Dana Koops BFA ‘23 lost her brother in 2022—he fell ill and tragically died while visiting her in the Netherlands, where she was studying abroad at the time. Her thesis film “La Bibliothèque,” which she wrote, directed, and starred in, helped bring her grieving process beyond the limits of non-fiction.
The short film, which follows a woman receiving a supernatural FaceTime call from her recently deceased brother, had its world premiere at the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival at Comic-Con, and is currently making rounds in the film festival circuit.
Koops was inspired by the wind phone, an installation invented by Japanese garden designer Itaru Sasaki in 2010. It involved a simple phone booth, disconnected from any telephone wires or earthly ties, which facilitates an otherworldly connection with deceased loved ones, letting users say anything that may have gone unsaid. The project allowed Sasaki to grieve his cousin’s death, and he opened it to the public to help mourn tsunami victims in 2011.
“I created my film based on the idea of the person on the other end actually picking up,” Koops said in an interview with The Beacon. “I wanted it to be FaceTime, because I really like the idea of taking this thing that is very modern and combining it with something ethereal.”
Despite its fantastical premise, “La Bibliothèque” mostly concerns mundane acts of appreciation. After Chloe (played by Koops herself) inexplicably receives a call from her brother, they spend all day and night catching up—she waters her plants, washes the dishes, and tends to everyday activities with him on the line. But Chloe has been warned: once she hangs up, she might never talk to her brother again.
“When you’re writing, you’re definitely supposed to try to separate yourself from the story, but it was so close to home,” Koops said. “I pretty much kept it as close to my own life story as could be, minus the aspect of being able to actually FaceTime heaven.”
“La Bibliothèque” was written, shot, and edited over the course of a year. Despite circumstances, Koops decided to continue her education, which meant going through with shooting her thesis film. As her personal life so deeply informed her work, it was a difficult shoot, but she persisted.
“There was so much for me to focus on, on an acting level and on a directing level, that I didn’t have time to process things on an emotional level,” Koops said. “It didn’t really help me in my grieving process, but I don’t want to speak for others, because every person comes at it from a different place.”
Koops began acting at the age of 11, but she discovered a love for all sides of production when she was tasked to write a short film in one of her acting classes: this led her to pursue a BFA in Film Art at Emerson and Paris College of Art. She’s now a script supervisor, actor, and director based in Los Angeles, all in service of her love for the creative process.
The film reached viewers of all ages, especially people who have experienced similar losses. After its San Diego screening, Koops was able to have many meaningful conversations with audience members about their experiences and reactions to the film.
Making “La Bibliothèque” may not have been immediately cathartic, but Koops finds that sharing her grief with audiences has helped. By the film’s end, Chloe decides to hang up the call—though she wants to stay on forever, she decides to say goodbye and open her room’s door, letting the world in.
“She’s not going to be all fixed now and it’s not going to be easy,” Koops said. “But she’s at least taking that first step towards the road of healing, and learning how to live with her grief.”
