Liz Sargent on making Oscar contender ‘Take Me Home’ with her sister Anna

Liz Sargent‘s moving short film “Take Me Home” packs a punch and plenty of heart in just 15 minutes of screen time. The film follows a cognitively disabled woman (Anna Sargent) and her sister (Jeena Yi) who must learn to communicate after the untimely death of their mother. Gold Derby caught a screening of the film and grabbed a chat with writer-director Sargent, who explained that the genesis of this rooted in her family history.

“I grew up as the middle child of eleven, my parents had 4 biological children, then adopted 7 more, 6 of whom are Korean and several with different disabilities. In our family, everyone is the same because everyone is different. Anna is the youngest sibling, she was born at 2 lbs, developed a cyst on her brain and was left with various disabilities such as having very little short-term memory. I’ve always been afraid for the future when I will be confronted with the dilemma and complexities of future caregiving for my sister,” Sargent said.

The filmmaker explained that fears and difficulties such as these can actually be used not only to tell great stories but also help artists themselves process said slices of life. Using life’s dilemmas and the fears we face, Sargent explains, can be beneficial for audiences watching on screen as well as for those making it behind the camera. In fact, Sargent has discovered that using these “harrowing ideas” is now her “superpower.”

“Storytelling has always been a way for me to understand harrowing emotional conversations that are too frightening to confront in real life — to make sense of the world. I used to have therapists who would want me to separate myself from the needs of my siblings — I get it, but also I don’t want to forget.  I want to do the work to make a world that works.  These are the things that live within ‘Take Me Home,’ it is what makes the film truly accessible,” Sargent explained.

This moving portrait of two unique sisters with an idiosyncratic relationship was inspired by Sargent’s relationship with Anna. But while the emotion hits home, that wasn’t the only goal of the short film. Sargent took on a bigger objective — to prove to producers and industry leaders that disability “can lead the way.”

“‘Take Me Home’ is told from Anna’s point of view – she is not a plot device or a supporting character. The scenes were devised in structured improv so that we hit the emotional beats, but Anna was always in control. She led the action in the scenes, and her co-stars and the crew followed her lead as we shot long takes,” Sargent said.

“The audience is forced to lean in and listen to the space between Anna’s unique way of speaking. On the cusp of AI doubles, there is even more power in the unheard voices like Anna. The depth of humanity is unreplicable. The music was created to amplify Anna’s unique way of thinking; it is arhythmic, sparse but clear, and maintains the ‘out of place’ notes. I think the short form is a place to try new ideas, to discover new voices. It’s a place for the underdog.”

The film has already featured in 28 festivals including SXSW and Sundance Film Festival and it won prizes at both the New York Indie Shorts and Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. This has led to some timely Oscar buzz, with Variety naming it among their predicted nominees for Best Live Action Short at the upcoming Academy Awards. For now, however, Sargent is just enjoying getting this film out there and is proud to give Anna, who delivers an exquisite performance, the spotlight.

“The setup often takes longer than the actors are given to work out the performance. My sister Molly and I are co-guardians to Anna and she led the caretaking during the shoot.  The small, intimate crew planned the shot list, production design, and lighting beforehand to leave as much time as possible for performance. A film set can be total chaos but Anna was totally comfortable because the crew was the same size as our childhood family,” Sargent said. “The biggest challenge was for me to know when to protect my sister and when to trust that she could figure it out herself. By the end, Anna was calling cut and telling me what to do….sisters.”