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Synopsis
Jodie, a lonely overeducated professional on the brink of turning 45, wakes up from a cat nap and decides to take hold of her love life. Tired of living indignantly in spite of herself, she falls into the trap of Mari, a dating coach who preys off women of a certain age, showing them “the right kind of relationship:” she gets women to become cat ladies, just like herself, so that strong independent women can remain as such. Slowly, she gets Jodie to get Guy, her willing and unabashedly earnest date, to grow a mustache and whiskers, and put Rogaine on his arms – Mari’s “special sauce,” until finally, he grows so hairy, that he eventually turns into a cat. The result is a wedding of Jodie to an actual cat wearing a cat tuxedo: she has found her soulmate - one that enables her to have the freedom she always wanted.
Director's Statement
I wrote “cat.” during the pandemic when I had too much time to think. I hope you enjoy!
CREW
JESSICA REDISH - Writer/Director
Jessica Redish is an award-winning director, writer & choreographer and a recent graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts’ MFA Film & Television Production Program. She has been referred to as a “rising star” by Medium.com because of her accomplishments with her award-winning short films and music videos. Her body of work ranges from contributing choreography to The Smashing Pumpkins' International Tour to her short films “The Last Croissant” and “AIRWAY” winning Best Director and Best Comedy awards. She also has worked as a comedy writer for Emmy & Golden Globe Winner Joey Soloway, as well as Michael Bay & Adam Goodman’s Invisible Narratives.
Her most recent success is her newest film, “Exit, Pursued by a Bear,” a short movie musical which she wrote, directed, choreographed, and co-wrote lyrics with composer Michael Mahler. The film received placement in the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts and Raindance Film Festivals as one of six winners in the 2022 Stage 32 Short Film Contest.
Jessica attributes her ability to work with actors and capture great performances because of her theatre work for which The Chicago Tribune named her production of “Merrily We Roll Along” as one of the top ten Sondheim productions in Chicago, putting her on a shortlist with Hal Prince. She is also the winner of the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Choreography for “Silence! The Musical!” a musical parody of “The Silence of the Lambs.” Jessica currently resides in Los Angeles where she tends to her “Golden Girls” Chia Pet.
ALPHA FAYE - Producer
Alpha Faye is a NYC-bred actor and indie-film producer and writer based in Los Angeles. She learned the ropes of producing through community organizing, and specializes in bridging the creative aspects of filmmaking with the business side of production, fostering communication and collaboration. Alpha loves to work with directors whose stories lift up underrepresented communities. Some of her first productions include the feature “This Side of Summer” (2019), the Instagram micro series “Hella Bae” (2019) and shorts “Suzie Wrong” (2019), and “Pickpocket” (2021). Alpha’s 2024 projects, “Captain Jack,” “cat.” (award winning), and “Revolt x Kismet” are currently on their respective festival runs. She also has 2 features and a television series in development.
DAEIL KIM - Cinematographer
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Daeil Kim moved to the United States at 20 to pursue filmmaking. He co-founded Xylograph Films, producing acclaimed short films, commercials for brands like Red Bull, and music videos for artists like Two Friends and Bryce Vine. Kim’s cinematography work, “The Things We Keep,” screened at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. At 24, he co-wrote, directed, and shot his debut feature, “White Demise” (2021) on a micro budget. Distributed by Gravitas Ventures, it premiered on VOD platforms. His latest short film, “Loving Day," starring Sydney Flanigan and Raphael Sbarge, is currently touring the festival circuit. A graduate of the USC MFA Film & TV Production Program, Kim was an Annenberg Fellow and recipient of the James Bridges and Jack Larson scholarships. He directed the final episode of the USC series SKETCH and served as cinematographer on several thesis films. Kim has earned the Sony Future of Cinematography award, Panavision New Filmmaker Grant, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Production Grant (2024)
LEA VRABELOVA - Editor
Lea Vrabelova is an award-winning film editor living in Los Angeles. She was born in Bratislava, Slovakia and graduated from the American Film Institute with a Master’s Degree in Film Editing. Lea most recently edited for BRON studios, and her work screened at festivals all over the world and released on various platforms. She is best known for her work on ‘What is Buried Must Remain’ (1st place Foreign Horror Feature at 2022 HHIFF & Best Feature Film at CSHFF) ‘Ran Mi Lowo!,’
"The Passenger," "Blood and Glory" (Tribeca 2020, Women in Media 2019 CAMERAderie Initiative), and “Tiger Within." She worked with writer/director Jessica Redish on the award-winning short films “AIRWAY,” “Exit, Pursued by a Bear,” and “The Last Croissant,” featured on Funny or Die.
