Sometimes the very thing that usually brings a person happiness and excitement can ultimately lead their life into a stressful situation. That’s certainly the case for the protagonist of Gabe in the new short film, ‘Where’s My Package?!’

In the action comedy, the character will stop at nothing to get his missing package as he battles an industry thriving on his shopping addiction. ‘Where’s My Package?!’ thrives in the cinematic comedy made popular by such filmmakers as Edgar Wright and Mike Judge.

Webby Award-winning filmmaker Jesse Cowell, who has garnered nearly a billion views for his directing and producing work, wrote and helmed the new movie. The short, which has a runtime of 10-and-a-half minutes, stars Gabe Pacheco, Ross Allen, Mike Das, Isabella Martinez, Dori Levit, Jesenia, Michelle Batista, Cary Hite, Ali Tufel, Amani Gordon, Kayli Jamison and Ashley Nadine Lopez.

‘Where’s My Package?!’ will have its world premiere tomorrow, Saturday, January 17, at 10:15am in the Shorts Block 5 section of Dances With Films: NYC 2026. The screening will be held at Regal Union Square during the festival’s fourth annual event in New York. To help promote the surreal comedy’s premiere, Cowell generously took the time recently to talk about penning and helming the project during an exclusive interview over Zoom.

Film Factual (FF): You wrote the script for the new short film, ‘Where’s My Package?!’ What was the inspiration in scribing the story? How did you approach crafting the screenplay?

Jesse Cowell (JC): Well, the inspiration’s easy, right? I, like, maybe a couple billion people on the planet, are completely addicted to ordering things and having them show up. I love getting that dopamine hit. So the inspiration was easy.

I think I was asking myself constantly, where’s my package? I need it. I’m waiting for it!

Then the next part of that became me asking, Well, how do I do this? This is always the process. You have an idea, like how somebody wants to get their package. But what lengths would they go to get it?

If they don’t send it to me directly, I have gone and stood outside whatever FedEx or shipping place where it was. They’ve walked it outside and handed it to me.

So I said, “If I didn’t and I really need it, what if somebody went into the warehouse to get it themselves?” But I also said, “Well, I can’t do this unless I have a warehouse.”

I had done a video for this shipping company called Highline Commerce. They do shipping for small brands, and they’re amazing.

The guy I worked with at the company is named Richard, which is ironically the name of the guy in the movie as well. I said, “Richard, I’m developing this idea, but I’m not going to develop any further unless you think it’s okay if I shoot in your warehouse.”

It’s an amazing location. I was like, “This place is incredible! The production value is off the charts!”

So I asked if I could shoot in this world. He said, “Yes man, sick, let’s do it!”

Then once it started, it was just like an avalanche. It just kept building momentum.

FF: Besides penning the script, you also directed the movie. How did you approach helming the short during the production?

JC: Oh, it was chaos! To pull off projects of this magnitude mostly by myself behind the camera was chaotic. I’m the director, writer and producer on the short. I also had to make sure that every prop got made. So I made every phone call and scheduling decision myself.

So I had to do everything that had to get done myself. It was hard at a level that I cannot describe to anyone. So it put me through a little bit of chaos.

But somehow, I’ve done it for so long that I’m able to get all the pieces and details right, at least in my eyes, to the point where the film is very strong. I also had to keep an eye on the performances and editing.

I then had to move into promotion mode, which entails things like this (interview). I also made up bottles of hand sanitizers with the ‘Where’s My Package?!’ logo on them, and handing them out. I’m also making posters.

This is what you do when you believe in a film – you’re willing to dig very deep and do your best. So the process is very tough, but I wouldn’t want to do anything else/ I don’t know how to be anybody else, so I’m happy I’m doing it.

FF: The film stars Gabe Pacheco, Ross Allen, Mike Das, Isabella Martinez, Dori Levit, Jesenia, Michelle Batista, Cary Hite, Ali Tufel, Amani Gordon, Kayli Jamison and Ashley Nadine Lopez. What was the casting process like for the comedy?

JC: Well, I’ve been building up this amazing troop over the last 20-30 years. So I go back to the well whenever I can, when they’re the right fit and their schedules permit.

So I have a bunch of returning actors from (my previous short, ‘B!tch I’m Early,’) which did very well last year. We Oscar qualified it, and we won six awards at different festivals. So that film’s going great, and part of that is in due to the wonderful cast.

So a bunch of those cast members returned for ‘Where’s My Package?!’ Some people see that they’re kind of the same characters, just in a different job. (Cowell laughs.) I think I brought back four of them.

Then for the new cast members, I looked for recommendations. I looked for people who are friends of friends. I found one of the people in such a cliche way. He was working in a coffee shop as a waiter. He played the doorman character.

When I get this spark from somebody and find that they’re fun to be around and cool to work with, I want to work with them. Hopefully there aren’t any egos, because they get in the way of doing what you’re doing.

So you get these people who are just wonderful and dedicated. With that, I can mold them into these parts that fit a bigger machine. The way I make films is really a very compartmentalized group of layers that build into a greater part.

That’s my process, but it’s not random. I’m just always looking around at all times for people who just are interesting and exciting to me.

FF: Once the actors were cast in ‘Where’s My Package?!,’ how did you work with them to build their characters and the overall story?

