Jessica Barr and Sarah Whelden on making a film with no way out in ‘The Plan’

‘The Plan’ premiered at this year’s Slamdance last Sunday. One location, one day, one unbroken take: a group of disillusioned young adults inside a modest Los Angeles apartment, preparing for a radical act they believe will change the world.

This is our conversation with writer-director Jessica Barr and cinematographer Sarah Whelden. We open with the nature of their collaboration and how the project came to life, before getting into what it actually means to conceive a film like this from the ground up.

From there we dig into the one-take approach from every angle it touches: what it demands in the writing process, how it shapes the shot design, and what it asks of a cast that has nowhere to hide. We close by looking at where both filmmakers are headed next.