Watch Beefies now on Omeleto above.
Below is the trailer.
Past Screenings
BEEFIES
Logline: A Jewish man tries to connect with his family for a socially distant Passover Seder.
Synopsis: Josh wants to find his late mother’s “Beefies” recipe for a pandemic Passover, but finds he must reconnect with his estranged brother to do so. Josh will have to figure out her fractured recipe, or burn down his kitchen trying.
Director’s Statement
When the pandemic hit I was scheduled to shoot my first short film about spirituality and commitment in Los Angeles, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to shoot this project I had spent months gearing up for.
But, as I sat at my computer having a Zoom Passover Seder with family members and friends in different cities and countries, it hit me that I could still tell a story about Jews and Connection that could uplift our spirits during this time of disconnection.
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When I was a little kid, my favorite meal was my mom’s “Beefies”. After she passed away, I spent months trying to cook like she did, never getting things right. To this day, nobody knows how exactly she made this meal — her sort of beef stew/stroganoff dish of meat and veggies — but it’s never too late to try and figure it out. And it’s never too late to connect with the ones you love, even now.
Adam Lebowitz-Lockard
CAST
Adam Lebowitz-Lockard (Josh) - Adam is an actor, writer, and director based out of Los Angeles. He made his TV debut on FOX in "The Pine Tar Incident", and has sketches on Funny Or Die with his sketch group Desperate Times. On stage his work has been seen at the Whitney Museum, Primary Stages, The Flea Theater, American Repertory Theater, Williamstown Theater Festival, Smith St. Stage, and many many theaters throughout Los Angeles. He is represented by Nikki Dionne with CSP Management, and The Library Agency.
Molly Gray (Rachel) — Molly is a Los Angeles based actor and writer, originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Her work has been shown at the Tribeca Film Festival, New York Television Festival, Soho International Film Festival, Hollyshorts, and United Airlines. She has trained at the Moscow Art Theatre School, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Adler Improv LA and Butler University. When not acting, Molly enjoys watching the Packers play football, baking delicious treats, and practicing yoga. Her spirit animal is a magpie.
Goran Ivanovski (Mark) — Goran is an accomplished actor who graduated from the prestigious MFA program at USC. He’s been recently seen on Lucifer and For All Mankind. He’d like to thank Adam for making this gem of a film.
Salome Mergia (Athena) - Salome is a NYC based actor who was last on screen with her own short film Vaseline. Other film/TV credits include: Enchantimals and Coming to Hollywood. She is currently a resident acting company member of Hamlet Isn’t Dead. Theater credits include: School Girls (Jungle Theater), Concrete Orange (Guthrie Theater), Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, The Oresteia, and Three Penny Opera (University of Southern California), As You Like It (Fountain Theater), and Harold and Maude (Morgan-Wixon Theater). Training: University of Southern California, MFA. www.salomemergia.com
CREW
Stephanie Feinerman (Production Design) — Stephanie is a Los Angeles based Production Designer. She is a member of IATSE local 871 working as an Art Department and Set Decoration Coordinator, and is also an associate member of the Set Decorators Society of America. Recent projects include Barry (HBO), Star Trek: Picard (CBS All Access) and The Prom (Netflix). Stephanie also continues to work as a freelance interior design consultant and can be reached via instagram @StephanieFeinermanDesign
Ben Soiefer (Sound Designer) - Ben is a New York based sound designer, mixer, and audio engineer. Ben grew up playing the piano and alto sax and always knew he wanted a career in music. After graduating Magna Cum Laude from University of Rochester in 2016 with a B.A. in Music and a minor in Audio and Music Engineering, he joined audio post facility Sandblast Productions. Over the past four years, Ben has sound designed and mixed several short films, including two that premiered at film festivals in NYC. He has edited, mixed, and sound designed numerous podcasts, including journalist Bill Moyers' current series, Moyers on Democracy. Ben also sound designs for animation, radio plays and theater productions, mixes nationally broadcast commercials, and engineers voiceover sessions for a range of clients including CBS, ESPN, Nickelodeon, Showtime, and MTV Networks.
Julián Juaquín (DP/Editor) —From New York with Colombian roots, Julián Juaquín has cultivated his art in the Big Apple, studying at the Stella Adler studio and studying film at ST John’s University. After receiving his Masters Degree in Fine Arts at The University Of Southern California, he is now a professor teaching cinema studies in the drama department. Julián had the opportunity to shake up the theater world in Los Angeles. He worked on the 2019 production of“ How We Are Different From Animals” with the Elan ensemble which would win a STAGE RAW Award for “best adapted play” and be nominated in 8 more categories.
Julián Juaquín Conde continues his investigation of acting and filmmaking working as an actor making and appearance on NBC’s newly show,“Stumptown”. Also, He recently just finish playing Richard Alves in an upcoming film called “ Respite” directed by Saro Varjabedian. Jumping into different genres of the craft and continuing to examine the human condition, Julián understands that the work is never done and we must always learn from each other.
Isaac Mailach (Composer) — Isaac is passionate about storytelling through music, which can be seen in both his music compositions and his cello performances. Since receiving his Master of Music in Screen Scoring from USC, Isaac has composed music for all types of visual media, whether that be in the realms of film, television, or video games, but is particularly passionate about composing for the drama, avant-garde, and science fiction genres. In his spare time, Isaac enjoys learning about astrophysics, reading any book by J.R.R. Tolkien, and watching Adventure Time on loop. https://isaacmailach.im
Arianna Shining Star (Colorist) - Arianna is a Los Angeles colorist for feature films, television, commercials, and music videos. Based at Apache in sunny Santa Monica, available remotely across the globe. Arianna’s long form color grading includes feature films and television for Netflix, Hulu, and Quibi. Her narrative work has also premiered at acclaimed film festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, SXSW, and Cameraimage. Her commercial portfolio includes campaigns for Nike, Audi, Budweiser, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Coca-Cola. She has also brought her creative eye to MTV VMA nominated music videos "Wild Thoughts" for Rihanna, “Money” for Cardi B, and Justin Bieber's visual album for "Purpose", among many others. With Northern California roots, her middle name comes from her parents who met at a Grateful Dead concert during the song “Shining Star.”
