Cities Like Oakland
Director: Jarod Backens
Cast:Trian Long-Smith, Ross Hutter, McKenzie Hart Nibbrig
Crew:Writer: Jarod Backens. Producers: Stephanie Franco, Alrik Bursell. Director of Photography: Desire Lacap; Production Management: L. La Mar Stewart; Hair and Makeup: Elizabeth Fox, Josie Rodriguez; Music Composer: Andrew Asemokai
Email:jarodbackens@gmail.com
Synopsis
An Oakland therapist's life unravels as she struggles to care for her clients in an increasingly fractured world.
Trailer
About the director
Jarod Backens is a writer and filmmaker from Oakland, CA. His debut film, Cities Like Oakland, explores mental health and connection in our modern world. He’s currently developing a short which he’ll shoot in Brooklyn later this year.
Filmmaker's note
Cities Like Oakland is an intimate drama that explores the limits of our empathy and resilience when the weight of the world becomes too much. It’s my first film.
Set in Oakland, it follows a successful therapist at her breaking point. She can no longer separate her clients’ suffering, her past trauma, or the city’s struggles from her own emotional well-being. Simply put: she’s not okay.
The story grew from my own struggle to make sense of the pain of the world. How do we process this information? And is it possible to find meaning without losing our souls?
During development and filming, people began reaching out because they too had been wrestling with these same questions. We all brought unique backgrounds, but there was something universal about this shared experience.
In the end, Cities Like Oakland is a human story set against the vibrant, and often misunderstood streets of Oakland. But it’s also a story about how all of us – the cast, crew, and everyone who brought it to life – found commonality in the making of this film. My hope is that it’ll offer viewers that same sense of connection – and maybe, if just for a moment, we’ll all feel a little less alone.
- Jarod