Ruth

A middle-aged woman struggles to keep her high-pressure job while caring for her elderly mother.
Starring Barbara Tirrell (Boardwalk Empire, Pretty Little Liars) and Lynn Cohen (Munich, The Hunger Games) in one of her final performances.

Starring Barbara Tirrell and Lynn Cohen

Dedicated to Lynn Cohen (1933-2020)

Written, Directed and Edited by Alex Rollins Berg

Cinematography by Taylor Antisdel
Sound Design and Mix by Ash Knowlton
Produced by Clarissa Lyra Salles and Alex Rollins Berg

Production Manager – Anthony Betancourt
Casting – Yuval Boim
Location – Shari Rosenblatt
Production Designer – Ariel Rodriguez
1st AC – Alex Hadjiloukas
Colorist – Taylor Antisdel
Sound Recordist – Ash Knowlton
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.”

ALEX ROLLINS BERG is an award-winning writer and director, specializing in visceral, character-driven stories. He is the recipient of Harvard University and the Blacklist’s Hasty Pudding Fellowship for screenwriting. As a director, he has made commercials for some of the world’s
top brands, including Nokia, Smirnoff and McDonald’s, and is a director in residence at the NYU Tisch conservatory Stonestreet. His newest short film, HOLD UP, will premiere in competition at the Oscar-qualifying Florida Film Festival in April 2022. He is based in New York City.