from writer/director

Sasha Korbut

synopsis

After the death of her lifelong partner, 74-year-old Margaret, a social worker from Minneapolis, plans to end her life until she receives a letter from her estranged half-sister Cleo, a French-American living in Paris. She travels to France and reunites with Cleo, who shares the same father. Hoping to find a connection beyond blood, Margaret insists they travel together to their father’s house in the south, where they once spent a childhood summer together.

Writer’s statement

It has been about three years since I began working on the Half Sister project. One morning I woke up feeling utterly lonely, isolated, and hopeless. I am in America; my mother and half sister are in Russia and unable to leave for political and other reasons. This has been my reality for years. That morning I thought, for a moment, that we might never see each other again. I asked myself whether I could live knowing that a fundamental part of my life might remain out of reach forever. I felt not only lonely but old, as if time had slipped through me, my life stretching ahead now. Then a fleeting thought terrified me: in the late winter of life, who do you wake up for when no one is left? Half Sister emerged from this question, becoming a fictional exploration of two half sisters reunited after decades apart.

why half sisters?

Family stories are often rooted in deep bonds and shared histories. But what happens when that connection is fragile—when two women, linked by (half) blood and a single fleeting encounter (one summer in their childhood), find themselves more familiar as strangers than as sisters? Both nearing the end of their lives, they carry the weight of unresolved conflict around their deceased father. This story explores the quiet, uncertain hope of forming a family not at the beginning, but at the very end. In each way, both long for connection and both are resistant to it. A push-pull dynamic exists not only between one another but within one another. Can two women reconcile their past conflict and take a second chance at closure? Is there emotional and physical space for a (somewhat) new family member at the end of your life? This film asks those questions.

korbut’s vision?

I am the type of filmmaker drawn to exploring the intricacies of human connection and questions of belonging. These themes are central to my previous short films. “Incomplete,” my directorial debut, was a love letter to someone you’ve never met, it asked a question whether we need another person in life to feel complete, or are we missing a connection with ourselves. “To Novosibirsk,” focused on family separation and immigration, a love letter to fathers and sons. Though different in tone and structure, both films share a common thread: a search for belonging and a quiet resilience against loneliness. I see them as a creative foundation for a feature script 'Half Sister'

Over the past three years, I have been writing Half Sister while traveling, scouting locations, and searching for inspiration in Brazil, Germany, France, Spain, and the UK. The script has evolved in a nonlinear way, with ideas emerging gradually. Now that the script is written and I am ready to move to the next step, I am asking for your support and inviting you to play a part in the film’s development.

How Can You Support the Project?

As you may know, it takes a village to make a film. Over the past decade, I’ve been fortunate to build a community of loyal collaborators—writers, actors, designers, editors, and musicians—who have contributed their time, talent, and creativity to help bring my previous projects to life. I’m always open to new connections and collaborations. If you’d like to get involved or explore ways to work together, please feel free to email me directly at sashavictorkorbut@gmail.com.

Another essential part of filmmaking is financing. Funding gives us the time, space, and resources we need to create and produce our work. At this stage, we’re aiming to raise $25,000 to support script development and pre-production.

If you believe in our vision and would like to support our creative journey, you can make a donation. Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a difference. At this early stage, financial support is especially valuable, as it gives us the time and opportunity to develop the script and move the project forward.

You can contribute via Zelle, Venmo, or PayPal, or send us a check.

With your support, we can turn our script into a feature film. And hopefully, we’ll see you at the movie theater for the premiere!

Sempre yours,

Sasha Korbut