Sundowners: Sundance Short Film Is Now Online

Jessy Hodges appears in Sundowners by Lisa Steen, an official selection of the Shorts Program at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. Photo by John DeMenil.

Sundowners, a nine-minute short film that premiered at Sundance in January 2019, is now available for viewers to watch online.

I spoke with both Jessy Hodges and Anna Greenfield about the short film heading into the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.  Since Sundance, the core trio involved with the film have had a strong year.  Not only would Hodges be seen in HBO’s Barry but NBC picked up Indebted to series, which will premiere on February 6, 2019.  Greenfield also wrote Stepdaddy, which premiered two months later during SXSW.  Lisa Steen directs both shorts.  On top of this, Plus One featured all three in different roles.

Here’s what I wrote about the film in January:

Sundowners may be among the most political films to screen during Sundance that isn’t a documentary.  Ali (Jessy Hodges) driving back from the store to visit her parents (Peter Friedman and Hodges’ real-mother, Ellen Sandweiss).  One thing leads to another in an argument between Ali and her dad over sexism and the 2016 president election between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Donald Trump.

Even though it’s only nine minutes long, Sundowners is well directed by Lisa Steen.  Hodges and co-writer Anna Greenfield previously co-wrote Games for Girl–also directed by Steen.  The trio certainly have a knack for humor and I’d love to see what they could do together with a feature film.

DIRECTOR:  Lisa Steen
SCREENWRITERS:  Jessy Hodges and Anna Greenfield
CAST:  Jessy Hodges, Peter Friedman, Ellen Sandweiss

Sundowners is now available to watch online.

Danielle Solzman

Danielle Solzman is native of Louisville, KY, and holds a BA in Public Relations from Northern Kentucky University and a MA in Media Communications from Webster University. She roots for her beloved Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Celtics. Living less than a mile away from Wrigley Field in Chicago, she is an active reader (sports/entertainment/history/biographies/select fiction) and involved with the Chicago improv scene. She also sees many movies and reviews them. She has previously written for Redbird Rants, Wildcat Blue Nation, and Hidden Remote/Flicksided. From April 2016 through May 2017, her film reviews can be found on Creators.