About this submission

The most formative changes often unfold in the subtlest moments.

For 8-year-old Seneca, this moment arrives just before her stepmother gives birth—when she accidentally discovers a life altering secret.

This is a story about the pause before everything shifts—the stillness before change. It is the messy complexities of family, and the ways children make sense of the people they love most.

This is the bittersweetness of coming of age—
not in the aftermath, but in the fragile moment just before.


Creator
Heritage is a Nigerian-American filmmaker dedicated to telling bold, emotionally resonant stories. At the current age of 23 she is the youngest member of the MFA Peter Stark Producing Program, she has worked across various facets of the industry, from directing short films, to studying under the Academy, and being an assistant to exectuives. Her short film Seneca, Speak, funded by Sony, Women In Film and The Broken English Foundation, marked her first professional directorial effort, premiering in 2025. With over 700 submissions, she was one of the 8 semifinalists for a COCA COLA commercial spot. Heritage is deeply invested in character-driven narratives; she tells drama and coming-of-age stories (across all ages), focusing on her overwhelming interest in the human mind and behavior, and an equally intense drive to create stories that explain these mysteries to the curious. more...

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