About Project
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
“A Cup of Tea” was born from my reflection on the loss of my father. It is a quiet meditation on the final moments of life — on what one might feel, remember, or reconcile when standing at the edge of time. Through this work, I explore the fragile boundary between presence and departure, and the enduring question of whether a single moment can be postponed, if only for one last breath. Filmed, written, and produced as part of the NYFA directing course, A Cup of Tea marks my transition from documentary and commercial filmmaking to a more personal and artistic form of narrative storytelling.
CAST AND CREW
SCRIPTWRITER AND DIRECTOR: Elena Agarwal
LOU: Roger Garay
VISITOR: Sameer Desale
MABEL: Rossana M. Jauregui
Additional Cast:
Patricia Donati
Nicole Salgado Peña
Liliana Walsh
Maxim Agarwal
John Crawford
REVIEWS
"Congratulations on your beautiful and powerful film. It's really a great job. Keep making your films, success will come soon enough."
Spike Luu, Director, Screenwriter and Actor - Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
"What could be more timely or urgent than a knock at death's door? The setting is an elegant blend of simple (a kitchen) and complex (one's last moment, albeit unexpected). I loved the journeying through Lou's memories and got the sense early on that this is a man with no regrets. The end was thus very satisfying, implying that we can in fact cheat death if we are in a meditative state of acceptance."
Hannah Herchenbach, Sundance Collab Community Leader, Writer, Actor
"This is an intriguing idea which could have gone in so many different directions. It could have been scary or funny or sad but Lou's life was fulfilled and so the ending is bittersweet. All he wanted was a cup of tea. And the ending with rebirth suggests that life comes around again. I enjoyed the flashbacks into Lou's life with his family."
Jennie Lew Tugend, Producer