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Logline

Kieran and Eliza are “bashert” (Yiddish: destiny) — modern star-crossed lovers, torn apart by their mental illnesses and coming back together, time and time again.

Tone

Bashert is a silent romantic drama placing the viewer directly into Eliza and Kieran’s rollercoaster love story from beginning to end. Without ever hearing their words, viewers witness every yearning touch, tender emotion, and electric connection that is quintessential to a first love. Eliza and Kieran’s dynamic alludes to the spontaneous energy of Frances Ha, the lesson of love lost in 500 Days of Summer, and the tragic timing of Past Lives.

Look

Before and after Eliza and Kieran, the world is in black and white. Together, they’re in color: racing toward the next inside joke; the next first time, the next diner all-nighter, the next shared Jewish ritual. Everything between them is magnetic, alive, and just for them — from 2012 to 2016 in New York City.

Synopsis

Year one:
KIERAN spots ELIZA in their dorm. They sprint into Washington Square Park, then Caffe Reggio, where they talk for hours. Before Eliza’s sorority semi-formal, Kieran twirls her in her fancy dress. She feels guilty leaving him. They study together — her admiration for him grows. They chat at a diner, inventing a language — but Kieran forgets he has other plans with MORGAN. He leaves, apologetically; Eliza’s destroyed.

Year two:
Kieran comes to Eliza’s room, claiming he can’t sleep. They fall asleep together. They sit in the park, reading and stealing glances. Eliza uses her fake ID to buy Manischewitz and she and Kieran chug it. They share their first kiss. Eliza steps on a scale, disappointed, and Kieran rushes over to comfort her. They search for condoms in a bodega. One morning, Eliza’s reflection catches her eyes, landing on areas of her body she doesn’t like. Kieran lovingly kisses the spots she hates.

Year three:
Kieran and Eliza bond over Judaism, reciting Shabbat prayers in her dorm. Eliza trains with Kieran for a run, impressing herself for trying. Kieran texts he can’t make Shabbat due to his thesis, but he’s out drinking with friends, while Eliza’s alone. Eliza discovers a text from MORGAN on Kieran’s phone revealing he went out drinking with her the night he missed Shabbat. They fight on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Year four:
They shop for Kieran’s new apartment — Eliza sees baby supplies. Kieran proves his seriousness about them when he pulls out a notebook of baby names. Kieran anxiously opens a letter — he gets into graduate school. They prep for Eliza’s upcoming job interview. On the subway, they’re linked together as one around the pole. The train stops. Eliza and Kieran exit the train in different directions. Bashert.

Director’s statement

As I walked through the first floor of my dorm Hayden Hall in August 2012, my roommate introduced me to her high school friend, who became my every day and most of my mind for the next several years.

I wondered what we were: how could platonic sleepovers, midnight Midtown walks, and romantic bedroom dances mean nothing? Well, soon I discovered, they weren’t nothing, but symptoms to my diagnosis: I was utterly obsessed and head over heels. Turns out? He was too.

Through playlists, love letters, concerts, guitar-serenading, and so much more, the story of Kieran and Eliza is based on one I fully lived. Years of memories, especially stronger and more vibrant through my synesthesia of “seeing time,” lend themselves to Kieran and Eliza’s tale.

For years, I confused our melded souls with the concept we were meant to be. But while I no longer subscribe to that, in some ways, we were. We were meant to know each other. Our destiny — bashert – was learning and loving one another, and ultimately, growing apart.

My destiny now? Bringing Bashert to life.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Elana Rubin — Writer/Director/Producer
Elana Rubin (she/her) is a screenwriter and journalist who has worked in the writers’ rooms for Darren Star’s Younger and Kevin Williamson’s Tell Me A Story.

Her magical realism Jewish mysticism pilot Sofer Sophia is on Coverfly’s The Red List, and her screenplays Lila Tov and Subscribed to Her are among the top 24% of Coverfly projects.

She has been published in Elite Daily, Teen Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Wonderland, INSIDER, Byrdie, Hearst Digital Media, Out, and more.

Bashert is Elana’s second film as a director. She debuted with the award-winning horror comedy scalped!, which screened at LA Comic Con, Popcorn Frights, Berlin Shorts, and more.

Chip Kass — Producer/Casting Director
Chip Kass (he/him) is a Chicago-born, LA-based producer, casting professional, and production specialist.

Chip’s early production credits include the Ravinia Music Festival outside of Chicago, Family Feud, The Bachelor, and Baron Davis’ Domino: Battle of the Bones.

Additionally, he worked on content for Amazon Prime Video and UPROXX media. Chip then joined Ryan Kalil at Mortal Media as a personal assistant, working with Ryan on Apple TV+’s Hello Tomorrow! and Hulu’s White Men Can’t Jump reboot. More recently, Chip has worked with Showdown Productions on three features, Break, The Cure, and In Flight, and a short, The Power Within. Chip made his producer and casting director debut with scalped!

Elena Weinberg — Producer/1st AD
Elena Weinberg (she/her) is a Producer who works both commercially and in independent film. She spent the last four years producing photo and video shoots on the in-house content team for goodr sunglasses and is now full-time freelancing.

She co-owns TurtleDove Films with her husband, with which they have made 12 short films, a web series, and a feature film. Her work has been screened at notable film festivals such as Austin Film Festival, Cinequest, and Panic Fest. She is in development for her first feature film as a writer and regularly produces for indie film companies such as Space Pug Pics & HaChaCha Productions, among other freelance work as a Producer and AD.

Bashert is Elena’s debut film in partnership with Elana and Chip.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.