LOSE YOUR SHIT. FIND YOUR PEACE: Filmmaker Mary Lou Sandler’s WELL(NESS)

Pulling back the ring light on the culture of curated calm with humor and authenticity.

In her award-winning short film WELL(NESS), filmmaker Mary Lou Sandler confronts a realization born from years of relentless self-improvement: her search for healing had quietly turned into believing she was perpetually in need of fixing. Caught in an exhausting cycle of processing, examining, and trying to reach the next “better” version of herself, Sandler burned out and began asking a fundamental question: What happens when our very human desire to heal becomes an industry built around continually offering us the next thing we might need?

Watch the official trailer

A Story Uniquely Anchored in its Environment

Out of that catharsis comes WELL(NESS), a 40-minute female-led dramedy co-written by its ensemble cast. Set against the backdrop of a wellness retreat gone hilariously wrong, the film confronts what happens when four distinct women try to maintain their “curated calm” in a world where inner peace has been packaged, priced, and commodified.

Filmed on location in Los Angeles, the capital of a $6.8 trillion global wellness economy where, for better or worse, boutique studios, sound baths, and self-help apps at least contribute taxes to the civic infrastructure, whereas tax-exempt institutions peddle much of the same spiritual fulfillment, accumulating massive wealth without contributing to the overall health of their congregants through taxes. WELL(NESS) explores what happens when authentic human connection meets modern commercialization.

Four Women in Search of Authentic Peace

Described in tone as “Barbie meets a budget-friendly 9 Perfect Strangers with the raw intimacy of Fleabag,” WELL(NESS) pulls back the “ring light”, the ubiquitous lighting tool of social media influencers and online creators to strip away flattering filters, performative positivity, and hashtags, revealing the raw human truth underneath.

As Sandler observes, the comedy of WELL(NESS) doesn’t mock the desire to heal—it celebrates the absurdity of trying. We can do immense inner work, experience breakthroughs, and still completely lose our shit.

Brought together in the retreat circle, the film follows four archetypes navigating the fine line between true empowerment and social performance:

• Kat the Koach (Kerri Van Auken): A self-proclaimed wellness leader guiding her retreat with significantly more enthusiasm than credentials, caught between a genuine desire to help and the pressure to perform.
• Mi55_F1re the Gamer (Rheagan Wallace): A tech-savvy, reluctant participant who is allergic to nature and addicted to screen connection, bringing much-needed realism and rebellion to the circle.
• CoCo the Chameleon (Liza Dealey-Thomason): An ever-evolving seeker who has tried every self-help trend on the market, shapeshifting to fit in while masking deep exhaustion beneath affirmations, glitter, and glow.
• Vera the Void (Mary Lou Sandler): A quiet observer and chronic people-pleaser whose silence eventually erupts into truth as she confronts the commodification of connection and her own deep need to belong.

Critical Acclaim & Festival Circuit Triumph

The film’s exploration of modern healing has resonated deeply across the festival circuit, earning widespread acclaim and multiple honors:

• 5 Awards at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema: Producer’s Choice, Best Editing, Vanguard Best Actress (Kerri Van Auken), Vanguard Best Actress (Rheagan Wallace), and the Indie Spirit Award.
• Best Satire at the Creative Chakra Film Festival.
• 1st Place Audience Award at the California Women’s Film Festival.
• Best Ensemble & Best Comedy Nominations at the SIMI Film Fest.
• Official Honorable Mention at the Laugh After Dark ComedyFest.

Catch WELL(NESS) on the Big Screen This October

For audiences looking to experience the unraveling in person, WELL(NESS) is embarking on a busy October festival run across Southern California and beyond:

The tour kicks off locally on Sunday, October 4 at Sherman Oaks’ Regal Cinemas for the Tarzana International Film Festival (2:00 PM) TICKETS HERE, before taking a Midwest detour to Chicago’s Mental Filmness Film Festival on Saturday, October 10 (9:00 PM at Collaboraction—with free admission) EVENT PAGE.

The production returns to the Westside on Friday, October 16 for a feature screening and live filmmaker Q&A at Santa Monica’s 17th Annual Awareness Film Festival (7:00 PM at the Illusion Lounge), followed by an Orange County stop at the Old Towne Film Festival on Saturday, October 24 (8:00 PM at Orange Grove Masonic Lodge).

For viewers unable to attend in person, the film streams digitally nationwide from October 26–28 as an Official Honorable Mention at the Laugh After Dark ComedyFest on LADTV.

Film & Production Credits

WELL(NESS) is a 3 Cubed Studio Production in association with FemaleFilmmakers.org.

• Starring: Rheagan Wallace, Kerri Van Auken, Liza Dealey-Thomason, and Mary Lou Sandler
• Director: Mary Lou Sandler
• Writers: Mary Lou Sandler, Kerri Van Auken, Rheagan Wallace, and Liza Dealey-Thomason
• Producer: Justin Sandler
• Executive Producers: Mary Lou Sandler, Jake Ehrenreich, Randolph Dreyer, and Kayvan Ardalan
• Director of Photography: Nat Armenta
• Editor: Justin Sandler
• Sound: Hilary Stewart
• Colorist: Gene Blalock, ICG Seraph Films

INSTAGRAM: @wellnessshortfilm & Website: WellnessShortFilm.com