#OregonMade “Sophie Jones” Release – On VOD & In Theaters This week!

On Monday, March 8th at 7PT The Hollywood Theater will show the film virtually and host a QA with the director, producers, and cast, moderated by director Megan Griffiths!

In this debut feature by filmmaker Jessie Barr, from executive producer Nicole Holofcener, 16-year-old Sophie Jones grapples with the recent death of her mother. Physical intimacy with another person becomes the only way for Sophie to feel anything. Eroticism becomes the antidote to her mother’s death. She tries to keep her relationships strictly for her own empowerment and as a means of distraction. But what happens when Sophie finds that she does want more than physical intimacy but she’s terrified of being vulnerable and receiving love or pleasure? What if none of Sophie’s relationships with the boys in her life is the answer but they are all part of her journey back to healing herself? These are just some of the questions that the film SOPHIE JONES explores with humor, heart, and authenticity. Ultimately Sophie learns that sexual intimacy is a temporary salve but love is lasting medicine and her mother’s death is the material of her life. This coming-of-age film is inspired by true experiences of grief, girlhood, and growing up. Written by cousins with the same name – director/co-writer Jessie Barr and her cousin co-writer/star Jessica Barr both lost a parent to cancer when they were 16-years-old and collaborated on the script together. The story is inspired by Jessica Barr’s experience of grieving the loss of her mother. Director/co-writer Jessie Barr immersed herself in the lives of local Portland teenagers and worked closely with them while drawing upon her own experience of loss, resulting in the film’s authenticity, which combines poetic realism with an honest portrayal of grief and girlhood. SOPHIE JONES precisely captures the experience of a young woman discovering her sexual agency and sense of self within the context of grief. The film features a score by Nate Heller (Composer for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Can You Ever Forgive Me and Diary of a Teenage Girl) and was filmed on location in Portland, Oregon.

Directed by / Jessie Barr