CAST
JODIE BENTLEY - Jodie
Jodie Bentley is an LA-based actor, producer, and narrator. She can be seen in “Never Have I Ever” (Netflix), “Modern Family” (ABC), “All My Children” (Hulu) and “The Baxters” (Amazon) with Roma Downey. She appeared in “The Obituary of Tunde Johnson” directed by Ali LeRoi which premiered at TIFF. Jodie played the lead role in “Non-Disclosure” which was an official selection in the Cannes Short Film Corner and “Miracorp” which had 5 festival wins. She recurred in the series “Disgraced” which received 22 Nominations and 10 Festival Wins. A long-time career coach for actors, Jodie was named one of the Top 20 Coaches in Los Angeles in Influence Digest for 2022. She’s also a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Acting and has a slate of two feature films she’s currently developing.
CLAYTON FARRIS - Guy
Clayton Farris is an actor, writer, social media influencer and teacher currently living in Los Angeles, California. His television work includes smash hit shows like “Grey’s Anatomy,” “American Horror Story,” and “Jane the Virgin,” among others. His comedic videos across multiple platforms have racked up over 100,000,000 views. @claytonfarris
BARBARA BROWNELL - Mari
Barbara Brownell began her performing career at five as Goldilocks. Eighteen years later she made it to Broadway in “Play it Again, Sam” with Woody Allen and Diane Keaton. She also appeared off-Broadway in “The Ballad of Johnny Pot” and at the Actor’s Studio in “King Lear.” Films include: “Going Home,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Behind the Candelabra” and “The Master.” Barbara starred in Group Repertory Theatre’s mainstage production “A Dull Pain Turned Sharp” where she was nominated in Broadway World for Performer of the Decade in 2020. Other favorite TV credits include: “Malcolm in the Middle,” “LA Law,” “Mary Tyler Moore,” “Night Court,” “Mad Men” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” She has also had recurring roles on “Webster” and “M*A*S*H.” In the end, however, the role that made her a star with her grandkids was as a featured player in the award winning music video “Old Town Road” with Lil Nas X in 2019.
- Runtime9:38
Stream the curated UCLAxFilmFest 2025 Official Selections here!
Synopsis
Jodie, a lonely overeducated professional on the brink of turning 45, wakes up from a cat nap and decides to take hold of her love life. Tired of living indignantly in spite of herself, she falls into the trap of Mari, a dating coach who preys off women of a certain age, showing them “the right kind of relationship:” she gets women to become cat ladies, just like herself, so that strong independent women can remain as such. Slowly, she gets Jodie to get Guy, her willing and unabashedly earnest date, to grow a mustache and whiskers, and put Rogaine on his arms – Mari’s “special sauce,” until finally, he grows so hairy, that he eventually turns into a cat. The result is a wedding of Jodie to an actual cat wearing a cat tuxedo: she has found her soulmate - one that enables her to have the freedom she always wanted.
Director's Statement
I wrote “cat.” during the pandemic when I had too much time to think. I hope you enjoy!
CREW
JESSICA REDISH - Writer/Director
Jessica Redish is an award-winning director, writer & choreographer and a recent graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts’ MFA Film & Television Production Program. She has been referred to as a “rising star” by Medium.com because of her accomplishments with her award-winning short films and music videos. Her body of work ranges from contributing choreography to The Smashing Pumpkins' International Tour to her short films “The Last Croissant” and “AIRWAY” winning Best Director and Best Comedy awards. She also has worked as a comedy writer for Emmy & Golden Globe Winner Joey Soloway, as well as Michael Bay & Adam Goodman’s Invisible Narratives.
Her most recent success is her newest film, “Exit, Pursued by a Bear,” a short movie musical which she wrote, directed, choreographed, and co-wrote lyrics with composer Michael Mahler. The film received placement in the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts and Raindance Film Festivals as one of six winners in the 2022 Stage 32 Short Film Contest.
Jessica attributes her ability to work with actors and capture great performances because of her theatre work for which The Chicago Tribune named her production of “Merrily We Roll Along” as one of the top ten Sondheim productions in Chicago, putting her on a shortlist with Hal Prince. She is also the winner of the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Choreography for “Silence! The Musical!” a musical parody of “The Silence of the Lambs.” Jessica currently resides in Los Angeles where she tends to her “Golden Girls” Chia Pet.
