Run time: 13 minutes 30 seconds

Sarah took an iPhone 13 and a small crew of actors into the Appalachian hills for three days to ask questions: What would LITTLE SPARROW feel like captured in light? How would filming inform the story? Does the story fly off the page?

Ultimately, she found the short to be a raw and scrappy visual ballad barely touching the enormity of Appalachia’s wildness. However, the experience inspired her to keep going, dig deeper, and to surrender more to the mystery and beauty of this place. 

During filming, Sarah forged a deep connection with local poet Patsy Kisner’s work. With her permission, Patsy’s work has been woven into the prose of LITTLE SPARROW, both in short film and novel format. 

Sarah was impressed by the physicality and instinctual work brought by actresses Sophia Rose Harber and Daisy Holt. She is thankful for all the many voices that came together to support her in this effort. However, she is most grateful to Jane Lin for believing that LITTLE SPARROW could fly. They both hold the dream that one day it will soar onto the big screen. 

After viewing the short film, Ang Lee wrote:

“Little Sparrow, in the current form, is simply an assembly — a linear presentation of things that happened. However, when there’s a strong female character, the story always piques my interest. A woman’s perspective is like the dark side of the moon: it always exists, but rarely exposed during the prohibition era. The original voice from a mountain woman might bring magic from the dark side of the moon and I want more closeups to take me in!”

— Ang Lee, three-time Academy Award winning director

Video link to short film available upon request.