We have cast the two main actors in the new short film we are shooting this semester. Circe Sturm will play Ilyana and Cynthia Fray will play Erica.  “Ilyanica” is the third in as series of short films about the same two characters. In the first film “Ex Patria”, the two characters were 21. In the second film, “The There”, they were 30. In the third film, they are in their 40s.

Ilyana has become involved with a group of people occupying the abandoned jail of a closed military installation in Eastern Europe. The base has been scheduled for demolition, but many years ago the CIA used it as a so-called black site to interrogate people they brought there for waterboarding and other torture techniques as part of the Extraordinary Rendition and Detention Program. Erica believes Ilyana has gotten herself in a difficult situation as a result of her impetuous nature, radical politics and free spirit, so she comes to visit her at the abandoned facility to see what exactly is going on.

“Ilyanica” is a short film about two American women, now in their 40s, who have been friends since college. They met each other in Berlin, Germany during their year abroad in college 20 years ago. Instead of returning to the U.S. after their junior year abroad, they remained overseas. They have both spent most of their adult lives living outside the U.S. as expatriates. They have gone through many things together over the years. Erica is now a successful European-based American filmmaker, while Ilyana has always struggled to find her place in the world.

Circe Sturm

Cynthia Fray