Anna Hopkins’ Dish Pit: intimacy after the shift

Anna Hopkins — actor, writer, director and restaurant owner — has made a short that looks for drama in the unlikeliest place: the quiet after closing. Dish Pit is a TIFF‑premiering two‑hander about two men who meet in the restaurant once the service has ended; one still chases cinema, the other cooks to stay grounded.

Hopkins leaned into the constraints of a single location. She rehearsed in the actual restaurant, built blocking from the actors’ instincts and kept the crew small to move during real service. Cinematographer Mat Barkley shot on a RED Komodo X with Zeiss Super Speed lenses to keep the camera close and the space warm.

Authenticity mattered. Hopkins worked with the restaurant’s real chef, Jon Pde, who choreographed kitchen movements, doubled as a hand double for actor Matthew Gouveia and was filmed cooking in rehearsals. Austin Hutchings — a former bartender at the restaurant — plays the other lead. Hopkins says those rehearsals were crucial: they “put the movements into the actors’ bodies so that on the day it felt genuine and seamless.”

“It’s such a privilege as a writer to be able to immerse yourself in another world and get to observe. It was from all those observations that this story emerged.” — Anna Hopkins

Hopkins chose stillness on purpose. She told Directors Notes she never worried audiences would expect more chaos: “No, I never worried, because while it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I know what films I love to watch, and what I’m drawn to, and I know there’s an audience for that as well.”

Dish Pit premiered at TIFF. Hopkins has also finished a new short, Full Circle, and is writing features while continuing to act and run the restaurant. Read her full interview on Directors Notes to see more about the film’s making and collaborators.