DEI
About the Film
When Bryan, a red-faced American man joins in a rally supporting ICE agents raiding a Latino household on Dia de los Muertos (during Halloweekend), he catches the attention of an angry and heartbroken Carla - the teenage daughter of the household. Carla then takes solace at their Ofrenda, cursing Bryan to hopefully not return to life until he learns what it means to be human - to feel her pain and sorrow. With energies and spirits awake on this spooky weekend, the curse works, and Bryan's soul swaps into the body of the Latina teenager, on an important night in a community he so fears.
Director: Jill V. Dae
Producers: Amina Nada
United States // 2026 // Drama, Science Fiction // LOLA Award Nominee - Los Shorts
21 minutes
About the Filmmaker
Jill V. Dae is a writer, director, and producer from Hong Kong.
In 2018, Jill was awarded "30 Under 30 Filmmakers to Watch" by the LA Film Awards Association for her debut short "Rebirth", which was curated by Southwestern University into their filmmaking curriculum. Her other directorial accomplishments include sci-fi short "The Discovery", which premiered at HollyShorts and LA Shorts International Film Festival, and "Honeywell", which premiered at the 2024 Palm Springs International Film Festival ShortFest.
As a writer, Jill's alternate history TV pilot "UMERIKA" won the Fresh Voices International Screenplay Competition, placing first out of 1400, along with its Diversity & Inclusion Award. Her feature screenplay "Sonata" was both a Screencraft Film Fund and Women in Film x The Blacklist Feature Lab 2019 and 2025 finalist. As a producer, Jill has under her belt feature films and shows with distribution on AppleTV, Amazon Prime, DirecTV, and more. She is a proud member of the Producers Guild of America.
Working globally, Jill passionately handles all facets of production, towards a mission of impactful storytelling. Jill is a member of Alliance of Women Directors and Women in Film, of which she is a selected mentee of the WIF Mentoring Program. She is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin. Hook 'Em \m/
