Private Project

Tether

A woman running an isolated space station by herself receives mysterious transmissions and must quickly unravel who or what is sending them, or an untold number of lives could be lost.

  • Meredith Berg
    Director
    Void, Lana Steele
  • Meredith Berg
    Writer
    Dementia, Void, Lana Steele
  • Ethan Erwin
    Producer
    Orphan, Orphan: First Kill, Unknown, The Nice Guys
  • Camille Brown
    Producer
    The Chronicles of Riddick, The Nth Ward
  • Geffri Maya
    Key Cast
    "Mickie"
    Black-Ish, All American: Homecoming, Snowfall, Private Practice
  • Ming-Na Wen
    Key Cast
    "Captain Lingard"
    The Mandalorian, Karate Kid: Legends, Mulan, ER, Joy Luck Club, Street Fighter
  • Samm Levine
    Key Cast
    "Rover Captain"
    Freaks & Geeks, Inglorious Basterds, Minx
  • Joe Russell
    Key Cast
    "Conway"
    XOXO, The Wedding Pact
  • Meena Singh
    Cinematographer
    The Tuba Thieves (Sundance 2022), Wedding Season
  • Diz Sharpe
    Stunt Coordinator
    Gravity, Interstellar, Inception
  • Chelsea Staebell
    Costume Designer
    Shang-Chi, Aquaman, The Nice Guys
  • Jeremy Jonathan White
    Production Desginer
    Interns of F.I.E.L.D., Locating Silver Lake
  • Frederik Wiedmann
    Composer
    **Emmy Winner**, Star Trek: Picard, The Dragon Prince
  • Paul Hackner
    Sound Designer
    It, The Black Phone, Crawl, Sinister
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi, Thriller, Action
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 15, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    50,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States, United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Alexa Mini
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Meredith Berg

Berg is an award-winning filmmaker who specializes in genre fare with emotional impact and a touch of humor. Her AFI's Directing Workshop for Women short film "Void" won festival awards, her streaming series "Lana Steele" has over 11 million views, and she has written for MarVista, Silver Pictures, Dark Castle and The Squid Farm. Before working in film and television, Berg directed theatre productions Off-Broadway as well as in England and Los Angeles. Her favorite side hustle is creating comic books.
www.meredithberg.com

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Please visit www.tethershortfilm.com to see behind-the-scenes photos and learn more about the film!

Thank you for considering "Tether!" My short film is, at its heart, a story about community. Set in a space station in the future, it is centered around a theme that is relatable in these challenging times: All we have available to us to survive this dangerous universe is each other. Inspiration for the theme was partially inspired by the current upswing in labor movements, unionizing, and social power. But also, it is about filmmaking because filmmaking is a collaborative art. Teams make films, not single-handed auteurs. All we have in our arsenal is each other.

I was fortunate to be part of a brilliant team of artists, including the lead, Geffri Maya, who stars in the CW show “All American: Homecoming,” actress Ming-Na Wen, who currently plays Fennec Shand in Star Wars series “The Mandalorian” and “Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett,” and originated the character of “Mulan,” stunt coordinator, Diz Sharpe, who worked on “Gravity,” “Interstellar,” and “Inception,” costume designer Chelsea Staebell, who created iconic costumes for “Shang-Chi” and “Aquaman,” and cinematographer Meena Singh, who I met through AFI and who has shot multiple Sundance Film Festival premiering films, as well as Netflix’s “Wedding Season.” Producer Camille Brown worked on exciting sci-fi fare like “The Chronicles of Riddick,” and producer Ethan Erwin, who worked on thrilling genre films including “Orphan,” “Book of Eli” with Denzel Washington and “The Nice Guys” with Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. Diversity in front of and behind the camera was extremely important to us, and I am beyond grateful to have such an amazing team.

I would like to use film throughout my career to show our flaws but also to shine light on our strengths and opportunities. This isn’t a story about a perfect future. One could interpret the world of the story to be dystopic. But what’s important to me is that in the face of dystopia we find solace, community, and our best chance at survival through the support of those around us.

Thank you for your consideration.

-Meredith Berg