Private Project

PRESSED TO FIT

When a weary coat maker returns to the abandoned clothing warehouse of his past, he is confronted by ghostly garments that awaken in a surreal dance—forcing him to relive the family he neglected, the daughter he lost, and the younger self he abandoned along the way.

Shot on 35mm, Pressed to Fit is about the memories that haunt us, and the emotional grief from taking responsibility for the choices we make. For anyone who has disappeared inside themselves, or watched someone they love fade into the shadows, this is a story about facing what you left behind.

  • SARA SILKIN
    Director
    LOVE DEATH AND ROBOTS (JIBARO CHOREOGRAPHER)
  • SARA SILKIN
    Writer
    MAD WHALE
  • XIN LI
    Producer
    Play Hard, 7lbs 8oz, Sundance Alum
  • AIDEN WEBER
    Producer
  • TED MONTE
    Key Cast
    "ALLEN"
    WESTWORLD, THE OFFER, QUANTUM LEAP
  • HILLARY SMITH
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 29 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    35MM
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - SARA SILKIN

Sara is blind in her left eye and explores the things she can't clearly see; her memories. By going back and capturing the smallest gestures to the largest leaps of faith, she creates work that moves you viscerally through her unique approach to storytelling through movement and film. She holds her BA from UCLA and her MFA from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, where she was awarded: The John Huston Directing Scholarship and Kodak Grant. She choreographed the Emmy-winning short film Jibaro in the Netflix animated series Love, Death, & Robots. She has collaborated with AI digital artist Refik Anadol on the LA Philharmonic’s 100th Anniversary at The Walt Disney Concert Hall. Sara has choreographed and movement directed for brands: Samsung, Adidas, Converse, Sandro, and many more. Silkin’s stage work has been presented at LACMA, The Ford Theater, Electric Lodge Theater, LA Fashion Week, Coachella, CONGRESS:Legalize Dance, and The Centre Pompidou Museum in Paris, France. She was commissioned by LA Contemporary Dance Company to direct and choreograph her short film LOST MIND that won the 2025 Dance Camera West Film Festival.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Pressed to Fit is a story that is very close to my heart. I watched my own father slowly disappear during a manic episode, and the experience left me with questions about how we understand and often misunderstand — mental health. This film is my way of confronting that experience and trying to dismantle some of the stigma surrounding it.

As a choreographer and filmmaker, I’ve always been interested in the moments when language fails us. Mental illness often lives in those spaces; in things that are felt deeply but are difficult to explain. Dance became the most honest way I knew to approach that emotional terrain.

With Pressed to Fit, I wanted movement to carry the narrative. The dancers become embodiments of memory and representations of past selves. Through choreography, the film explores the quiet grief of watching someone you love slip away.

My hope is that the film invites audiences to feel mental health not as a diagnosis, but as a deeply human experience. One that deserves empathy, attention, and understanding.