Experiencing Interruptions?

The Wasting

When attempting to communicate with the dead, a young lady arouses a spirit that feeds off illness.

  • Jennifer Cooper
    Director
  • Jennifer Cooper
    Writer
  • Jennifer Cooper
    Producer
  • Lianna Perry Fountain
    Cast
  • Charlotte Pener
    Cast
  • Jennifer Cooper
    Editor
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Horror, drama
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 4 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 26, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    200 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Canon 70D
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Jennifer Cooper

For literally her whole crazy life Jennifer Cooper has been a writer and photographer. She was a neurodivergent child in a toxic, abusive environment. The only way she could make sense of the world around her was to analyze and deconstruct her experiences (and those of others) and come to a level of understanding that was satisfactory.

It started with writing silly short stories as a child and today Jennifer is an award-winning filmmaker with over 25 projects as producer, writer and editor. Jen and her late husband, Evan, had been partners for 12 years until dying suddenly on November 2, 2022.

Together they ran Authenticity Production and Post. She often shot whatever Evan directed and has been known to take on production design even when her partner insisted that producing, writing, shooting and editing is more than enough.

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Director Statement

My sister died in June of 2021 after a long and horrible illness, during Covid lockdown and I was only allowed to see her once they put her on hospice, but by then she was mentally gone. It was a dark time. I wasted a lot of time messing around with ghost hunting apps and found one that was at the very least well made. The questions I asked received eerily accurate responses. It was definitely a trip into Uncanny Valley. So I thought, what if someone used this app and, just like in the classic ouija board story, is tricked into thinking they’re communicating with someone they know. That’s how they getcha. Old trope, new twist. A ghost app.

The Wasting is one part ghost story and one part analogy for the addiction that stole my sister’s life away. How her death threatened to take mine because I never felt like I could do enough for her. Guilt. Regret. Grief. Fear. It sucks the life right out of you.