{"id":1302,"date":"2026-07-23T08:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T08:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/?p=1302"},"modified":"2026-07-23T08:25:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T08:25:12","slug":"zoes-wish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cdfilmfestival.com\/?p=1302","title":{"rendered":"Zoe’s Wish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After being dragged along on a getaway with her mother’s rowdy friends, a young girl makes a birthday wish for the parents to disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Director Biography – Abby Royce<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Abby grew up in San Francisco and is now an emerging director and writer living in Los Angeles. She’s worked on short films, documentaries, and music videos. When she’s not making or watching movies, she can be found exploring LA’s amazing restaurants and hiking trails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director Statement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

ZOE’S WISH began as a desire to tell a story about children who are technically being cared for, but emotionally left to their own devices. The film follows Zoe, a girl on a spring break trip with her mother’s friends. When adult attention drifts elsewhere, imagination becomes a tool for making sense of inconsistency, and I wanted to address how elder siblings often step into roles they never agreed to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zoe’s belief in magic is not meant to be taken literally. It reflects a child’s attempt to impose meaning on a situation that feels confusing and emotionally unstable. Her birthday wish is less about wanting the adults to disappear and more about wanting control, clarity, and safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story is told entirely from the children’s perspective, and that choice extends to how the adults are portrayed. We never see the adults’ faces. They exist as voices, silhouettes, and distant laughter. This was an intentional decision to mirror how children often experience adults not as fully fledged people, but as forces that move in and out of focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At its core, ZOE’S WISH is a story about sibling devotion and the responsibilities that quietly fall to children. It is about the magic kids create, not to escape reality, but to make it bearable, and about the small, practical ways love shows up when no one else is paying attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After being dragged along on a getaway with her mother’s rowdy friends, a young girl makes a birthday wish for the parents to disappear. Director Biography – Abby Royce Abby grew up in San Francisco and is now an emerging director and writer living in Los Angeles. She’s worked on short films, documentaries, and music videos. … <\/p>\n

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