Working Summer

Deborah lives alone in Upstate New York, where she spends her days weaving baskets, gardening, and chatting with her young neighbor Jerry. When Deborah's daughter Nora stops by unannounced, she is taken aback to discover the fullness and independence of her mother's life. The film subverts the trope of a parent losing a sense of purpose when their child leaves the nest. "Working Summer" is about a parent leaving the nest, and a child who must come to terms with it.

  • Lily Weisberg
    Director
    Studio 210, Mini, Hudson
  • Michael Bloom
    Writer
    Our Town, It Never Entered My Mind, Lost Cat
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes 10 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    6,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Lily Weisberg

Lily Weisberg is a filmmaker with a B.A. in Humanities from Yale University. Her films have been selected for the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival, NewFilmmakers NY, the Big Apple Film Festival, Annapolis Film Festival, Flickers Rhode Island (Semi Finalist), Yale in Hollywood Film Festival (Special Jury Prize in Acting), and the Mystic Film Festival, where she was awarded the Best Director Award for a student film. For the last two years, she has been apprenticing with the Emmy Award winning director Tim Van Patten.

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Director Statement

Working Summer explores a parent and child in a new phase of their relationship. Deborah’s daughter Nora is an adult now, but unlike more traditional stories where a parent must grapple with a child leaving the nest, in this film Nora is confronted with the fulfilled, independent life her mother has in her absence. The film wonders about the obligations and expectations of parents, particularly mothers, when their children grow up. How do we react to a mother who does not conform to what her child wants her to be? To a parent who has interests and independence outside of her family? What are the responsibilities between parent and child when both are adults?