TO SAY GOODBYE IS TO DIE A LITTLE, 15min., USA, Drama
Directed by Michele Ly
To Say Goodbye… follows a late night ride share where their journey is the same but their destinations are very different.

https://www.kristinamillerweston.com/koolbnz-productions
https://instagram.com/koolbnzprod

Director Biography - Michele Ly
Director Michele Ly has showcased her works of arts since starting at a very young age. Her artistic and architectural talents, sage perspective and astute ability to bring the heart of the story and its message to life has enabled her to travel throughout the world. Michele has led her team to over 10+ film festivals, including the FLOW Film Festival for producing the short drama Sophia (2022) and the distinguished Cannes Film Festival for directing her second dramatic short Behind Closed Doors (2016). As a second generation Chinese-American, Michele carries an A.A. in Film & TV Production and a B.A. in Global Studies with a focus in Psychology. Today, Michele continues to work on both commercial and independent projects, striving and emerging to become a feature film director. (Fun fact: Director Michele Ly learned English and discovered her passion in story-telling by watching movies in various languages with no sound.)

Get to know Actor-Singer-Dancer-Producer Kristina Miller-Weston:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
This film came about in an odd way. My husband, Stephen Weston the writer, read a Reddit thread that inspired this idea. Who would you confide in if you weren't willing to tell your friends and family that you were dying? What does that conversation look like? He stepped away for a couple hours one night and came back with this script and said "that's finally out of my head". I fell in love with it and knew it needed to be made. It was an important story to be told.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
From script to set it took about 3 or 4 months and then post took another 4 or 5? So about 9 months total.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Human Connection

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Filming in a car was far more difficult than my naivety understood. But the biggest challenge was reminding all of the collaborators that it is okay to not follow a formula. This script is inherently theatrical in that it is all in the dialogue. So getting others to trust the simplicity in the performance and that it doesn't need bells and whistles. That we don't need to "tell" the audience how to feel with the music. To let the audience walk away with more questions than answers is okay. That was the biggest obstacle.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
It warmed my heart that people fell in love with the relationship and that they got it.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
I've always wanted to tell stories. I've always created stories in many mediums and film is just the next step in that process.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
It's not the artsy answer but probably Goonies or Miss Congeniality or The mummy....

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
Being able to connect with those who see your film is the most important part of festivals. Being able to commune with other creators is how we make great things! So it would be cool to have some sort of get together or a way to connect with the reviewers via social media or email would be awesome!

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
It makes the whole process so much easier.

10. What is your favorite meal?
Thai Drunken Noodles

11. What is next for you? A new film?
I'm working on expanding KoolBnz Productions and have a couple of projects in the pipeline. But looking forward to accepting more scripts and finding the next exciting project!