Why We Left is a surrealist short film about a couple, Maria and Manny, navigating the quiet, destabilizing aftermath of losing their baby. In an attempt to escape their grief, they leave behind everything they know and move north, believing distance might offer relief. Instead, their unspoken pain begins to reshape their inner and outer worlds, creating an emotional distance between them that neither knows how to bridge.

I first encountered Why We Left, a short story by Ana Menéndez from her collection In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd, nearly twenty years ago. While I loved the collection as a whole, this particular story embedded itself in me in a way I couldn’t shake. Its intimacy, its imagery, and its profound understanding of hidden grief stayed with me long after I read it.

My relationship to the story deepened years later after experiencing a pregnancy loss of my own. Returning to Why We Left during that time, I recognized the impulse it captures so precisely: the desire to detach from reality, to seek refuge in memory, and to exist in a world where beauty still blooms even in the presence of pain. The story became both mirror and anchor — a reminder of how narrative can hold us when we are otherwise unmoored.

Stacked coins the size of dinner plates circling the living room. Hibiscus flowers bloom from snowy birch trees. This film uses surreal visual elements to externalize what Maria and Manny cannot say aloud. Emotional states manifest physically. Memories bleed into the present. The environment begins to reflect the interior landscapes of grief, longing, and isolation. These moments are not symbolic abstractions, but emotional truths given form — allowing the audience to experience what the characters are feeling rather than simply observe it.

Our Team

My intention with this adaptation is to honor the emotional core of Menéndez’s story while using production design, cinematography, performance, and visual effects to bring its surreal beauty into vivid life. Every artistic choice exists in service of emotional resonance. In service of that goal we’ve assembled a team of incredibly talented and caring individuals and production partners who are all bringing something unique and critical to the film.

We’re honored Brickyard VFX, a female and artist-owned studio, who’s been at the cornerstone of Boston’s post production scene for 25 years believes in this project as much as we do. They granted Why We Left in-kind post-production services through their Film Partnership program. This is HUGE and means we can stay committed to stunning surreal imagery on an independent short film budget. 

We’re also thrilled to be partnering with Studio Lab, a New Hampshire–based creative studio pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for independent filmmaking. Their innovative Volume technology allows us to build immersive, responsive environments in-camera, making it possible to bring the film’s surreal interior worlds to life in bold and unexpected ways. This partnership is monumental for Why We Left — it means we can realize our most ambitious visual ideas while staying grounded in performance, emotion, and the realities of an independent short film budget.

In addition to our amazing production partners, Why We Left is being brought to life by a deeply collaborative team of artists who share a commitment to emotional honesty and visual storytelling. Director of Photography Matt Dorris, a longtime creative collaborator, brings an astute eye and intuitive visual language to every frame, allowing the cinematography to bloom with feeling and restraint. Production Designer Suja Ono leads the film’s world building, translating interior emotional states into grounded yet surreal physical spaces. Producers Carley Byers and Tishna Lodi guide the project with care, rigor, and generosity, shepherding the film from development through post with a focus on both creative integrity and human-centered production. Together with a full team of talented collaborators across departments, we're building a supportive, intentional environment in which this story can be told with nuance, trust, and craft.

How Will Your Contribution Help?

First — thank you. Truly. Supporting Why We Left means becoming part of the community that makes this film possible. Independent films don’t exist without audiences who believe in them early, and grassroots support like yours directly shapes what we’re able to create.

Your contribution goes toward the essentials that allow us to tell this story with care and integrity: fairly paying and feeding our crew, renting the equipment that supports our visual language, and working with deeply talented actors and collaborators. Every piece matters, and every dollar goes toward bringing this film to life in the way it deserves.

Where Are We Now? Why Fundraising?

We’ve taken this project as far as we can on our own, and now we’re stepping into the next phase: fundraising. This is the moment when possibility opens up — when the film becomes real, not just in our imaginations but on screen.

With your support, Why We Left can become the intimate, visually rich film we’ve been building toward.

What Hitting — and Exceeding — Our Goal Unlocks

If we reach our $10,000 goal:

We receive the greenlight. This is the bare minimum needed to begin — allowing us to move into production and start principal photography. It’s the moment Why We Left officially shifts from preparation into being made.

At $20,000:

We reinvest in our crew, increasing compensation for the artists whose care, time, and craft shape every frame. This ensures we can maintain a humane, sustainable set while honoring the people doing the work.

At $35,000 — what the film truly needs:

We unlock the full creative scope of Why We Left. This level of support allows us to expand our art department and surreal visual elements, ensuring the emotional interiority of the story is fully realized on screen — not compromised by budget, but supported by it.

$10K starts the film. $35K finishes it right. Our Seed&Spark goal is the starting line. Going beyond it is how we make the film we’ve envisioned from the beginning.

Why Now?

This film exists because stories about grief — especially pregnancy loss — are still too often experienced in silence. Why We Left is an invitation to acknowledge that grief, to sit with it, and to see it reflected with honesty and compassion. Making this film now feels both urgent and necessary.

What’s Next?

We are targeting picture lock in Spring 2026, followed by sound design, score, and visual effects. From there, we plan to submit to film festivals with the goal of premiering later that year.

Until then, we’d love for you to follow along at @whyweleft25 and here on Seed&Spark as we continue the journey.

I believe Why We Left is an opportunity to create a film that is both intimate and transportive — one that preserves the delicate power of the original story while inviting audiences to step inside its world and, perhaps, feel less alone in their own experiences of loss.

- Joan Cassin, Writer/Director

Thank you!