FASTBREAK
Written by Margo Sawaya
Cast
Eliza: Jan Kamar
Marie: Eva Seja
Lily: Chisom Anwunah
Andrea: Emelia Duffield
Joel: Isaac Gallegos
Phillip: Tommy Reifel
Coach Cool: Margo Sawaya
Jack: Vincent Sawaya
Vision
Fastbreak tells the story of Eliza, a high school senior torn between her future, family, and passions. As her life ticks ever onwards, decisions must be made, decisions in which there may be no coming back from.
As casting director for Fastbreak, my primary responsibility was scouting and outreach for prospective members of the cast as well as acting as a liaison between production and current actors.
Fastbreak challenged me for two main reasons: specific casting demands and lack of knowledge regarding the material. I am neither and never have been a basketball player nor watcher, not even familiar with what a ‘fastbreak’ was at the start of the process.
Regarding the first issue, there is a major difference in the suspension of disbelief between the theatre and film. In theatre, an audience’s suspension is such that a biological family can easily be composed of individuals of completely different backgrounds and ethnicities, the suspension of disbelief in film gives no such grace.
This was in culmination with specific casting considerations – both Eliza and Joel have their ages and heights mentioned in the script, and furthermore, Eliza is stated to be the shortest on the basketball team. Lily’s height and ethnicity mattered similarly as the star player (read: tallest) and African-American.
Through significant outreach and network exploration, however, we found actors that fit the character’s descriptions to a T.
Crew*
Executive Producer: Margo Sawaya
Producer: Karl Jensen
Producer: Ander Johnson
Director: Margo Sawaya
Cinematographer: Anthony J. Mangini
Assistant Director: Simon Richards
Casting Director: Anthony Monteleone
* For a full cast and crew breakdown, please see the IMDb page linked below.
Further Reading
Notes
Filmed August 2025
Currently in Post Production
Anthony Monteleone 