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One of the many short films to world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was director Jessica Sanders’ End of the Line. Based on a story by Aimee Bender, the film is about a lonely man (Brett Gelman) who goes to the pet store and buys a tiny man (Simon Helberg) in a cage. Featuring some great VFX, the short explores the abuse of power and female-crafted storytelling. The short film is part of Refinery29's Shatterbox Anthology, a short film series spotlighting voices of emerging and established female filmmakers and it’ll be released later this year. End of the Line also stars Vivian Bang and Kate Miccuci.

Shortly after seeing the film I sat down with Simon Helberg and Jessica Sanders at the Collider Studio for an exclusive video interview. They talked about how the project came together, what excited Simon Helberg about the project, how they made the VFX look so good, memorable moments from filming, what it was like filming with a giant penis, how they had to shoot the movie twice, and more. In addition, towards the end of the interview they played get to know your Sundance attendee which includes questions like what’s the last great movie they saw, what’s the last TV show they binged, what do they collect, drink of choice, favorite websites, can they quote something from a favorite film, and more.

Check out what Simon Helberg and Jessica Sanders had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about.

kia supper suite

Finally, a huge thank you to everyone at Kia and The Future Party for helping to make these interviews happen at the Kia Supper Suite and offering up transportation in the all new Kia Stinger high performance Sportback for our guests. We’d also like to thank Altec Lansing, Kunde Wines, Blue Moon Brewing, and Topo Chico for their support

Simon Helberg and Jessica Sanders:

  • They talk about what it’s about.
  • How did they first meet and what excited Simon Helberg about the project?
  • How did they get financing?
  • When can people see the short?
  • How did they pull off the VFX?
  • How long was the shoot?
  • They talk about memorable moments from filming.
  • Filming with a giant penis.
  • How they had to shoot the movie twice.
  • How long was her first cut of the film?
  • They play get to know your Sundance attendee which includes questions like what’s the last great movie they saw, what’s the last TV show they binged, what do they collect, drink of choice, favorite websites, can they quote something from a favorite film, and more.