SIENNA AND THE SIT
SIENNA AND THE SIT
Directed by Scottie Thompson
16 min | Comedy | United States | 2024
New York City Premiere
REGAL 14TH ST. | Sunday, October 19th | 11:00 AM
Plays in SHORT FILM SERIES #16
Auditorium 11
Cast: Meta Golding, Brett Dalton, Kathy Najimy, Scottie Thompson, Alyshia Ochse, Rupak Ginn, Stephen Bowman and Lisa Lee Cooper
Synopsis: SIENNA AND THE SIT is a story about the lengths to which we go to avoid our pain, the community that helps us through to the other side, and ultimately our own inner strength. Sienna, a heartbroken LA seeker ready to try any spiritual remedy, has tried everything to get past her ex, to no avail. When her friend Ruthie shows up for a potluck, she discovers Sienna took her passing comment literally: she is hosting a Shiva for her still-living ex, attended by her self-absorbed actor friends. Even though everyone in attendance is aware that no one died – and they all think it absurd – they go through with it because they are all so sick of hearing about the ex. Anything is better than that. Things start to unravel when the special guest guru Linus, a self-proclaimed “Shiva” guide (Hindu god of destruction and death) shows up. Despite Sienna loving the synchronicities of the two Shivas, nothing could be less healing. And by the end, it has turned into a bacchanalia of besties shoving their solutions in Sienna’s face to the point that she must escape. And finally sit.
We are in trying times, and experiencing grief on so many levels, from the collective to the personal. The only way out of the pain is through; we must sit with what is hurting in order to grow. And the most powerful way of doing that is in community. While this comedy sheds light into a very particular situation, it encapsulates a broader appeal at its core. And as the saying goes, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, and we as collective could use a little comedic sugar as we gain the courage to sit with our grief in today’s distracted world.
Followed by Q&A with Filmmaker & Cast.