A Celebration of Collaboration: Indie Sci‑Fi Comedy ‘Word of Mouth’ Turns Micro‑Budget Innovation into a Must‑See Short

“Teamwork makes the dream work.” It’s a buzzy, rhyming phrase known and, probably, overused by everyone but also stands true as one of the truest philosophies known to humankind.

As a screenwriter, I’ve peddled my wares in many kinds of setups: As a solo writer, in a writers’ room, with a partner, etc. But my experience as a co-writer on the sci-fi short comedy Word of Mouth turned out to be a wholly unique opportunity for me and one that I learned a great deal from.

The impetus for this project happening at all came from a director’s wish to build a story around the undeniable chemistry that exists between dynamic comedy girlbosses Kim & Aliya (Kim Seltzer and Aliya Kamalova). The talented twosome are a hilarious force to behold with a miles-long track record of laughter-filled live shows and viral videos alike (seriously, if you’re unfamiliar, go and behold them now; they’re not difficult to find). Theirs is a voice so pronounced and original that when I was approached to aid them in writing a short film that they would also be the stars of, I wondered where and how exactly I would fit in. After all, they had a pre-existing partnership through which many scripts had already been written and they certainly knew their own comedic voice. Also, by the time we were set to start writing the script, its major premise (crafted by Kim) had already been decided on. So, how was I supposed to contribute meaningfully? I was at a loss for how to make a mark or stand out in this equation.

Right away, I discovered that this was exactly the wrong mindset to apply to this process and swiftly abandoned it. Building this film, its story and its characters was all about that magic word: collaboration. This wasn’t about showcasing our own individual talents but instead crafting the best possible product as a team. I didn’t need to try and mix my new perspective in with their established one because we were all constructing this work from the ground up together and making choices based on what was strongest for the piece as a whole. No joke made it in unless we all found it funny and a “best idea wins” approach was consistently applied. In fact the script was written in such a collective manner that I would bet none of the three of us could firmly tell you where most of the individual ideas came from.

Sure, each of us brought in our own areas of specialty and expertise: Aliya’s deep understanding of sociology, Kim’s extensive experience in and around the world of tech, my knack for story structure and insistence upon a subplot involving a table lamp achieving human form; but it was the merging of all of our strengths that resulted in an outcome better than any of us could’ve gotten to independently. The power of true collaboration won out. And this proved to be a trend time and time again in the ongoing making of the film.

Director and comedy veteran Danny Jelinek (Jimmy Kimmel Live, Last Week Tonight, Comedy Bang! Bang!) not only called action while on the set but gave the call to action that got the ball rolling on this short in the first place. After working with Kim & Aliya on their original sketch show pilot All This For What (available on Vimeo for your viewing pleasure), he knew he wanted to feature their combined charisma at the center of a narrative film and so asked them to bring forth any ideas that could be a fit. Once settling on Word of Mouth as the one, Danny went about developing his own vision for bringing the script to life.

“We wanted to create something that felt overtly silly and playful on the surface,” says director Jelinek, “but with something darker creeping in underneath. Like Heathers or Ghost World—bright and fun at first glance, but unsettling the longer you sit with it.”

With a steady hand and watchful eye now at the helm, it was time to assemble a crew capable of pushing things to even greater heights…and that they did!

Producer Katie Hoyt kept the production running smoothly, wrangling key locations and keeping the team grounded amid the creative chaos. Cinematographer Andy Knapp secured a top-tier Alexa camera package, Costume Designer Francesca Roth developed the characters’ wardrobes to be indicative of their separate personalties and motivations and Ester Kim’s production design helped flip a cozy cafe into a sterile WOM franchise with a hauntingly believable makeover.

But even once production was done, the innovation of the project continued to grow and evolve. Assisted by Jelinek, Editor Lucas Bohlinger molded things into what would be most accurately described as a new draft of the script. By changing the order of scenes, dropping an entire character subplot and infusing sequences with a fluid, dream-like quality, they made the final choices regarding what kind of experience Word of Mouth would be to go through, much to the viewers’ benefit. Even we writers didn’t notice some of the most major changes to the story as we sat through our first viewing because we couldn’t help but be caught up in its gleeful yet haunting trajectory. Turns out we didn’t miss anything that was gone while delighting in everything that had been added.

