Table of Contents
Three Key Takeaways
- The confined, eerie setting of a photo booth serves as a unique, atmospheric stage for a horror short.
- Collaborative indie filmmaking, including resourceful team-building and community support, is key to overcoming creative and logistical challenges.
- Preparation and adaptability are critical to successfully completing a time-sensitive film challenge, especially when balancing personal life demands.
Isabel Siragusa, an award-winning filmmaker and actor known for her climate-driven stories focused on strong women, dives into psychological horror with her short film "2x6". Featuring Rachel Amanda Bryant and David Chernyavsky, and lensed by Salvadoran cinematographer Marilyn Flores, "2x6" explores the sinister consequences of a photo booth encounter. The film recently won the CFA Quarterly Film Challenge, showcasing Isabel’s bold vision and the power of indie collaboration.
Q&A Interview
Did you write your script during the challenge window or beforehand?
Beforehand. I took part in the challenge in November 2024 as an actor and knew I wanted to write and direct my own piece at some point. About 6 weeks before the August challenge I started coming up with ideas for a horror/thriller and talking about it with everyone I knew to keep me accountable. The idea for "2x6" came about while watching Amélie as research for another project. A few scenes in that film take place in a photo booth, and it made me realize how a photo booth would be a perfect setting for a horror short. So I wrote a few drafts and started building a team a month before the challenge.
What was your biggest creative risk or boldest decision — and did it pay off?
Choosing to film in a photo booth before having access to one was definitely a risk.
There are ways to cheat the inside of a photo booth, but we'd lose a lot of production value. And renting a photo booth was outside our budget. Luckily our amazing producer Katy Wicker happened to know someone who was a filmmaker and owned a photo booth company. Majestic Photobooth was generous enough to deliver a beautiful photo booth to set and it really elevated the project.
What surprised you most about the process — either about yourself or your team?
I was truly blown away (again) by how supportive the indie film community is in LA. From CFA, to my Instagram community for recommending the shooting location (Noho Photo Studios), to every person on my team who brought such professionalism and joy to the project—it was inspiring.
Was there a moment where you thought you wouldn’t finish? How did you push through?
There were two hard moments. Before the challenge even started, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to pull it off. I've co-directed before but this was my first time directing solo and I had a 5-month-old baby at the time. I really didn't think I could figure out how to do both within the time constraint. But my husband (Will Long, also an actor in the film) encouraged me, changed his own rehearsal schedule, and took on the lion's share of baby duty before the shoot so that I could prep. Once we were on set, we did run into an issue with the gear that set us back more than two hours. Luckily, we built in buffer time and our producer Katy Wicker and DP Marilyn Flores were so on top of it that I never actually felt like we weren't going to finish. I even managed to get other things done while they handled it. Looking back on it, I'm particularly proud of our ability to work quickly. Thanks to a crew that brought the highest level of professionalism and actors that were ready to play and deliver—we were able to get each shot in just a few takes.
"I was truly blown away (again) by how supportive the indie film community is in LA."
Did you meet new collaborators through CFA’s Collab Sheet? If yes, tell us who and what they did!
Yes! I found our fabulous DP Marilyn Flores on the list! I truly don't think we would have finished if it weren't for Marilyn. She works so well under pressure, has such a wonderful eye, and has so many creative solutions. I can't wait to work with her again! Also, I reconnected with the actor David Chernyavsky thanks to the CFA Collab Sheet. We did touring children's theater in Sacramento more than a decade ago and hadn't worked together since. Not only did he do a great job as an actor, he was invaluable as a script supervisor.
What gear did you use (camera, sound, editing software, etc)?
Blackmagic 4k, DZO Film Linglung Lenses, DaVinci Resolve. Sound: Sennheiser me-1 lavaliers that went into an f8n with an mkh50 as the boom mic.
What was your shooting schedule like? How many hours did you shoot each day?
We shot one day from 9-6. We anticipated only needing 6 hours, but I'm so glad we added buffer time.
What would you do differently next time?
Honestly, not much. I would have liked 30 more minutes to load out without rushing.
What advice would you give to someone doing this challenge for the first time?
The special thing about this challenge is that you can prep most things in advance—so prep, write multiple drafts, and think about what you'll need in post before the 72 hours even starts! Also, tell everyone you're doing it. Not only does it hold you accountable, but you never know what resources/locations/advice they'll have. I reached out to our lead actress Rachel Amanda Bryant initially for advice because she is an indie horror darling.
"Thanks to a crew that brought the highest level of professionalism and actors that were ready to play and deliver—we were able to get each shot in just a few takes."
Cast & Crew
- Isabel Siragusa — Award-winning filmmaker and actor, writer/director/producer of 2x6
- Katy Wicker — Producer and actor, known for narrative and documentary projects including The D-Con Chamber podcast, recently produced Sundance short, "Balloon Animals"
- Marilyn Flores — Salvadoran cinematographer based in LA, exploring themes of identity and womanhood
- Rachel Amanda Bryant — Lead actress, indie horror darling
- David Chernyavsky — Actor and script supervisor, longtime collaborator
- Will Long — Actor and Isabel’s husband
- Gene Blalock — Editor
- Jason Sayada — Sound Mixer
- Jordan Francis — Gaffer
- William Premo — Production Assistant
