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The Winemaker

Joanie is a winemaker with a secret of cosmic proportions. A menacing gadget delivers a message that forces her to make a decision: Will she abandon all she’s built or stay and finish the year’s vintage before her enemies come for vengeance?

  • Sarey Martin
    Director
    "Father Mary", "In Dreams, I'd Ask, Who Made These?"
  • Sarey Martin
    Writer
  • Daria Matza
    Producer
  • Stephen Kaiser-Pendergrast
    Producer
    Art Thief
  • Sarey Martin
    Producer
    "31", "Lord's of Salem"
  • Ayanna Berkshire
    Key Cast
    "Joanie"
    Twilight, Sometimes I Think About Dying
  • Anna Telfer
    Key Cast
    "Leonora"
  • Jeb Berrier
    Key Cast
    "Brother"
    A Perfect Day for Caribou, Sometimes I Think About Dying
  • Raymond Carr
    Key Cast
    "Alien Scientists"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-fi, Drama
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 20 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 15, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Sarey Martin

Sarey's debut short, "Father Mary," played festivals and won awards in 2022. She’s been a finalist in Disney’s Launchpad program and Sundance’s Episodic Lab. She spent 10 years as part of the production and management team for Rob Zombie (collaborating on films with partners like Blumhouse, Anchor Bay, and Dimension) before getting a master’s in theology and focusing on her own storytelling.

She is passionate about elevating female voices, particularly in genre filmmaking--having been inspired by auteurs like Cronenberg, Lynch, and Jarmusch. Fostering mutual support and community throughout production is a priority for her.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The Winemaker is for those whose lives have taken them far from their origins. When you reflect on where you came from—or when your past comes to haunt you—what do you do? Can you integrate? Can you show compassion to that version of yourself? Or do you give in to the temptation of imposter syndrome?

Influences: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Brit Marling, Gene Roddenberry
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Every person on my production team has a zone of genius, which making a movie brings out of them. Together, we make something that transcends the sum of its parts. The movie set makes sacred space for that excellence. Everything from Emily’s perfect schedule to Greyson's "last looks" - all these parts are necessary and beautiful because they showcase a real person’s beautiful mind.

We brought together a diverse team that was majority-female for The Winemaker. I didn’t realize until I was on set, seeing women and nonbinary people in so many key positions, how different that would feel. It was moving. When I was a child, a lot of the adults in my world told me that women shouldn't have certain types of power or influence - in fact, "God himself" didn’t want us to.

This is part of the reason I was so inspired by the female winemakers in the Pacific Northwest, creating alchemy in their craft, in a male-dominated industry.

In The Winemaker, a figure from Joanie’s past threatens a beautiful new world she’s created. Does she throw it away to preserve her life, or stay and face violence? Sci-fi magic presents a third option to her.

This is the beauty of genre storytelling (sci-fi, horror, fantasy). Surreal elements point out the “third option” available to all of us. Joanie has an “enchanted” vineyard, and you and I have a spark of genius acting as a guiding light, too.

I hope this story will encourage all of us, and especially women, to follow their spark. It’s the joy that lights up when you’re doing what you’re meant to do. I saw it all around me while I made this movie, and I felt it in myself, too. -Sarey