Experiencing Interruptions?

Gummy Worm

Elle and Oz have hit a roadblock in their relationship: Oz is bored and distracted, Elle doesn’t know how to fix it, and she’s sick of trying. It seems like all their friends are hitting a quarter-life wall, too. At a ‘Retirement-At-25’ party for their friend, secrets come out, drunk mistakes are made, and Elle makes a last ditch attempt to fix her relationship woes - with disastrous results.

  • Eva Hoffman
    Director
  • James Birr
    Director
  • James Birr
    Writer
  • Eva Hoffman
    Writer
  • Eva Hoffman
    Producer
  • James Birr
    Producer
  • Noelle McHenry
    Assistant Director
  • Birdie Roden
    Key Cast
    "Elle"
  • Daniel Jesse Kaplan
    Key Cast
    "Oscar"
  • Sara Heckadon
    Key Cast
    "Taylor"
  • Daelin Malizia
    Key Cast
    "Charlie"
  • Isabelle Marenco-Morales
    Key Cast
    "G"
  • Jordan Goins
    Key Cast
    "Jordan"
  • Blair Debra
    Key Cast
    "Blair"
  • Alyssa Leanne So
    Key Cast
    "Annie"
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 5 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 8, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    6,000 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 - Eva Hoffman, James Birr

Eva Hoffman and James Birr met in high school through the school newspaper. They didn’t know it at the time, but it was the beginning of a life-long creative partnership. Eva and James are brought together by their shared interest in revealing and destigmatizing the common experiences that we all have, but might be too afraid to share. By creating films that show both the unexpected in the mundane and the universal in the intimate, Eva and James dive deep into the individual to weave stories anyone could see themself in.

Eva Lapadat Hoffman, 23, is a film director from Minnesota. She moved to California at 18 to attend Stanford University. Eva has had a camera in her hand ever since she was old enough to hold one, but it wasn’t until taking several film classes at Stanford that she truly discovered her love of filmmaking. After writing, directing, producing and filming several shorts during her time in school, she moved on to create her first feature and directorial debut, ‘Gummy Worm’.

James Birr, 24, grew up in Minnesota and has had a passion for movies since he was young. He directed his first feature film in high school and later branched out into other visual media, including fiction, nonfiction, and experimental shorts. While continuing to write screenplays, he has gained experience on many film crews and brings that experience to original productions.

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Director Statement

After countless conversations with friends who are all trying to navigate their day to day lives, we wanted to make a film that addressed both the universal yet specific nature of 20something malaise. Everyone our age is struggling but in distinct ways, all culminating in the same questions: What is the line between independence and codependence? How can you create your own individual identity with someone else by your side? What’s the balance between sacrificing your wants to make someone else happy?

We started brainstorming and writing in late September 2021, casted in November, shot in December, and now we present to you our final product. The film was shot in five days on a budget of less than $6k. Gummy Worm was a fierce effort by our small four person crew and our incredibly talented cast to tell a story that was funny, smart, tense, and relatable. Thanks to the team around us, we were able to bring our vision to life.

Gummy Worm is our feature directorial debut, and we took the challenge head on. We learned how to work best together, blending our unique visual and storytelling instincts to cultivate a film identity that was unique and representative of the stories we wish to tell.

The production of this film was the time of our lives, and we are so proud of the final result. We hope to continue to make movies about struggles with gender, sexuality, and body acceptance, the tensions of 21st century romance - films about drama, comedy, and food. In ‘Gummy Worm,’ and all of our future endeavors, our aim is to paint a picture of modern culture that treats people as complicated and unsure, not just stereotyped and simple. We want our work to be about capturing universal experiences seen through a new lens.