Céline Roustan
With Emily as the sole caregiver to her bedridden mother, when her sister, Andy, comes to visit, the siblings will finally have the chance to get everything off their chest, proving that sometimes the truth can be ugly, or at the very least unpleasant to hear. In her dramedy Sisters, writer/director Jess Brunetto tackles the serious topics of fertility issues and care for the elderly through the prism of two sisters who are diametrically opposed, creating a film full of both comedy and emotional depth.
Based around an undeniably universal premise, the situation at the core of Sisters is one many of will have to face at some point in our lives and we will most likely already know others who have experienced it. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise when Brunetto explains that the project was born from her own sister’s experience (caring for her ailing mother-in-law) in that position. Combing details of her sister’s life with their shared childhood memories, the filmmaker was able to create a compelling narrative arc that enhances the emotional journeys of her two characters with a tone that is comedic but never grotesque: “a movie that has heart, but also makes (people) smile”, as she puts it.
The blending of these tones requires an extremely delicate balance, so that one does not overpower the other and as a seasoned editor (Hacks, Broad City, and more recently A League of Their Own – closer tonally to this film), Brunetto knew exactly how to juggle both. Triggering the right emotional response from the audience in certain scenes, she plays with the tropes of the different personalities of the sisters to generate a comedic response and flesh out her characters, in others.
Mary Holland (L) and Sarah Burns as the titular sisters in Jess Brunetto’s short
To create a contrast between her characters, Brunetto was very detailed in the visual aesthetic she crafted, along with her production designer Madelyn Wilkime and costume designer Maria Garcia. Both sisters were assigned different colors – Emily, blue and Andy, red – with the choice echoing their individual personalities and current state of mind, while also communicating the disconnect between the two.
As is usually the case in such complex films, tonally speaking, a lot relies on the performances, with both sisters needing to capture and play with the subtle nuances of the screenplay. With this in mind, Brunetto cast two established comedic actresses for the lead roles: Sarah Burns and Mary Holland (who stars in previously featured The Other Morgan and The Katy Universe). Both bring an authenticity to their characters making them and their bond feel real when they are goofing around or finally confessing their vulnerabilities to one another. Shooting with two cameras allowed Brunetto and her DP Wes Cardino to cross shoot both Burns and Holland, giving them the freedom to play off of one another and improvise.
Sisters premiered at the 2021 edition of SXSW and went on to be selected at many other festivals, including Nashville and Flicker’s Rhode Island. Brunetto is currently working on the feature adaptation of the film, having already completed the script.