ALPHA FAYE - Producer
Alpha Faye is a NYC-bred actor and indie-film producer and writer based in Los Angeles. She learned the ropes of producing through community organizing, and specializes in bridging the creative aspects of filmmaking with the business side of production, fostering communication and collaboration. Alpha loves to work with directors whose stories lift up underrepresented communities. Some of her first productions include the feature “This Side of Summer” (2019), the Instagram micro series “Hella Bae” (2019) and shorts “Suzie Wrong” (2019), and “Pickpocket” (2021). Alpha’s 2024 projects, “Captain Jack,” “cat.” (award winning), and “Revolt x Kismet” are currently on their respective festival runs. She also has 2 features and a television series in development.
DAEIL KIM - Cinematographer
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Daeil Kim moved to the United States at 20 to pursue filmmaking. He co-founded Xylograph Films, producing acclaimed short films, commercials for brands like Red Bull, and music videos for artists like Two Friends and Bryce Vine. Kim’s cinematography work, “The Things We Keep,” screened at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. At 24, he co-wrote, directed, and shot his debut feature, “White Demise” (2021) on a micro budget. Distributed by Gravitas Ventures, it premiered on VOD platforms. His latest short film, “Loving Day," starring Sydney Flanigan and Raphael Sbarge, is currently touring the festival circuit. A graduate of the USC MFA Film & TV Production Program, Kim was an Annenberg Fellow and recipient of the James Bridges and Jack Larson scholarships. He directed the final episode of the USC series SKETCH and served as cinematographer on several thesis films. Kim has earned the Sony Future of Cinematography award, Panavision New Filmmaker Grant, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Production Grant (2024)
LEA VRABELOVA - Editor
Lea Vrabelova is an award-winning film editor living in Los Angeles. She was born in Bratislava, Slovakia and graduated from the American Film Institute with a Master’s Degree in Film Editing. Lea most recently edited for BRON studios, and her work screened at festivals all over the world and released on various platforms. She is best known for her work on ‘What is Buried Must Remain’ (1st place Foreign Horror Feature at 2022 HHIFF & Best Feature Film at CSHFF) ‘Ran Mi Lowo!,’
"The Passenger," "Blood and Glory" (Tribeca 2020, Women in Media 2019 CAMERAderie Initiative), and “Tiger Within." She worked with writer/director Jessica Redish on the award-winning short films “AIRWAY,” “Exit, Pursued by a Bear,” and “The Last Croissant,” featured on Funny or Die.
CAST
JODIE BENTLEY - Jodie
Jodie Bentley is an LA-based actor, producer, and narrator. She can be seen in “Never Have I Ever” (Netflix), “Modern Family” (ABC), “All My Children” (Hulu) and “The Baxters” (Amazon) with Roma Downey. She appeared in “The Obituary of Tunde Johnson” directed by Ali LeRoi which premiered at TIFF. Jodie played the lead role in “Non-Disclosure” which was an official selection in the Cannes Short Film Corner and “Miracorp” which had 5 festival wins. She recurred in the series “Disgraced” which received 22 Nominations and 10 Festival Wins. A long-time career coach for actors, Jodie was named one of the Top 20 Coaches in Los Angeles in Influence Digest for 2022. She’s also a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Acting and has a slate of two feature films she’s currently developing.
CLAYTON FARRIS - Guy
Clayton Farris is an actor, writer, social media influencer and teacher currently living in Los Angeles, California. His television work includes smash hit shows like “Grey’s Anatomy,” “American Horror Story,” and “Jane the Virgin,” among others. His comedic videos across multiple platforms have racked up over 100,000,000 views. @claytonfarris
BARBARA BROWNELL - Mari
Barbara Brownell began her performing career at five as Goldilocks. Eighteen years later she made it to Broadway in “Play it Again, Sam” with Woody Allen and Diane Keaton. She also appeared off-Broadway in “The Ballad of Johnny Pot” and at the Actor’s Studio in “King Lear.” Films include: “Going Home,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Behind the Candelabra” and “The Master.” Barbara starred in Group Repertory Theatre’s mainstage production “A Dull Pain Turned Sharp” where she was nominated in Broadway World for Performer of the Decade in 2020. Other favorite TV credits include: “Malcolm in the Middle,” “LA Law,” “Mary Tyler Moore,” “Night Court,” “Mad Men” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” She has also had recurring roles on “Webster” and “M*A*S*H.” In the end, however, the role that made her a star with her grandkids was as a featured player in the award winning music video “Old Town Road” with Lil Nas X in 2019.
- Runtime9:38
