The Loneliest People on Earth (2023)
Growing up, every Thanksgiving my mom’s family came to town. Our family tradition was making movies. My aunt Anna, a writer, would put together a script, and my uncle Sean, an actor (and now rather well known audio book producer) would put together the cast (ie whoever happened to be there for dinner that year). The Stolen Leftovers, in which the family wakes to find that an evil witch and doctor stole all the Thanksgiving leftovers, was our most infamous project. By the time I was 13 I was ready to take on my own script. I was a demanding director, especially to myself, who I cast as the star. I thought editing was the best part - I’d steal Anna’s Mac and play with iMovie for hours.
I kept making little movies throughout middle school and early high school, mostly with my best friend Pauline who said yes to any idea I had. A lot changed in high school: Pauline moved to Arizona, teenage insecurity set in, and for the first time in my life I cared very much about embarrassing myself.
This is how The Loneliest People on Earth was born. It was so special to work on this with my closest friends, especially Jess Makler, sound wizard, who now lives across the country and who I miss every day (if you happen to be in a musical rut, check out her monthly newsletter UNSLUMP!). The movie is about perspective and loneliness and feeling untethered. Give it a watch, I hope you like it!
When Miriam finds her cousin Jamie frozen with a mysterious disease, she must embark on a journey to discover what caused it.
Written, directed and edited by Izy Carney
Sound designed by Jess Makler
Cinematography by Joe Falcone
Actors featured: Reilly Holder
Jess Makler
Manasa Karthikeyan
Archie Gallivan
Emma Bentley
Izy Carney
Susannah Broun
and Avery Lewis