Anna Koukouli & Jonathan T. Akkawi on New Short Film, 'Angel.'
Director & producer gives an exclusive glimpse behind crafting their latest short, 'Angel.'
ANGEL, a new short film from writer-director Anna Koukouli Born, blends humor and raw emotion in a story about a Californian family navigating loss, alcoholism, and the lingering effects of military service. Shot entirely in Los Angeles and inspired by Koukouli Born’s own experiences, the film explores universal themes of grief, love, and reconciliation, revealing the absurdity and tenderness that often coexist in family life.
Today, I’m sitting down with the director and producer of Angel, Anna Koukouli Born and Jonathan T. Akkawi, for a deeper dive into the film’s creative seeds.
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The Produced: Anna and Jonathan, welcome to The Produced. And thank you for your film Angel–it resonated deeply with me, especially as someone with a family member who’s a veteran. Your short touched on themes that felt personally familiar.
Anna, since this story is so close to you, beginning in that deep interior space, gushing it into the script, and now seeing it come to life on screen, has your relationship to the story shifted as you’ve moved through different stages of your life?
Anna Koukouli Born: My father died in 2013, so this story isn’t something that feels raw right now, as I’ve had time to process it and have sought professional help through therapy for most of my adulthood since his passing. Angel was first written during therapy, initially as a short story. Then, in 2016, I decided to pursue screenwriting and directing, and I adapted it into the first draft. The whole process was cathartic.
I grew up in a household full of love and emotion, but also a lot of miscommunication–very Greek and Mediterranean in that way. We don’t hold back. Because of this, we take in everything: the good, the bad, even alcoholism, and viewing it through that lens offered me a different perspective. It’s a very complex situation to be in, far from the black-and-white picture it might seem. I had to work through and process those emotions and attitudes in therapy first, to be able to process them all. Only then did I feel ready to return to the script, years later, after taking classes on storytelling and learning to shape the dramatics and expression. That’s when Angel became something more than just my personal experience; it became a piece of work I needed to polish and craft.
Has your family watched Angel, and what was their reaction to it?
My brother was very supportive, but my mom was not at first. She was concerned about how I would depict her, my father, and other family members. But as I mentioned before, this story is no longer just mine; it was a piece of work I needed to shape and mold. I reminded her that these characters weren't us. They may have started with our image, but they have since expanded and stretched into the realm of fiction.
My mom helped me reconnect with the story, one question at a time: that was the hard part. But things shifted after we launched our crowdfunding campaign. I had to share a condensed version of the story with the world, and that helped me start seeing it as a project. We began talking about how we were presenting the siblings, and it stopped feeling like it was about me. That shift in perspective really helped put us into one conversation.
You mentioned actively distancing yourself from the sibling characters, Elvira and Jake. Through this detachment, do you feel you’ve grown more empathetic toward them or come to see them in a clearer, less convoluted way?
That’s a good question–my answer would be yes and no. The core of who these characters are is based on me and my brother. The words they say might not be exactly ours, but their essence: the love and frustration toward their father’s drinking, the complicated relationship with their mother where they can’t be in the same room for more than five minutes–that’s 100% us.
As a director, when I synthesized all these ideas, I shared parts of my life with my actors, who are also dear friends. We had many discussions about which elements we borrowed from my personal story and where the characters should take on their own shape.
As the producer of Angel, Jonathan, can you share a bit about when you joined Anna on this project, and what the process was like?
Jonathan T. Akkawi: It’s a funny story! Anna and I had known each other for 2–3 years on social media, supporting and hyping each other’s work online. Then we connected more directly when she was in development and pre-production for Angel. She pitched the project and kept me updated, but I was busy with another production at the time. As my schedule eased and Anna ramped up her pre-production, she sent me the crowdfunding link asking for support.
After revisiting her pitch and personal story, I told her I wanted to come on board as a producer because I deeply related to the themes of family dysfunction and grief, universal experiences that resonated with me.
Without giving too much away, I want to talk about the ending when Elvira and Jake sit on the bench after their dad’s funeral, sharing a cigarette. It felt like a big, long exhale. Anna, what was your directorial vision for that subtle, mostly silent scene? Was this always your intention, or did it evolve as the story developed?
The ending was always written that way. It’s meant to button up the opening when Elvira says, “He has to finish his beer; he will never rest.” That line reflects how she feels: she won’t find peace, as a daughter, until she reconciles with him.
Throughout their life, my character Elvira and I always fought with our father about his drinking. The decision to say “we have to give him his beer” felt like a joke at first, but it’s true. What does it matter anymore? He always needed and wanted his beer. I never wanted to give it to him, and I’ll never forgive myself for all the bitter times that disagreement caused, no matter how conflicting it may feel.
That moment at the end became the film’s thesis: a search for forgiveness, mostly from yourself, because there’s no right or wrong answer.
Jonathan, when you read the script, were there particular moments that made you think, “Wow, I really want to be part of this project”?
I think what stood out to me was the ridiculousness of the concept, and please forgive me if it’s not the right word! I know it’s based on a true story, but I loved how far they would go to honor him, even as that’s their way of grieving.
For me, I’ve been processing my grandmother’s death. She was very close to me and actually inspired me to pursue film. It’s been almost five years, but I haven’t been able to fully process her passing because I haven’t been able to return to the Middle East where she’s buried.
Reading this story made me think about how I would honour her. My grandmother was a fun, somewhat ridiculous woman, and in a way, I saw myself in Jake and Elvira doing something like this. Maybe that’s a shallow answer, but it made me want to be part of this project to honor my own grandparents who have passed.
How would you honour your grandma?
She loved films. I’d go to her grave, take out my phone and watch Angel with her.
I know she’d love it. Angel feels like the opposite of the idea that grief follows seven neat steps. In reality, it’s unpredictable: sometimes you skip steps or don’t go through any of them at all. What do you hope people take away from the film?
Anna: When it comes to grief, I think you have to do what feels right for you. Losing someone close, especially when the relationship is complicated, can bring up a mix of emotions: good memories, bad ones, resentment, guilt. For me, grieving meant finding a bridge to who my father was. Alcohol was part of his story, and while I never accepted it while he was alive, that weekend of his funeral, I did because it didn’t matter anymore. He wouldn’t get drunk again.
I hope people who see this film become more in touch with their emotions, especially around grief. Funerals often become a checklist, but in reality, they’re not for the dead: they’re for the living. It’s about processing loss in a way that’s meaningful to you, not necessarily what's considered “appropriate.” For years, I didn’t visit my father’s grave. My mother was upset, but I told her: “We just grieve differently.” And there hasn’t been a single day since that I haven’t thought of him.
Jonathan: I think Anna puts it perfectly. Watching a film like this, I hope people feel encouraged to be themselves without fear of judgment. In many cultures, a death like the father in Angel would be shamed or hidden. But this was his story. It doesn’t need to be rewritten to fit a more “respectable” narrative. His life, and the way it ended, is part of his story. Let’s embrace that.
The Produced Media is fully reader-funded and devoted to independent journalism and cultural criticism. Please consider supporting our work and team to for more conversation like this. I’m truly grateful for your support - Thanh.
Stay connected with Anna (@akoukouli) & Jonathan (@thejakkawiarab and @bougiearabsentertainment) | Follow Angel (@angel.theshortfilm)
For any collaboration, press or sponsorship inquiries, please email Thanh Lieu at info@the-produced.com.