The Everything Pot

When empty nester Rachel RSVPs and sends a gift way too quickly to an acquaintance's wedding invitation, she inadvertently breaks up the engaged couple, and in trying to get them back together, her own marriage implodes.

Rachel and Adam have their routines down, their dynamic is set, and after 23 years, Rachel’s learned to make peace with feeling dismissed and often unseen; sometimes they feel more like roommates than spouses, and that seems to be perfectly okay with Adam. As virgin empty nesters, they are left to figure out how to navigate their changed world including how this new perspective impacts their marriage and what it reveals about their relationship. Rachel finds herself feeling the void of their daughter’s presence more deeply than her husband’s willing to show, and his distinct lack of EQ leaves him serving mostly dumb jokes in response to her efforts to communicate.

When newly engaged Charlie and Clare invite them to their wedding, this allows Rachel to feel invigorated again; the problem is, her enthusiasm for the young couple stirs up a variety of issues for all four characters that make them see their partners differently and question their motives in a way none had previously done.

  • Sherise Dorf
    Director
  • Sherise Dorf
    Writer
  • Lisa Edelstein
    Key Cast
    "Rachel"
    House, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, The Kominsky Method, Shadow Brother Sunday
  • James Wolk
    Key Cast
    "Charlie"
    The Boys in the Boat, Mad Men, Watchmen, Harley Quinn, Ordinary Joe,
  • Gina Torres
    Key Cast
    "Gail"
    Suits, 9-1-1: Lone Star, Selah and the Spades
  • Erik Griffin
    Key Cast
    "Adam"
    I'm Dying Up Here , Somewhere in Queens, Workaholics
  • Delaney Marie Rowe
    Key Cast
    "Clare"
    social media influencer 3M followers
  • Deja Monique Cruz
    Key Cast
    "Penelope"
    The Crossover, Christmas with You
  • Edward Burns
    Executive Producers
    The Brothers McMullen, Bridge and Tunnel, Newlyweds, Millers in Marriage
  • Aaron Lubin
    Executive Producers
    Sidewalks of New York, Bridge and Tunnel, Millers in Marriage
  • Callie Bloem
    Producer
  • Sherise Dorf
    Producer
  • Christopher J. Ewing
    Producer
  • Sean Patrick Kelly
    Producer
  • Emily Sheehan
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Dramedy, Romantic Comedy
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 31 minutes 7 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 16, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Arri Alexa
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • The 2024 Tribeca Festival
    New York
    United States
    June 9, 2024
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • The 2024 Cordillera International Film Festival
    Reno
    United States
    September 29, 2024
    Best Director - Feature
Distribution Information
  • Gersh
    Sales Agent
    Country: United States
Director Biography - Sherise Dorf

Sherise Dorf is a writer, director and producer living in Los Angeles. Sherise spent her twenties working as a magazine editor/writer in New York City, where she realized her love of writing about authentic women, their journeys, storied relationships and complex family dynamics. After moving back to LA, she continued to freelance for various publications while writing spec scripts, and raising her daughter. Sherise first jumped into independent filmmaking ten years ago to co-produce a micro-budget feature. Now in her 50s, she’s been actively directing and producing her own projects and has served as a producer on several other indie sets. THE EVERYTHING POT is her feature directorial debut.

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Director Statement

I love writing about and for women, and discovered this love in my twenties while working as a writer and editor for numerous magazines in New York City. Something about exploring relationships and family dynamics from women’s points of view fascinated me, and I could never find enough stories to fuel this need, especially when it came to films, as there were very few written and directed by women.

Flash forward to today, I want to make movies about women that reflect the concerns we have and the way we talk to our friends and feel about our relationships, and what we give up when we prioritize others’ needs over our own. “The Everything Pot” is me making the film I’ve wanted to see for way too many years and based on a very real, very awkward experience from my own life.

This is a story of a Jewish woman of a certain age navigating marriage, friendships, jealousy, co-dependence, and aging with what I believe to be a very realistic mix of excitement and exhaustion. I tell this story from the perspective of a long married woman, with a husband who thinks sitting on two separate sofas night after night multitasking is just fine. But is it fine forever? Is it reason enough to leave a 20-plus year marriage? Is it possible to shake up the relationship if complacency has been the case for longer than either can remember?

I thought it would be interesting to juxtapose the lives of two couples who are at very different ages and life stages, and capture what small things can shift boredom to excitement, complacency to curiosity, and trust to distrust. As miscommunication and mayhem ensue, what’s left is a path towards self discovery, brutal honesty, and of course a laugh or two.