The Team

Liner Notes grew out of an interest in people who disappear, and in those who keep listening long after the music has stopped. Set in the nocturnal spaces of New York City, the film follows a journalist circling a decades-old mystery, where memory, guilt, love and obsession begin to blur.

The short was conceived as a standalone piece and as a distillation of a much larger, nonlinear feature spanning several time periods. Distilling that story into a few minutes without flattening its ambiguity became the film’s guiding principle.

Rather than offering closure, Liner Notes embraces uncertainty. I was drawn to the idea of not explaining its mystery, but circling it — exploring what lingers when a life, a song, or a relationship ends without resolution. It’s a quiet thriller about listening closely: to voices from the past, to what is left unsaid, and to the moment when a story stops being about someone else and becomes our own.

On a personal level, it was a joy to shoot in New York City with a largely female-led team. That sense of collaboration, curiosity, and play made the process as meaningful as the film itself.

Thank you to our Angel donor/producers- Lori K Hewlett, Kimberly Smith, Karen Sieron Peters, Rosalie Bandyobadhyay, Rich Goldenhersh, Jeff Capone, Alexander Altman, Shania Abedin, and Ana Estella.

ProducED BY

Anna Emily Altman
Co-Executive Producer/Writer

Melissa Center
Executive Producer

A woman with brown hair and fair skin, wearing a white shirt and dark blazer, resting her head on her hand outdoors with trees and a cloudy sky in the background.

Rahel Grunder
Director

cast

Johnny Hopkins
James Dearborn

Production

Danielle McRea Spisso
Producer

Brooke Trantor
Producer

Kimberly Smith
Executive Producer

Stephen Vanderpool
Director of Photography

Daniel H. Simon
Editor

CREW

Nate Henry

Melanie Peicott

Hair and Makeup

Vincent Longo

Gaffer

Chris Chute

G&E Swing

Irina Lazouski

Key Grip

erika mays

2nd PA

Jet Cafuli

Sound

1rst ac

peter j Studlo

1rst PA

Music

Alchemy Of Gold

A woman with shoulder-length brown hair and a white turtleneck sweater smiling in a well-lit indoor space.

Produced and Arranged by Kieran Kelly
Lyrics by Anna Emily Altman
Music by Anna Emily Altman and Arabella Berman