Excerpt of Shari Berman and Alice Ripley discussing the making of Sugar!:

Leslie (Alice Ripley), a housewife and 50-plus piano teacher, decides to follow her life-long dream of being a rock ‘n roll singer much to the chagrin of her husband (Robert Clohessy), who is running ofr political officer and her daughter (Leah Barker), who is about to embark for college.

The film features music by Joan Jett and stars Alice Ripley, Robert Clohessy, Kathryn Danielle, June Millington (of the original all-girl band Fanny), and acclaimed drummer Sheila Earley. It has won over a dozen awards including:

• Best of Fest (Narrative Feature) at High Falls Film Festival

• Best Director (Shari Berman), Best Supporting Actress (Leah Barker) and Best Actress (Alice Ripley) at Atlantic City Cinefest

• Best Female Director (Shari Berman), Best Cinematographer (Fletcher Wolfe) and Best Actress (Alice Ripley) at Glendale International Film Festival

• The Golden Pass award at LIFFE

• Best Narrative Feature at The Village of Brewster

• Best Narrative Feature at The Boardwalk International Film Festival

• Best Music and Best Actress at The Back in the Box Film Festival

Fun fact: Shari drinks her coffee black with no sugar.