LOGLINE

A yoga influencer obsessed with hustle culture receives a fortune cookie predicting her immediate death, forcing her to reckon with her perfectly curated image and discover what it truly means to be present.

SYNOPSIS

And That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles is a surreal dramedy about Grace, a high-strung yoga influencer in her 30s, whose seemingly perfect life unravels after receiving a fortune cookie predicting her imminent death. Grace, obsessed with curating the ideal online persona, juggles her virtual classes, marriage, and a relentless hustle, all while avoiding the hard truths about herself. When her AI companion Aura begins to countdown her remaining minutes, Grace is thrust into a frantic race against time, confronting her fractured identity, a crumbling marriage, and the emptiness of her digital existence. As her reality warps and her reflection blurs, Grace must confront the consequences of living in a world that values perfection over presence. And That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles blends humor, chaos, and striking visuals to explore the absurdity of chasing success at the expense of self-awareness, ultimately revealing that true freedom lies not in escaping death, but in surrendering to the present moment.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

As an Asian woman raised to find my worth in perfection, I understand all too well the pressure of trying to maintain control over every aspect of my life, especially as a yoga instructor. I’ve spent years perfecting my own practice and the image I present to the world, just as many of us do in this hustle-driven culture.

But over time, I began to realize how this constant striving for perfection and achievement—both personally and professionally—keeps us from truly living. As much as I have taught others about mindfulness, I too, found myself caught in the very hustle culture I once hoped to escape. The pursuit of "success" and the constant need to curate my image became an overwhelming part of my identity. And That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles is my way of confronting this tension and examining the cost of living in a world that emphasizes constant performance over authentic presence.

Through this film, I hope to challenge not only my own experiences but also the larger wellness industry that often commodifies spiritual practices while masking deep emotional avoidance. I believe it is vital to explore how we can navigate these systems, find true liberation, and step out of the cycle of perfection. The story of Grace, our protagonist, is ultimately one of surrender: the realization that in learning to "die" to our egos, we find the path to truly living.

This short film delves into the collision of modern wellness culture, the pressure to be perpetually productive, and the emptiness behind curated identities. The film explores how wellness culture can sometimes mask deep avoidance, showing the destructive consequences of chasing an illusion of control. As Grace’s journey morphs into a cosmic rebirth, the narrative transforms into a visual exploration of non-dual awareness, revealing that learning how to die is, in fact, the key to learning how to live—where being present becomes the ultimate death of the ego.

Through humor, chaos, and surreal imagery, this film invites the audience to question the price of self-optimization and the liberation found in letting go.

ABOUT MEL MAH

Mel is a Chinese Canadian writer, director and producer from Toronto whose work has played at Cannes, NewFilmmakers LA, the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, and the Cleveland International Film Festival, among others. She was a 2024 WIF Directing Fellow, the associate producer on Sony’s feature film BIG GEORGE FOREMAN and she’s currently developing her first feature film, a dramedy starring Ken Jeong. In addition to her cinematic work, Mel’s an internationally renowned yoga and meditation teacher and she was featured on THE TODAY SHOW in 2022. She’s the director of YOU GOT THIS GIRL, an organization that empowers women through mindfulness, and she’s also an instructor on the Calm app where her videos have garnered over 1 million views.

MEET THE TEAM

Starring Dia Frampton as Grace

Dia Frampton is an actress, writer and musician based in Los Angeles. She spent her late teens touring across America, Europe and Asia with her band "Meg & Dia" on Warner Bros. Records. After her time on NBC's The Voice, in which she was runner up and Blake Shelton's finalist, she played extensively in South East Asia where her single went double platinum. She writes music for film and TV. (Insurgent, Pretty Little Liars, Good Trouble, The Bold Type). She recently made her directorial debut as a grantee of the CAPE & Julia S Gouw Short Film challenge. You can see her on Tubi's original film, "Spread" alongside Liz Gillies, Harvey Keitel, and Diedrich Bader. Dia is repped at Authentic Literary Management and Luber Roklin Entertainment.

Frances Rubio (Producer)

Frances “Frankie” Rubio is a first generation Filipino-American who has produced several short films, including Move In written and directed by Mel Mah and Maybe It’s Just the Rain, directed by Reina Bonta. In addition, she made her directorial debut with her short documentary called Recording for Dodie, which premiered on WORLD Channel/PBS in June 2022 and was part of a programming block called Asian American Stories of Resilience and Beyond, which was nominated for a Daytime Emmy. Frankie was a Women In Film (WIF) 2024 Creative Producing Fellow and a Gold House Futures and she also holds a MS from Columbia University. In 2022, she and her creative partner, Mel Mah founded Decorum, a production company dedicated to championing diverse perspectives through impactful storytelling.

Reina Bonta (Producer)

Reina Bonta is a queer Filipina American award-winning filmmaker and professional football player from the Bay area. Her short documentary, “Maybe It’s Just the Rain” (LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, Cannes Marché Du Film), examines her experience representing the diasporic Philippines team at the their FIFA World Cup debut. Her directorial debut, “LAHI”, toured Academy Award-Qualifying film festivals, won the Audience Award at San Diego Filipino Film Festival, and secured national streaming distribution in 2024. She is currently a 2025 AAPI Futures Impact Producer Fellow, as well. Reina was an Archival Producer for “Judy Blume Forever” (World Premiere: Sundance 2023). In addition to her work as a filmmaker, Reina has had her photography featured in Forbes Magazine, worked as a Brand Strategist for Nike, and her writing has been published by ESPN. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Film and Media Studies with distinction from Yale University.