Ruth

2020, 9 minutes

Starring Lynn Cohen & Barbara Tirrell

Written and directed by Alex Rollins Berg

Produced by Clarissa Lyra-Salles and Alex Rollins Berg

Cinematographer Taylor Antisdel

Sound Design and Mix Ash Knowlton Production Manager Anthony Betancourt Casting Yuval Boim Location Shari Rosenblatt Production Designer Ariel Rodriguez 1st AC Alex Hadjiloukas Editor Alex Rollins Berg Colorist Taylor Antisdel Hair /Makeup Kristen Ruggiero Production Assistants Enzo Martinez, Mike Petrie

RUTH stars Barbara Tirrell (Boardwalk Empire, Vinyl) and Lynn Cohen (Munich, The Hunger Games) in one of her final performances. The film was an unexpected reunion for Lynn and Barbara, who played mother and daughter 35 years ago in Chekhov’s The Seagull. “Sometimes this profession serves up great gifts out of the blue. The chance to reunite with Lynn was one of those gifts,” said Barbara. “She was a funny, kind and generous human being. With her passing, we lost one of the greats.”

”What an honor it is to tell this small, personal story with two enormous talents like Lynn and Barbara,” said writer-director Alex Rollins Berg, whose grandfather, a man with dementia and a pretty serious sweet tooth, inspired the film. “Every few minutes, he would ask for an Oreo. It was funny and sad and frustrating and endearing. All at once.”

Made for only $4,000 and shot in one day, Ruth was almost derailed by the Global Pride Parade. “An estimated 5 million people were partying directly below our location,” explained Alex. “As luck would have it, all roads were closed, so there were no passing sirens. It was way quieter than a normal day in Midtown Manhattan. We had to add street noise in post.”