Fort Worth Film Commission Sets Its Second Short Film on a Path to the Oscars

Over the weekend, the short film premiere of Jedo’s Dead in Fort Worth was a reminder of the power of cinema to spark moments of reflection on life, loss, and our relationships with others. As Julia’s adolescent character, portrayed by AJ Lister, arrives from school at her grandfather’s home, we are brought into a world framed through her eyes — a world tinged with complex and sometimes contradictory feelings as she realizes her grandpa, Jedo, is dead.

Written and directed by Dallas-based Sara Nimeh and produced by Michael Mittelstaedt, Jedo’s Dead is the second film this year to be selected for a red carpet premiere through the Fort Worth Film Commission’s new program to help filmmakers qualify their short films for the Oscars. In addition to the screening and Q&A, Jedo’s Dead is currently running at Fort Worth’s Texas Movie Bistro, a requirement for any short film to be eligible to win an Oscar.

Fort Worth Premiere Packs Texas Movie Bistro for a Memorable Event

At Sunday’s packed show, Fort Worth Film Commissioner Taylor Hardy thanked the audience and volunteers who made the late afternoon event possible. As the lights dimmed, we watched Julia peer through her grandfather’s front window.

After working her way in through the garage, she tries to wake Jedo, who is lying lifeless on his bed. Not appearing to understand what has happened at first, she lies down next to him. She is soon joined by her brother Bobby (Langston Sardella), who confirms that their grandfather has passed.

By working with child protagonists, Nimah circumvents the usual stages of grief, allowing audiences to experience sometimes poignant, sometimes playful, and humorous moments as the two children process what has happened. For anyone who has had to process grief, Jedo’s Dead is warmly affecting, both nuanced and beautifully portrayed.

The local premiere concluded with a Q&A session moderated by Academy Award-winner Brandon Oldenburg. Joined by several crew members, Nimeh and Mittelstaedt discussed the filmmaking process, which took place in Michigan over three days in April 2023.

“It was a hard task to find talent of the right age and right look,” Nimeh told the audience. “We were so lucky to have AJ and Langston. Together, they were dynamite. We had the best cast.”

The Personal Loss Behind Jedo’s Dead and Upcoming Oscar Plans

Nimeh says the short work, like her other films, is influenced by her past and her upbringing in Oklahoma by Lebanese parents who fled the Lebanese Civil War.

“I heard about the war every day growing up,” she says. “I can’t avoid that darkness, so how do I process it? My family endured so much hardship. Sometimes, I deal with it through humor or a character.”

Jedo’s character, she says, was inspired by the loss of a grandfather-like figure she would periodically visit to check up on. When processing the grief that followed his death, she wrote several scripts, including an early version of Jedo’s Dead.

Mittelstaedt, who heads the film program at Interlochen Center for the Arts, reviewed Nimeh’s script around three years ago as part of a new collaborative project he created to reconnect Interlochen alumni with current students and faculty. With funding from a private donor, the Cinema Collective took on Nimah’s short film as its first project.

“I chose the film because it was so accessible,” he says. “Everyone has had a moment where they lost a loved one and have to grapple with what that means. They’re here one day and then they’re gone. The film explores that liminal space between life and death from the point of view of a child.”

For the Michigan-based filmmaker and producer, the opportunity to submit the project for consideration of cinema’s most prestigious award is incredibly meaningful.

“The Oscars weren’t on our radar,” Mittelstaedt says. “Last summer, we won a jury award at South By Southwest but weren’t sure what kind of life the film would have afterward. Now the [Fort Worth] Film Commission is raising attention for the film.”

Nimeh already has plans to write and direct a full feature film version of Jedo’s Dead, says the recognition placed the project “back in the game.”

“We are 100 percent thinking about the Oscars now,” she says.