You see the back of a car, full of suitcases, odd bags. A classic road trip you assume… 

When a mother and a daughter circumstantially decide to drive from the Bay Area to the East coast, spontaneity gets a whole different meaning.

As they try to navigate the roads, and each other on this trip, they start to unravel the dust in the tracks they left behind at home.

Sam, an incoming Harvard Law student and her mom Amrita, a professor at UC Berkeley have a love-hate relationship, like most mothers and daughters.

What could have caused this duo to leave overnight?

This story attempts to explore the delicate threads that we share with our parents, in the form of our DNA, and how they shape us.

While we experience the contradiction in the ideology of feminism between a mother and a daughter, we are also left to ponder about the effects of machismo culture on men.

This film will make you scoff, uncomfortable, and cry.

Just the usual hangout with parents.

This story is of a South-Asian immigrant family; it has elements of Indian cultural dynamics but it is a universal story of mothers and daughters. I believe representation is imperative to communicate art and to grow as a society.

We have completed principal photography and are now gearing up for post production.

Our shoot frames!

Get to know your fellow travelers!

Shavya Samala

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7185779/

Born in India and raised in Maine, Shavya’s passion for acting ignited early. After moving to New York as a teenager with no industry experience, her talent and determination quickly set her apart. Her unique cross-continental background adds nuanced depth to her portrayal of Indian American roles. Shavya’s versatility is evident in her work in Mirage, Designed by Preeti, and a sci-fi film Aptitude. She has also captivated audiences in TV shows like Netflix’s Santa Clarita Diet and Amazon’s On Call, and starred in commercials for brands such as Toyota and Lays.

Soma Mitra 

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6052586/

Born and raised in Kolkatta, Soma started acting since 2017 and worked in various T.V. shows like 911 Lone Star, Bosch Legacy, Grown-ish, S.W.A.T, 13 Reasons Why, The Goldbergs, The Neighborhood, and The Fosters.

Soma also co-wrote and starred in the acclaimed short film The Nair House, which was featured at multiple film festivals. She has also appeared on the big screen as Queen in Zack Snyder’s epic Rebel Moon - The Scargiver.

Samrat Chakrabarti 

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1589782/

An international artist, Samrat holds a MFA in Acting from the A.R.T/ Moscow Art Theatre School Program at Harvard University.

He has recurred on American TV shows and films including The Sinner (USA), Homeland (Showtime), Mr. Robot (USA), The Sopranos (HBO), Chicago Med (NBC), Little Voice (Apple TV+), NCIS (CBS).

Samrat works in both Hollywood & Independent films, ranging from Spike Lee’s She Hate Me to Ravi Kapoor’s Four Samosas. International projects include: Deepa Mehta’s film adaption of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, Gurinder Chadha’s Viceroy’s House, Manish Acharya’s Loins of Punjab Presents, Yash Raj’s New York & Kamal Hasaan’s Vishwaroopam.

Inspired by the films below, we have blended their themes and tones into Long Way from Home.

The feature version of our short is already written and we are looking for a Home for our story, to finally make the full length feature film! The short film lights up the engine, and essentially serves as the first act of the feature. We go deeper into the mid-west of America and the emotional dynamics of the family in the feature.

Building a supportive audience is key to getting producers and distributors on board!

Who am I and why do you care?

I am Arushi, the writer-director-producer for this project.

Having written this close-to-heart film during COVID days, I shelved it for the daily hustle.

For 4 years. Every year, visiting it, being amused by it, and then giving it up again. But it was haunting me. 

So, I finally complied with my inner voice.

I've always wondered how mothers and daughters could be friends, so this story is exploring that personal fantasy. 

Drama is in my blood, so I assure you, you are in for a tumultuous ride. :)

I see a lot of 90’s kids struggling with their parents. A generation that is quite the intermediary between major socio-political era changes, we are conflicted with our ‘old-school’ values, and the newer topics of concern such as ‘childhood trauma’. I hope to hold the viewer’s hand as we navigate these topics together in this film. 

While an exploration of complex mother-daughter relationships, this short film also focuses on uncovering layers of machismo culture and its effects on families. As we move towards a more progressive egalitarian society, in all parts of the world, we cannot stop telling stories about female empowerment and the downsides of patriarchy. I believe we live in the grey area of life; no truth is black or white. By placing a magnifying glass on my characters, I implore people to question their beliefs.

Although I live in Mumbai now, I worked as an independent producer in Los Angeles for a couple of years. Using that skillset, I remotely gathered an amazing local crew in the Bay Area, an outstanding cast from all over the US, and together we pulled off an almost flawless shoot in September 2024. Special shoutout to Bay Area filmmakers for being so kind and ofcourse, talented!

As a first time writer-director, but an experienced producer, I am eager to make this short film and pitch it to my network as a feature film in California and in Mumbai. Wanna hear my distribution plan? Message me!

I have completed the beautiful shoot of this project with the support of INCREDIBLE cast and crew. I am now looking to return back their favors by raising the funds. As I step into post-production, I plan to have something to show my supporters by the end of this year!

CONTRIBUTE AND PLEDGE!

You can make a contribution by making a pledge.

(we need to collect at least 80% of our crowdfunding goal to keep our funds). 

You can choose an incentive or make a pledge to a specific wishlist item. You decide what fits your budget. Seriously, no pledge is too small. Every dollar makes a difference in making our film possible!

We have some awesome incentives including curated playlists, private links/events, behind the scene access, and so much more! If you want to see your name forever etched onto the credits of a film, this is also a shot at that!

If you can't support monetarily,

SPREAD THE WORD!

Please share this page and follow this project (we get more perks for more followers from Seed & Spark) with anyone you think would be interested in seeing a film like this come alive! 

Follow our journey on Instagram and Facebook @longwayfromhome_thefilm to get constant updates!

Check out our IMDb page - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33513156/

Director/Producer profile - arushifilms.in