Tribeca 2026: Fault | Interview with Misha Calvert
“Two people facing off as adversaries… and then eventually they team up and they can hit doubles.” Filmmaker Misha Calvert generously opened up about her short film, Fault, premiering at Tribeca 2026.
Writer-director Misha Calvert’s new short film Fault, premiering at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival, arrives with the kind of tense emotional charge that lingers well beyond its runtime. In conversation with us, Calvert unpacked the real-life origins, creative instincts, and layered decisions behind the film — a story that, on the surface, follows a world-renowned tennis champion, but quickly reveals something far more volatile underneath.
Fault centers on Steph, a controlled and highly successful tennis star preparing for the U.S. Open, whose carefully constructed life begins to fracture when her estranged sister Gigi suddenly reappears. Their reunion spirals, forcing Steph into an impossible position: maintain the image and career she’s spent her life building, or confront the abuse she’s experienced at the hands of her coach and risk everything by speaking out.
But as Calvert explained, the seed of the film didn’t begin in fiction. It came from actor Coco Jourdana, who also plays Gigi and serves as an executive producer on the project. Jourdana brought Calvert a deeply personal situation involving family, childhood experiences, and a lack of support when she attempted to speak about it.
“She was like, I’m dealing with this situation… it involves stuff that happened to me as a kid,” Calvert recalled. “And when she went to her sister to talk about it, her sister not only didn’t believe her… but was not supportive.” That conversation became the emotional backbone of Fault.
From there, the tennis world entered the picture — as a symbolic and structural choice that Calvert says emerged instinctively. Tennis, she explained, offered a natural metaphor for opposition, control, and shifting alliances. “Two people facing off as adversaries… and then eventually they team up and they can hit doubles.” But it also allowed for a deeper thematic contrast: the polished, affluent surface of elite sport masking something much darker underneath. “It’s easy for people to dismiss because of the way it looks on the surface… but the point is, everything’s not good.”
That idea extended into the film’s striking location choice as well. Set in a sprawling Connecticut mansion, the house becomes a psychological extension of power and control. Calvert described a deliberate search for a space that felt like “old money” opulence, not something the protagonist chose for herself, but something imposed.
Casting Steph proved to be one of the most delicate parts of the process. While early conversations circled around recognizable talent — including a dream casting of Mackenzie Davis — the role ultimately went to Sarah Rich, who Calvert discovered through audition tapes. “From the moment I saw her tape, I was like, there’s something here,” she said. “She has this quiet rage that I think is very useful.”
Now, with Fault premiering at Tribeca — one of the most influential platforms in independent film — Calvert is stepping into a milestone she’s been working toward for years. “I’ve been waiting since I first started making work… and I’m just candidly, it’s even better than I thought it would be.”
For the full conversation with Misha Calvert, including more on the making of Fault, casting decisions, and the development of the feature version, watch the full interview below!
Our team is on site for the 25th Tribeca Film Festival, from June 3 to 14, 2026.
