BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Celebrated local filmmaker sisters Koula Sossiadis Kazista and Katina Sossiadis have announced their latest project, "The Next Play."
In a news release Friday, Kazista, of Nazareth, and Sossiadis, of Bethlehem, revealed that their second film script is complete and has been given the green light to proceed.
The feature film will explore the dynamics of rivalry within a high school field hockey team and delve deeply into the intricacies of friendship, sisterhood and the challenges faced by a close-knit yet competitive group of athletes, the news release said.
Significantly, it also will aim to shed light on the often-overlooked realm of mental health among young players.
They will hold a red-carpet event with vendors and a talkback session at the Civic Theatre in Allentown at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 27.
The movie's concept came about five years ago.
The sisters' first movie, "Epiphany," came out in 2019, landed distribution immediately and has been seen all over the world. It has more than 8 million views on YouTube alone.
"We wanted to do a second movie," Kazista said. "We started writing before COVID. We showed our next script idea to our L.A. producers, and they thought it was too similar to our first one.
"We had written a full script and had to can it, and move to something fresh. They were like, do something different. Try to get out of your comfort zone. What are you into right now?
"We looked at each other and said, 'We're knee-deep in field hockey right now.'"
And so it began.
'Very cutthroat, competitive'
Both are personally connected to the sport. Kazista played field hockey at Moravian Academy and coached at the youth level, and her daughter will play for Haverford College starting in the fall.
Sossiadis has two daughters who play. The two women are very familiar with games, transportation, equipment and all that goes into playing and supporting their own young athletes.
But there is more to the sport, to youth sports in general, that is the bigger reveal.
This pressure starts when these kids are like, in fifth grade. You see it happening, you see it forming.Koula Sossiadis Kazista, local filmmaker
Once they realized they wanted to do a field hockey movie, and wanted to show "this amazing sport to people, so fun and dynamic, especially on camera," they started researching the pressure involved in the sport.
"I've been in it for a long time, playing it, and now as a mother, watching it, and the game has really changed," Kazista said. "It's very cutthroat, competitive, all leading to this bigger thing, the college aspect.
"Throw that in there, all these girls playing in the off-season, talking about what school they're trying to get into, Division I verses II verses III and what that all means.
"And then the money that the colleges are giving them to play. It's just so much pressure. It doesn't start in college. This pressure starts when these kids are like, in fifth grade. You see it happening, you see it forming."
"By the time they're in high school, it's really come to a head. As we were researching, we saw all of these athletes who died by suicide," said Soussiadis, who wrote the dialogue for the film, a talent for which Kazista lauded her sister.
"She can hear the dialogue in her head, and it's just amazing," Kazista said.
'Raising awareness on the stigma'
In a dedicated effort to highlight and support the mental health of young athletes, the sisters have spent the past year partnering with organizations they hope will bring valuable resources and authenticity to the film's narrative.
The list includes:
- The Hidden Opponent, an accredited nonprofit and advocacy group that raises awareness for student-athlete mental health and addresses the stigma within sports culture
- The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)— Lehigh Valley
- Longstreth Sporting Goods, YOLO Sports and Hocsocx, field hockey retailers
- Female Athlete News, launched in 2022 to create a dialogue about female athletes starting with covering field hockey, and health and wellness
- Morgan's Message, an advocacy group that promotes mental health in student athletics
Morgan Rogers played Division I lacrosse at Duke University. She took her life in 2019 at age 22.
"She had a knee injury she couldn't recover from," said Sossiadis, who said they reached out to and have been talking with Rogers' mother and uncle, who run Morgan's Message.
"They feel like they don't want Morgan's death to be in vain. They feel that she's making a difference now. They're raising awareness on the stigma of mental health in sports, that it's very important and we need to address it."Filmmaker Katina Sossiadis
"They feel like they don't want Morgan's death to be in vain," Sossiadis said. "They feel that she's making a difference now.
"They're raising awareness on the stigma of mental health in sports, that it's very important and we need to address it."
An homage to Rogers that the filmmakers included in their project was a butterfly created from artwork by Rogers, who also was an artist.
"We felt totally drawn to her, like she was kind of talking to us," Kazista said. "Katina really felt a connection, as an artist herself."
Bringing the truth to light
Kazista stressed that because she and her sister are dramatic writers, they are honing in on the drama angle, but the movie is going to inspire.
"We're not going to make you depressed," she said. "We heighten the sport and how the sport helps with the outcome.
"You'll get the feeling, that exhilaration of accomplishing something with others, because there are just so many great aspects of playing organized sports."
"We know that we have to shoot this movie here, because field hockey is so big here. We've never seen a movie about it in the U.S."Filmmaker Koula Sossiadis Kazista
The two said they still are location scouting, but the film will shoot locally. Of the 16 field hockey players going to the Olympics, 11 are from Pennsylvania, Kazista pointed out.
"We know that we have to shoot this movie here, because field hockey is so big here." she said. "We've never seen a movie about it in the U.S."
The filmmakers are on the hunt for local talent to join the cast of "The Next Play," specifically six young women aged 18-23. For details, email thenextplaycasting@gmail.com.
