Sarah's

leaflet

Please note: as a film-project is in constant development & movement, Sarah’s has slightly been changed again after creating this leaflet. For an up-to-date summary, please go to „Synopsis“.

Synopsis

What do you do, when you’re suddenly facing death even though you feel you’re in the middle of life?

Sarah’s is a tragicomedy about a flamboyant woman who, in view of her impending death, embarks on a secretive mission to revive the lives of five people and one dog.

The largely comic story is set in the culinary and creative world of contemporary Paris. It tells us about people who have lost their belief in love or life, until the somehow magic Mimi spins them around without really being asked to.

Mimi, our main protagonist, is a charismatic 69-year old woman who is originally British but has been living in Paris for nearly all her life. Suddenly confronted with death, Mimi keeps this a secret and makes an inspiring decision: She wants to fight, not for her own life, but for the lives of others. After Mimi parted in anger with her beloved daughter Sarah some months ago, Sarah and her husband tragically died in a car crash on that same day. Mimi didn’t get over this tragic stroke of fate. Now facing her own death, she has only one aim: saving the ones around her, especially her beloved granddaughter, Clarissa, Sarah’s daughter. Mimi realizes that they’re all stuck with their lives for different reasons. Her reopening of Sarah’s in loving memory of her daughter is the first and fundamental step to succeed. This is where the terminally ill woman shows the healthy ones around her how to live!

Sarah’s is a glorious restaurant that belonged to Sarah and once reopened, it works wonders from day one. Clarissa, Luigi, Amelie, Mathieu and Felix are captivated by Mimi’s panache and culinary art. Sarah’s evolves into the main setting of the film and becomes a central place, where their personal fates get together:

Clarissa, a once passionate dancer, has given up on dancing after losing her parents in the car crash. In denial of life, the 19-year-old has put herself into a wheelchair even though she is physically healthy. Together with Luigi, Mimi slowly succeeds in sparking her curiosity for Sarah’s.

Luigi is a humorous Italian in his early 40s, who, together with Mimi forms the heart of the restaurant. The excellent cook is chef in Sarah’s and Mimi’s faithful companion who won’t stop giving advice in love-matters whenever he can. It appears like a running gag that he constantly talks about just having found the love of his life. His story seems to end tragically until he unexpectedly really finds the woman of his heart – a restaurant critic of all people whom he enchants with his culinary skills.

Clarissa is enchanted as well. With her first step inside Sarah’s, she is overwhelmed to feel that her mother’s soul still lingers inside. Her newborn will to walk again is the beginning of an exciting journey, during which she resumes ballet dancing in the effort to master her past.

The past catches up with Amelie, a petite and beautiful photographer, the moment she finds out about the reopening of Sarah’s. The 30-year-old Briton with Spanish roots is occupationally successful but personally depressed. She hasn’t really been loved so far. Her job just brought her back to Paris and thus back into Mimi’s arms. Amelie has been close friends with Sarah in the past and finding Mimi makes her find love. Together with Amelie’s gallery owner, Charlotte, Mimi shows her what really counts in life. Just at that point, the dedicated single comes across an attractive doctor, Mathieu…

Mathieu is in a tricky situation: he is constantly stalked by the wrong women and as if that wasn’t enough his friend Luigi can’t resist giving him flashy tips. Mathieu has given up on love until crashing into wonderful Amelie. By putting all his French charm to use, the 32-year-old fights to capture her heart, supported by Lucky, his dog. If only there wasn’t the secret he shares with Mimi. In the end, true love wins.

Felix, the German, will also be finding true love. The first moment he enters Sarah’s and comes across the cheerful Mimi he falls for her. Felix is a lonesome 70-year-old Jewish writer who tragically lost his wife some years ago. Sarah’s is the place where he sheds his depression and gets alive again. Thoroughly convinced that Mimi and her cookies, one of her specialities, have cast a spell on him, he not only bubbles over with conversation but also has a newborn ability to write again.

All of these people’s lives are at a standstill until the most vivid one among them, the fated to death Mimi, becomes a guardian angel who unlocks everybody but can’t be saved herself. In the end it is Sarah’s that holds them together and while about to lose Mimi they all win back their true selves.

This story brings different lives and nationalities together across the generations. It tells us about a charismatic elderly lady and adorable food, about mastering a stroke of fate, resuming a ballet career and finding true love in companionship of a lucky dog.

Welcome to a tragicomedy that tastes like a mixture of Mostly Martha, Orchestra Seats, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Crash.

Project Status

Sarah´s script is currently in its 5th draft and Eliza has created a package consisting of the script, director´s treatment, preliminary budget as well as a finance- and marketing plan that are available upon request. Eliza is currently looking for strong partners and investors to realize this project and has started to get together and international, creative team.