''A Small Domain'' is a 1996

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

written and directed by

Britta Sjogren Britta H. Sjogren (born December 21, 1958) is an independent filmmaker and academic. Biography Britta Sjogren was born in Portland, Oregon and attended University of California, Berkeley for her undergraduate and University of California, Los ...

. It

premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

d at the 1996

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

, where it won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film, and subsequently won several festival awards during 1996 and 1997. Sjogren was inspired by her friendship with actress Beatrice Hayes and Haye's relationship with her late husband. Hays took the role of the character based on her.

Plot

An elderly woman prepares to celebrate the anniversary of her marriage to her late husband. She steals what she needs and ends up taking home a baby that she finds at a

bus stop A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...

Cast

Ana Gasteyer Ana Kristina Gasteyer (born May 4, 1967) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2002. She has since starred in such sitcoms as ABC's ''Suburgatory,'' TBS's '' People of Earth'', NBC's ' ...

as Mother * Beatrice Hayes as Woman * Rebecca Guadalupe Kuntz as Baby * Lance Sjogren as Clerk * Emily Sperling as Little Girl

Awards

In 1996, ''A Small Domain'' won the Short Filmmaking Award at the

, the Special Jury Award at the

USA Film Festival The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and Special Recognition at

Aspen Shortsfest The Aspen Shortsfest is an annual Oscar® qualifying short film festival held in Aspen, Colorado. The internationally-recognized festival began in 1979. In 2003, director Lionel Bailliu was given the Shortfest Award for the 2002 French short fi ...

. In 1997 it won the SXSW Competition Award at the

SXSW Film Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

, the Special Jury Artistic Merit Award at the

Cinequest San Jose Film Festival The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It is ...

and the North Carolina Filmmaker Award at the Charlotte Film & Video Festival.

References

External links

* 1996 films 1996 short films American short films Films produced by Andrea Sperling 1990s English-language films {{short-film-stub