    Best First-Time Filmmaker
  • Accord Cine Fest

    India
    Best Mobile Short
Director Biography - Gemma Massot

Gemma Massot is a Cuban-English actress and filmmaker. Gemma was born into the film industry where her father wrote and directed several films including the Led Zeppelin concert film, The Song Remains the Same, and the Cannes Palme d'Or nominated short film, Reflections on Love.

At a young age, Gemma wrote, produced, and starred (and won accolades!) in a one woman show called Chasing Shadows, about young love in the midst of the IRA troubles. Before University, Gemma worked as Gabriel Byrne’s personal assistant and had the privilege and honor of watching and learning from some of the world’s greats such as Gabriel, himself, Sir Richard Harris, Samantha Morton, and Julia Ormond.

Gemma earned a BA from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) in New York and moved to Los Angeles following her repertory year at AADA. In LA, Gemma quickly became a working actor, guest starring in TV shows such as The Mentalist, Revenge, and the 90210 reboot. She also lent her creative input to friends such as Taika Waititi on his award winning feature, Boy, and associate produced Tribeca bound features - The Ticket and Junction 48.

Gemma is repped by Authentic Management and divides her time between NYC and LA. Her recent credits include The Looming Tower and indie features such as Unintended, Little Faith, and Liberati: A Call to Spy. Gemma is currently developing a feature about life in 1950s Cuba.

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Director Statement

GOOD GRIEF originally came about based on a break up I had gone through and focused mainly on the character of Mickey Murphy. With my writing partner at the time, Isabelle Link - Levy we created a pilot and treatment in order to pitch the series. The premise was based on the lengths we go to avoid sitting with ourselves. Then Covid hit and I wanted to use my time productively so my manager suggested I make a short form version of it. Realizing the limitations I would have, I decided to change the circumstances slightly. One because of the logistical limitations and two because I wanted to create something of pure levity. A slice of life.

My main focus of the short was to look at how, as humans, we give people power over us because of the titles they make. When in reality life is about trusting oneself, which for me personally at times has been hard. How do we when under pressure or duress trust our choices and who are the people we are going to for advice? Walking the line of needing to release the demons of our thoughts and believing what is mirrored back to us. Which reality do we choose, when the people we talk to are coming from their past experiences and choices. My goal was to look at all this in a high brow comedy that made the whole thing silly. Because life when you zoom out is really a total farce anyway!