Our movie is a science fiction send-up of our influencer-driven world, so it deals with topics that can be shared and related to, hopefully, by everyone. This is part of what makes it the kind of story that benefits from integrating the ideas of all those who worked on it. The more people represented in its implementation, the more people it can connect with in its execution. Allowing everyone the freedom to practice their individual crafts in support of the same collective goal insured a more impressive and complete vision than any one person could’ve possibly dreamed up.

So, what is the film about?

At its heart, the short centers on Ana—a lonely gig worker who becomes hooked on WOM, a word-of-mouth marketing app that gamifies everyday conversation. With leaderboards and team-based features, WOM turns casual chit-chat into monetizable campaigns. Ana and a fellow user, Jess (played by Kim Seltzer), team up to dominate the app’s charts—until a series of increasingly dystopian updates push their friendship, and their values, to the brink.

The final blow comes when their favorite cafe, Mama’s Honey Buns, is rebranded as a WOM storefront. Ana starts to question the company’s growing power, while Jess leans in even harder.

Pulling off ambitious, high-concept storytelling on a micro-budget is no small feat—but Word of Mouth does it with ingenuity and heart. Shot over just four days in Los Angeles, our team transformed everyday locations into narrative powerhouses. One highlight: a mirror-lined salon that functions as the story’s emotional and tonal turning point.

“That location appears right at a pivotal moment,” Jelinek explains. “The characters go from playfully selling shoes to a jogger, to being asked to push a political proposition they know nothing about. The salon visualized the divide—Ana starts seeing things for what they are. It’s the beginning of her awakening.”

The film’s most fascinating detail? The app is real. Kim Seltzer, co-writer and star, spent years in Silicon Valley before pivoting to filmmaking—and she actually coded the functioning app used on screen. During production, actors weren’t tapping fake screens or adding overlays in post; they were interacting with live software in real time.

Jelinek recalls, “When they pitched Word of Mouth, I knew we had something special. But when Kim told me she was building the app? That sealed it.”

The app gives the film an authenticity few sci‑fi shorts can match. It also mirrors a growing reality—where tech companies embed themselves so deeply into our social lives that stepping away feels impossible.

After its festival premiere at HollyShorts 2024 and recognition as a semi-finalist at both the WeScreenplay Short Script Lab and Rhode Island International Film Festival and Finalist at USA Film Festival, Word of Mouth premiered online via Omeleto on July 14, 2025. Omeleto, a curated platform for the best short films on the internet, has championed festival-level storytelling for years—and Word of Mouth fits their mold perfectly. A-thank you very much indeed! :)

You can watch the full film now for free on Omeleto’s YouTube Channel and learn more here.

The answer to this could be different for everyone. But as I see it, for the purposes of Script Mag, Word of Mouth is a masterclass in:

The final result feels polished and prescient, thanks to tight performances from Kim & Aliya. The voice of WOM’s cheerful-yet-sinister AI assistant, Womter, comes courtesy of Rhys Darby, who brings his signature energy to the project.

“We treated the film like we had every possible resource,” Jelinek says, “and then scaled down while preserving what excited us about the concept. That mindset helped us keep the creative spark alive—even when the realities of low-budget filmmaking kicked in.”

Much of what I’ve said here may sound like par for the course. It’s no secret that most productions are created and developed in a collaborative atmosphere if for no other reason than because they literally couldn’t be done any other way. However, I want to encourage everyone reading this to embrace the concept of collaboration as much as you possibly can. In filmmaking and in life. Working together makes everything better. We benefit from each others’ unique perspectives and from the feeling of having our own acknowledged and even appreciated. When it comes to making art, having a vision is important but if you let others in on that vision and allow them to help you build on it, I’m willing to bet you’ll be amazed at what can be achieved. Take it from someone who was let in on such a thing and got to help build it. Now I get to be proud, not only of myself, but of everyone who helped make it so great.

Watch Word of Mouth now on Omeleto and Follow @thegreatgoetzby, @kimandaliya,  @aliyakam, @kimseltzer, on Instagram