Writer-director Grace Sims’ debut short – starring Sydney Cole Alexander (Severance, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning) and featuring Bates Wilder, Jerah Milligan, Taylor Rose, and the late Dee Freeman – also screens at the LA Women in Film Festival
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Fresh off a four-award sweep at Film Invasion Los Angeles, the debut short film from writer-director, Grace Sims, The Country They Call Life, has been named an Official Selection of the Catalina Film Festival – ranked among the world’s top festivals by FilmFreeway and named one of MovieMaker Magazine’s “50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.” The Catalina bow arrives alongside an upcoming screening at the LA Women in Film Festival, with additional festival announcements expected in the months ahead.
At Film Invasion Los Angeles, The Country They Call Life took the festival’s highest honor: Best in Fest: Best Live Action Short Film – and swept three Grand Jury Awards
- Best Director – Grace Sims
- Best Produced Screenplay – Grace Sims
- Best Lead Performer – Sydney Cole Alexander
The film stars Sydney Cole Alexander (Severance, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning) as Maxine, leading an ensemble that includes Bates Wilder (American Fiction), Jerah Milligan (Astronomy Club, Black Mirror), Taylor Rose (The Good Wife), and the late Dee Freeman (Shameless).
A poetic exploration of agency and reconciliation, The Country They Call Life draws directly from writer-director Grace Sims’ own path. Childhood epilepsy often kept Sims on the sidelines, sharpening her into a quiet observer from an early age – a perspective later widened by a life lived in motion, from Hawaii to South Africa, and by chapters spent as a young missionary, a film student, and an agency creative leading visual research for major studio releases at BOND. Those experiences shape her character-driven voice as a storyteller.
“I wanted to tell a story that left room for all of the complicated, sometimes contradictory feelings that can exist inside one experience,” said Sims. “Watching audiences connect with Maxine without needing the film to tell them what to think has been incredibly rewarding. And because so many women were instrumental in bringing this story to life, it feels particularly special to continue sharing it at Catalina and the LA Women in Film Festival.”
The road to the screen was brutal. January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires halted production mid-shoot, forcing Sims to regroup her team, raise additional funds, and finish post-production – all while preparing for motherhood. She gave birth to her son on June 1, 2026, just three weeks before the world premiere.
Sims is currently in active development on the feature adaptation, which expands on the short’s themes of generational cycles, personal belief systems, and the courage to forge your own path.
Screener access, high-resolution stills, and press materials available upon request.
ABOUT WRITER-DIRECTOR GRACE SIMS
Grace Sims is a New York–raised, Los Angeles–based writer and director who crafts intimate, character-driven stories on the human experience. Diagnosed with childhood epilepsy, she developed an outsider’s perspective that deepened as she lived globally – from Hawaii to South Africa – and worked as a missionary, film student, and visual researcher at BOND.
Sims is currently developing the feature adaptation, centering on generational cycles, resilience, and identity.
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SOURCE Grace Sims
