The Old Woman
In 1930s Leningrad, an eccentric writer's day gets interrupted by an old woman, who enters his room without asking any permission and suddenly dies in it. Instead of dealing with this situation, he goes off on different tangents, distracting himself by going on daily routines and unexpected adventures.
Logline
The Old Woman is an upcoming short film by Alexander Barancheyev based on the semi-autobiographical short story written by Daniil Kharms. This will be both a stand-alone project, as well a proof-of-concept for a feature film.
Concept
The story is set against the backdrop of 1930s Leningrad, USSR, and will explore the themes of creative process, control, fear, the real and unreal, and life and death. The film will combine elements of dark comedy and psychological thriller.
The narrative of the film will be unreliable: one would constantly question whether what is happening on screen is real, or if it’s the product of the protagonist’s imagination.
To achieve a gritty and expressionistic look, the movie will be shot Kodak Double-X 16mm film. This, combined with experimental camera techniques, will capture the chaotic nature of Daniil.
The Team
Alexander Barancheyev
Writer/Director/Producer
Alexander Barancheyev is a 21 year old filmmaker, producer, and cinematographer based in Los Angeles, USA and Riga, Latvia.
By merging narrative and experimental film techniques, poetic imagery and sound, he explores the themes of human condition, the absurd in the everyday, and family.
Alexander is an upcoming senior at the California Institute of the Arts in the Film/Video program.
Jacob D’Annunzio
is Daniil
Jacob d'Annunzio is a filmmaker from Pittsburgh, PA. They received their BFA in Film Production from Santa Fe University of Art and Design and a MFA in Film Directing from The California Institute of the Arts. They work in independent films as both crew and a performer, combining both skill sets as an actor/director in their own narrative work.
Erika Nadir
is The Old Woman
Erika Nadir is an actor and singer based in Los Angeles. Most recently, her film BETI has been a nominee and finalist in 6 national and international film festivals. In 2022, her film THE HEARTS THAT BLEED AND BLOOM was a finalist in the LA SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL and won Best New Director at the HOLLYWOOD SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL. Her recent stage appearances include the role of Florence Foster Jenkins in the Springfield Contemporary Theatre production of SOUVENIR in 2021. Erika is a member of the ROAD THEATRE based in North Hollywood.
Mayaskye
is Anya
Mayaskye is an actress from Indianapolis, Indiana. Her performance-based films and videos have been viewed over 100,000 times on Youtube, where she shares full length films and feminist Photobooth video art. In addition to being a makeup commercial model, Mayaskye is also a video editor, dancer, and game designer—doing all the mechanics, VFX and stunts for her own films. In 2026, she is studying Film and Video at Calarts on the Joe Ranft Scholarship.
Ej Yeh
Director of Photography
Ej Yeh is an independent filmmaker from Nanjing, China. He is also a 2025 Flaherty Seminar Fellow and a full-time faculty at 2025 CSSSA.
As a cinematographer, Ej was recognized at the Houston International Film Festival and has lensed films selected by LA Shorts IFF, AmDocs Film Festival, San Diego Asian Film Festival, San Francisco IndieFest, and ADF’s Movies By Movers.
Juliana Webster
Assistant Director, 1st Assistant Camera
Juliana Webster is an LA-based filmmaker from Boston with a BFA in Film/Video from the California Institute of the Arts.
She focuses on themes of identity, language and memory through, tactile sound design, and exploring an experimental approach to narrative filmmaking. Structure, sound, and facial expressions are crucial to building bizarre realities that she places her characters in.
Rex Xiao
Assistant Director
Rex Xiao is a writer, filmmaker, and visual artist whose work grows out of a fascination with the darker, subconscious side of human psychology and an ongoing engagement with questions of moral philosophy. He holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University and is currently pursuing an MFA in Film and Video at the California Institute of the Arts.
Bonnie Kim
Production Designer
Bonnie Bohyeon Kim is a spatial designer / Scenographer based in L.A. with production design and art direction experiences in film, dance, and theater with a strong background in sculpture, photography, video, and printmaking. She is expanding her practice in spatial design and creative direction for fashion runways, branded experiences, and concerts. She holds a BFA in Experience Design and Production at CalArts, with a focus on scenic and lighting design and a minor in Digital Arts Media. She is passionate about storytelling through design, and her hands-on experience includes work at the Hollywood Bowl, brand collaboration with Nike, Walt Disney Imagineering, production design for the Hollywood Fringe Festival, and a number of film, theater, and dance projects.
Addison Jones
Costume Designer
Addison is thrilled to act as one of the costume designers on "The Old Woman" film and is especially grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with Katherine and the rest of the talented creative team. She is a BFA2 costume design student with a background in fashion design and a strong passion for costume design across both stage and screen. Addison has previously assisted on productions such as "The Play That Goes Wrong", Village Theatre’s "Les Misérables", and CalArts’ "Property Rites", where she worked as assistant costume designer. She is currently working on several exciting projects, including "Puffs" as assistant costume designer, as well as multiple short films in development.
Katherine Chen
Costume Designer
Katherine Chen is a costume designer with a background in fashion and accessory design. She’s interested in how silhouette, texture, and references come together to support character and storytelling. Her work often involves hands-on craft with material experimentations, creating costumes that are both expressive and true to the characters.