A feature film inspired by Seinfeld and the works of David Lynch.
A failing artist creates chaos during a podcast recording with some of his closest friends in the hopes of better understanding his troubled past.
Sydney draws from reality and fiction -- intended to suck the audience in with intensity, unsettling moments, and waves of bizarre comedy. This film was made to push people to constantly question what they see and show anyone with a Sydney in their lives that catharsis can be found. The opening of the film relentlessly spins forward with a refusal to break any tension. When the tension finally breaks, the film’s secrets begin to unravel.
77mins|4K|5.1|16:9|English
Cameras: Canon C500 Mark II, Arri Alexa SXT
Director’s Statment
Director Jeremy Berkowitz is best known for his award-winning short film Timmy and the Dreamkillers, which won First Prize for Short Animation at the Academy Award Qualifying Rhode Island International Film Festival in 2019.
His work typically centers around characters whose secrets and lies create irrevocable damage — first — for those around them and — second — for themselves.
This breaking of trust is often due to grief, pain, and emotional instability.
Sydney began as a concept for a scripted podcast in the summer of 2022 but was quickly transformed into a feature film about a podcast recording. Comedy was subverted into madness, and it wasn’t long before a surreal nature inspired by filmmakers like David Lynch crept in.
Having studied screenwriting at the University of Michigan and New York University, Jeremy strives to take his knowledge of the structure and reinvent it any way he can.
This is how Sydney follows her unbeaten path, blending fiction and reality.
Director Jeremy Berkowitz with actress Callie Bussell.