A dark romantic dramedy explores what happens when physical intimacy moves faster than emotional connection
Romance, awkward timing, and one very important goldfish come together in Don’t Take It Personal, earning filmmaker Piper De Palma a 2026 Roy W. Dean Short Film Grant.
Set against the colorful, unpredictable backdrop of a carnival, Don’t Take It Personal follows a young woman named Sarita on a first date that begins with hope, quickly becomes awkward, and ultimately reveals something much larger about modern dating. Through humor, vulnerability, and one unexpectedly important goldfish, the film explores the ways people can mistake rushed physical intimacy for genuine emotional connection.
As a winner of the 2026 Roy W. Dean Short Film Grant, Piper will receive $2,000 in cash and a $15,000 Panavision grant for camera equipment to help move Don’t Take It Personal toward completion.
“Don’t Take It Personal stood out for its originality, humor, strong visual storytelling, and its ability to explore something deeply familiar in an unexpected way,” said Carole Joyce, Director of the Roy W. Dean Grants and Vice President of From the Heart Productions. “Piper has created a story that can make audiences laugh while also encouraging them to think about intimacy, vulnerability, and what genuine connection really looks like.”
About Don’t Take It Personal
Don’t Take It Personal is a dark romantic dramedy about the often messy, hopeful, and repetitive search for connection in modern dating.
The film follows Sarita on a first date at a carnival, where what begins as a promising evening takes an increasingly awkward turn. After her date wins her a fish, the unexpected little prize becomes part of a larger visual metaphor for the relationships and disappointments Sarita has collected along the way.
Blending dark comedy with emotional honesty, the film explores dating culture, rushed intimacy, loneliness, and the desire to keep believing that the next connection might be different.
Its final reveal leaves audiences with a question that feels especially timely: Are we repeating the same patterns while expecting different results, or is that simply part of dating in 2026?
About the Filmmaker
About the Roy W. Dean Grant
From its inception in 1992, the Roy W. Dean Grant has awarded over $2,000,000 in cash and donated film services to independent films. Offered four times a year, it has been an important lifeline for independent filmmakers that help to get their projects started or finished. Without assistance from the grant, many excellent and important films may never have been made. Prior winners of the Roy W. Dean Short Film Grant include Ruth, Stairway to the Stars, Hungry Ghosts, and Love Taps.
Winners of other of the Roy W. Dean Grants include winner of the 2025 Truer than Fiction Spirit Award Winner A Photographic Memory, 2021 Emmy winners Belly of the Beast and The Love Bugs, as well as Sundance Film Festival selection Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins
About From the Heart Productions
From The Heart Productions is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to helping independent filmmakers fund, produce, and complete their films. In addition to the Roy W. Dean Grants, From the Heart offers fiscal sponsorship, personal guidance, filmmaker education, and ongoing support throughout the filmmaking process.
The organization’s THRIVE education platform gives filmmakers access to classes, workshops, filmmaker resources, pitch development, accountability sessions, and practical guidance designed to help move projects forward.
Through its fiscal sponsorship program, From the Heart has helped filmmakers raise more than $50 million in donations for their films.
President Carole Dean is the best-selling author of The Art of Film Funding: 2nd Edition, Alternative Financing Concepts and leads From the Heart’s filmmaker education programs, including Learn Producing: The Ultimate Course for Indie Film Production.
