How to Make Amends

Synopsis

A middle-aged daughter visits her alienated father (whom she hasn't seen for 20 years) to make amends for being a wild child in her youth.

Our Review

How to Make Amends is both entertaining and educational, offering a powerful combination that can expand one’s life by broadening one’s awareness. Short films provide a unique platform to shed light on important social issues that may otherwise remain unseen. It’s exciting to discover filmmakers like John Angell Grant and become a dedicated fan of their work. Grant’s skillful use of satire, woven playfully into his storylines, has the power to connect with our emotions while keeping us thoroughly entertained.

This film conveys meaning, provokes thought, and offers insights—all within a brief runtime.

Director Biography - John Angell Grant

Writer/director John Angell Grant is the author of 12 fully-produced stage plays. He was playwright-in-residence at Berkeley’s Bare Stage, and a member of the OATCO Playwrights Unit in San Francisco. John’s play LANGUAGE AS COMMUNICATION was produced in New York by the Manhattan Class Company (MCC), as well as in Los Angeles at the Gardner Stage and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. His play “A Package for Max” was produced at the Pear Theater in Mountain View; as well as in Chicago by New Branch Theater.

John has also worked in video production, where he produced a television series on the Holocaust, as well as 100 two-minute films. He has written for American Theater magazine and many other publications, authoring 2,000 theater reviews, and 300 poems. His book on T.S. Eliot’s drawing room comedies was published by Academica Press. His collection of poems, “The Green Notebook,” was published in 2023. John has a B.A. in Comp Lit from Columbia, and an M.L.A. from Stanford. For more information, visit www.johnangellgrant.com

Director Statement

This is a story about alienated family members reconnecting with each other.

Credits

• John Angell Grant

  Director

  "Two Stoners" and "1958"

• John Angell Grant

  Writer

  "Two Stoners" and "1958" and many stage plays

• John Angell Grant

  Producer

  "Two Stoners" and "1958"

• Roscoe Burgess

  Producer

• Jacqueline Franz

  Producer

• Shauna McGuiness

  Key Cast

  "Kate"

  "1958"

• John Angell Grant

  Key Cast

  "Al"

• Martha Angell

  Camera

• Terri Falco

  Sound

• Jamie Berger

  Editing

Specifications

• Project Type:

  Short

• Runtime:

  7 minutes 39 seconds

• Completion Date:

  August 12, 2024

• Production Budget:

  200 USD

• Country of Origin:

  United States

• Country of Filming:

  United States

• Language:

  English

• Shooting Format:

  Digital

• Aspect Ratio:

  16:9

• Film Color:

  Color

• First-time Filmmaker:

  No

• Student Project:

  No