Heritage Fantasy
ABOUT THE FILM
An American aspiring actress with roots in Croatia travels to the homeland, hoping to make a film about her European relatives that will capture her "brand" and increase her marketability. Finding herself tangled in a loop of conflicting memories about her problematic Balkan grandfather, Katie finds her own patterns of escapism, longing, and success anxiety reflected in her family history.
the team
Katie Kopajtic (writer, director, producer)
Katie Kopajtic has been shaping stories for over a decade as a writer, filmmaker, actor, and director.
Her writing credits span genres, from solo shows to speculative fiction. Recent credits in fiction include: “Happy Atonement!” (No Sleep Podcast), “Walmart: Population 4” (Variant Literature), and “Terranueva” (The Future Fire). In nonfiction: “In The Substance, the Real Horror is the Pursuit of Youth” (Electric Literature), “Can Mitski and her Stans Save American Theatre?” (Electric Literature); “Heritage Fantasy” (cream city review); “Longing for the Magic of My Childhood Home” (Catapult); “I’m Proud of my Queer Fandom” (Electric Literature), and “Best Club, Worst People” (the Under Review).
Recent theater credits include directing the solo show “Strangers I Know” for 2025 Edinburgh Fringe, an international tour of her solo show “Modern Witches,” about witchcraft and Virginia Woolf, which culminated in an off-Broadway run at The Players Theatre in NYC, and starring in the award-winning absurdist comedy Quacks and Whacks: A (C)ancer Comedy, at the 2025 New York Fringe Festival.
Katie is a graduate of the 2021 Tin House Summer Workshop, and holds a B.F.A. in Acting from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (2011).
Katherin Machalek (editor, producer)
Katherin Machalek (Editor) is a documentary filmmaker originally from New York City, now based in Copenhagen. She is known for directing WELCOME (Chicago South Asian Film Festival, 2021), I WAS HERE FIRST (DOC NYC, UnionDocs 2015), and CLIM8 (Altitudes Festival, 2014). As a crew member, she has also contributed to THE RUSSIAN WOODPECKER (Sundance, 2015), THE ACTOR (NY Short Film Festival, 2018), and SISTERS OF THE WICKED WIG (LA Shorts Film Festival, 2016). Inspired by Chantal Akerman, Katherin’s films examine the domestic realm, intergenerational feminist dialogue, and psychic inheritance.