JC: Well, what I like is that the more I work with actors, the better and faster the shorthand becomes for me and the actors. So they understand me much quicker. It takes a little longer to get there with some of the other actors because the shorthand isn’t there, but they have other skills.

The main actor, Gabe Pacheco, is a stand-up comedian. So he’s a master at ranting when he gets on a subject. So, sometimes we’re on the script, and sometimes he’d start ranting about something, and I’d guide him. I’d tell him, “Talk more about this.”

I don’t want to ruin it for anybody, but there’s a part in the script where he’s talking about packages, and what people might need or want. He’s mentioning all these

different things, and one of them may or may not be creatine powder, which I laugh at every single time.

He also just kept listing medical devices. I’m like, “Bro, people order more than dialysis machines in the mail.” So it’s really about taking that wonderful gift he has and guiding him. I think he comes out great on screen.

Each person is a puzzle unto themselves. So it’s my job to quickly figure them out and get them to their most natural state. Sometimes I see something in them that maybe they don’t even see in themselves.

FF: Did you encourage the actors to improvise and add their own ideas to their characters on set?

JC: I have two ways I work. I want people to feel very free in that moment of filmmaking.

But I also understand that I’m looking for something very specific. So I can be really controlled and say, “I need it to be exactly this way because it has to fit a particular cadence.” It’s not just a line delivery, it’s also a speed because I know how it’s going to flow into the next scene. So it’s a very different style of filmmaking.

But then I want them to just be 100 percent themselves, and to ad-lib within the context of the scene. I mean, if you’re having a moment where you’re committing to a loved one, and then you’re talking about the time when you were six-years-old, it’s a little off the mark. (Cowell laughs.) So the kind of improv I’m looking for is really very guided.

But if you say a line that I didn’t expect and I like it, I’ll include it in the film. I’m a best idea wins kind of guy.

I just want to have the best product. So I want to be really open to their creativity, but make sure that it falls within the funnel of my mind and the overall piece. I also want to make sure that it stays within the boundaries of what we’re there to do.

FF: Like you mentioned earlier, you shot the movie in the warehouse. How does shooting in a real location like that help tell a film’s story?

JC: Well, I haven’t done any sort of projects that are green screen only. I have made a film with animated creatures that weren’t there on set, so we had to sort of imagine it.

I’m a bit of a performer myself, so I know that actors are really good at creating things that don’t exist. This is what their job is, right? But when you put them in an environment that adds a lot of those layers, I think it’s a lot easier.

But it’s not we didn’t stage a certain part. But this is an active warehouse, complete with a robot arm. So when you’re there, you really feel like you’re part of it.

Jesenia and Michelle Batista, who play the two call center ladies, are wonderful. But the second you put that little microphone in front of their face, they feel more like they work in customer service, and they’ve had the experience with customer service. They’re at their desk, and the packages are going by.

It’s like when you’re a kid, right? It’s much easier to play with a bunch of props in your hand than to just imagine that something’s there. So that just makes my job easier.

Maing films is awesome! We’re all just kids doing a thing, right? It’s a hard thing, but we’re all just kids playing.

FF: Besides scribing and directing the film, you also served as a producer. How did you approach your producing and helming duties throughout the production?

JC: It’s hard! I wish I didn’t have to do it, to be honest. I don’t like scheduling, and I hate spreadsheets. It’s not my thing, as I’m an abstract thinker.

So if I could strip that away and have people who just work on the financing, that would be amazing. I wish it could be a lucrative thing, so they could take off of work and just focus on the producing.

But it is what it is, and I create despite it. I produce because I have to, but hopefully that changes at some point. But if it doesn’t, I feel so compelled to make these movies that I do what I have do.

It’s like raising a kid a bit because there’s plenty of joy when they’re amazing. But there’s a lot of work. and things that are really tough, when they’re not. But you have to do what you have do to make that kid. These films are my children. Hopefully they grow to be successful and funny. (Cowell laughs.)

But for me, even better is the initial phase, where I’m coming up with the ideas.

FF: ‘Where’s My Package?!’ will have its World Premiere at Dances With Films: NYC 2026. What does it mean to you that the short is playing at the festival?

JC: Well, look at me, I’m wearing the shirt, so I must like the festival! (Cowell holds up his shirt, which features the Dances With Films: NYC logo, and laughs.) I love them. I can’t wait!

I won the Audience Award last year (for ‘B!tch I’m Early’) and overall, they’ve been amazing to me. They helped Oscar qualify (that short). They seem to be a big believer in what I’m doing since they’re having me back.

I think that they’re just a great team of people, and I can’t wait. It’s down at the Regal Cinemas in Union Square on January 17.

Their passion and care for the projection are wonderful, and working with them has been such a welcoming experience. Everything is so professional, and it’s up to the level of what I put into my films. So I’m thrilled to be screening there again.

I know that a lot of the other films will be really great, and a lot of the other filmmakers will be wonderful. I’ll meet new people, and hopefully they like what I do. We won last year mostly because I was able to get other filmmakers into the room and watch my film with my hand sanitizers, which I’ll also give out this year. Then they voted for it, as they thought it was strong. So I was very honored to get that award from my fellow filmmakers. That was one of the most special things I’ve gone through. It was beautiful.