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.
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Meredith BergDirectorVoid, Lana Steele
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Meredith BergWriterDementia, Void, Lana Steele
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Ethan ErwinProducerOrphan, Orphan: First Kill, Unknown, The Nice Guys
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Camille BrownProducerThe Chronicles of Riddick, The Nth Ward
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Geffri MayaKey Cast"Mickie"Black-Ish, All American: Homecoming, Snowfall, Private Practice
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Ming-Na WenKey Cast"Captain Lingard"The Mandalorian, Karate Kid: Legends, Mulan, ER, Joy Luck Club, Street Fighter
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Samm LevineKey Cast"Rover Captain"Freaks & Geeks, Inglorious Basterds, Minx
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Joe RussellKey Cast"Conway"XOXO, The Wedding Pact
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Meena SinghCinematographerThe Tuba Thieves (Sundance 2022), Wedding Season
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Diz SharpeStunt CoordinatorGravity, Interstellar, Inception
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Chelsea StaebellCostume DesignerShang-Chi, Aquaman, The Nice Guys
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Jeremy Jonathan WhiteProduction DesginerInterns of F.I.E.L.D., Locating Silver Lake
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Frederik WiedmannComposer**Emmy Winner**, Star Trek: Picard, The Dragon Prince
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Paul HacknerSound DesignerIt, The Black Phone, Crawl, Sinister
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Sci-Fi, Thriller, Action
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Runtime:15 minutes 30 seconds
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Completion Date:January 15, 2025
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Production Budget:50,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United States, United States
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Country of Filming:United States, United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Alexa Mini
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Aspect Ratio:2.39:1
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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
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