Cora, Eat Your Spaghetti

Black Film Space is proud to serve as the fiscal sponsor for the Short Film Cora, Eat Your Spaghetti. 

Cora, Eat Your Spaghetti has been chosen after careful evaluation from our board, and we believe it supports our mission to provide career advancing opportunities for Black filmmakers.

All donations are tax deductible and go 100% towards the making of this film. 7% of every contribution going directly to Black Film Space.

ABOUT THE PROJECT


PROJECT TYPE: Short Film
GENRE: Drama, Coming of Age
PROJECT STATUS: Pre-Production
WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Shannon M. Sutherland
PRODUCER: Michael Bloom
PRODUCER: Naa Adei Mante
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Bevis
PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Theo Webb

LOGLINE:  

Struggling with an eating disorder and a mother mentally trapped in the past, a Black teen is confronted by her younger self on her 18th birthday.

SYNOPSIS:

Told through a coming-of-age psychological drama lens, CORA, EAT YOUR SPAGHETTI follows a Black high school track runner struggling with an eating disorder and her mother, Julie, as they quietly drift apart. On her 18th birthday, Cora finds Julie watching an old home video of a younger, more carefree version of her. Later that night, an argument over birthday cake brings deeper tensions to the surface, and Cora’s private rituals start to unravel.

As Julie begins to notice something’s off, the two are pushed into an honest conversation—one that forces them to face what’s been left unsaid. The film ends with a quiet attempt at reconnection, offering a small but real step toward healing.

Meet the Team

  • Shannon M. Sutherland

    WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER

    Shannon M. Sutherland (she/her) is a writer and director based in New York City and a graduate of the MFA program at Florida State University’s College of Motion Picture Arts. Her work often centers Black female protagonists in horror and fantasy spaces, exploring themes of Black girlhood through a metaphysical lens. Her latest short film, They Flew Like Blackbirds, was one of five winners of the 4th Annual Focus Features & JetBlue Student Short Film Showcase. 

  • Michael Bloom

    PRODUCER

    Michael Bloom is a producer and writer based in Brooklyn, NY. He is currently producing the feature documentary Living History with Pacho Velez and Fred Hechinger, and co-produces a modern silent short film initiative supported by Isabella Rossellini. His first feature screenplay received the Akiva Goldsman Prize in Screenwriting and was a semi-finalist at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. Michael is also an alumnus of the Johnny Mercer Writers Grove. 

  • Naa Adei Mante

    PRODUCER

    Naa Adei (nah • a-day) is a producer, writer, and director based in New York City. She gravitates toward stories that explore the internal, unspoken, and sometimes uncomfortable emotions that Black people—especially Black women—navigate in a post-colonial world. Naa is currently pursuing her MFA in Producing at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. During her time at Tisch, she has been awarded the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Scholarship (2023), the HEAR US Mentorship Research Grant (2024), and the prestigious Spike Lee Production Fund (2025). 

  • Robert Bevis

    CINEMATOGRAPHER

    Robert Bevis grew up in rural South Georgia, surrounded by decaying tobacco barns, freshwater bass ponds, and his mother’s watercolor paintings. He began making films on mini DV before attending film school and eventually moving to New York. His photographic approach is expressionistic, emotional, and deeply rooted in atmosphere. Rob’s narrative work has screened at festivals including Sundance, Palm Springs, Outfest, and others across the country. 

  • Theo Webb

    PRODUCTION DESIGNER

    Theo Webb is a production designer and filmmaker based in New York. His work focuses on crafting hyper-detailed, dynamic environments where the set itself becomes an extension of character and story. He draws inspiration from inventive, handmade worlds—particularly the whimsical contraptions and visual humor found in Wallace & Gromit, Mr. Bean, and the films of Jacques Tati.