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Three Technophiles Create A 'Beautifully Moving' Feature

Anna Margaret Hollyman in "Small, Beautifully Moving Parts."

“We wanted her to go on a journey in which she discovered…that there are some things you might not be able to fix,” says Annie Howell, speaking about Sarah Sparks, the technology-obsessed character Howell co-created with Lisa Robinson. Together, the two women wrote and directed a series of webisodes for Sundance Channel featuring Sarah Sparks. Their feature film, “Small, Beautifully Moving Parts,” finds Sarah (played by Austin resident Anna Margaret Hollyman) in a stable relationship but emotionally ambivalent about being pregnant.

“We wanted the humor of her being more excited about the ultrasound machinery than the actual thing being ultrasounded,” says Robinson.

In the film, Sarah goes looking for her mother with whom she hasn’t spoken in many years. She’s dropped off the grid, retreating to a remote Arizona enclave.

Have either of the directors, or the film’s star, Anna Margaret Hollyman, ever decided to go techno cold turkey?

“Why would you do that?” laughs Robinson. “They say babies have lovies; we have our iPhones now!”

In this interview, Lisa Robinson, Annie Howell, and Anna Margaret Hollyman speak about “Small, Beautifully Moving Parts,” and their own relationship to technology.

 

Credit Nathan Cone / TPR
/
TPR
Lisa Robinson, Anna Margaret Hollyman, and Annie Howell.