Lissa Carandang-Sweeney

Lissa Carandang-Sweeney

Acting

Biography

Lissa Carandang-Sweeney is a mixed Filipino American actor, producer, and costume designer based in New York City, but raised in and around Philadelphia. Her first on-camera role-as a featured bar girl in the third season of Amy Sherman-Palladino's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel-kicked off her determination to pursue acting professionally. Her first leading role in a feature film, Alice-Heart, cemented her conviction to work on projects she believes in and to support the films she contributes to, both on and off camera, when invited. With Alice-Heart also being the first feature she lead-produced, Lissa was ecstatic to receive Slamdance 2025's Honorable Mention for the Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize, as well as the festival's Outstanding Acting Award. Lissa hopes to rekindle the liberated spirit of independent, low-budget filmmaking and to encourage more Gen Z artists to tell stories that are true to them-no matter how seemingly trivial or grand. She firmly believe that film sets should be environments that foster collaboration and friendship, and she aspires to influence a future where this outlook becomes customary.

Filmography Movies

Acting

Please, Smile movie poster

Please, Smile

A young married couple (Luna and Jin) spend the first day of summer but the last day of their loving relationship together, trying to find a mug that has more value than its worth.

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Long Beach Island movie poster

Long Beach Island

A shore film about the suburbs.

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Long Beach Island

Fiber Optics movie poster

Fiber Optics

A lonely claymation artist struggles with bad connection.

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Scratch-Off movie poster

Scratch-Off

A newlywed and recent father wins $6 off a scratch-off, which kickstarts a “lucky week” of mismanagement as a wound on his leg slowly grows more infected.

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Practice Space movie poster

Practice Space

Close friends Edwin and Steven advise each other on dating and drama — based on zero experience — while seeking a space to hang after school.

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Super Hot movie poster

Super Hot

A pizza delivery girl discovers her neighbor is moving into a sorority house of vampires. It's a race against the clock to stop her crush from being sacrificed at midnight.

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We Are Living Things movie poster

We Are Living Things

Two immigrants living on the fringes of American society hit the road in search of the truth about a shared UFO abduction.

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We Are Living Things

We Are the Vessels of Each Other’s MelancholiesMOVIE

We Are the Vessels of Each Other’s Melancholies

A slice-of-life story about the unlikely connection between an online sex worker and someone seeking company.

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We Are the Vessels of Each Other’s Melancholies

Alice-Heart movie poster

Alice-Heart

Alice-Heart is an aimless college student residing in Philadelphia. She aspires to be a famous writer but drops out of school in her last semester of senior year on a whim. Immediately cut off from her disappointed Filipino mother and dumped by her studious boyfriend, she finds that she has to pay bills on her own for the first time. Distraught, she takes solace in her neighbor Tony, a self sufficient freelance photographer. Tony encourages her to pursue her passions and hold onto her friendships. With this in mind, Alice-Heart navigates the beginnings of adulthood and combats “adult baby” allegations along the way.

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Crescendo In movie poster

Crescendo In

During a writing retreat, an undermined member of an indie rock band discovers a connection to a supernatural presence.

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Production

Hazy, Hot & Stupid movie poster

Hazy, Hot & Stupid

A pair of people experience some interesting, fleeting moments in Pleasantville, New Jersey.

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Hazy, Hot & Stupid

First Time movie poster

First Time

Two high school friends, Nick and Sam, spend the afternoon in suburban Pennsylvania.

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Production Design

Long Beach Island movie poster

Long Beach Island

A shore film about the suburbs.

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Long Beach Island

Long Beach Island movie poster

Long Beach Island

A shore film about the suburbs.

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Long Beach Island

Scratch-Off movie poster

Scratch-Off

A newlywed and recent father wins $6 off a scratch-off, which kickstarts a “lucky week” of mismanagement as a wound on his leg slowly grows more infected.

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Wardrobe Coordinator

Practice Space movie poster

Practice Space

Close friends Edwin and Steven advise each other on dating and drama — based on zero experience — while seeking a space to hang after school.

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Production Assistant

Alice-Heart movie poster

Alice-Heart

Alice-Heart is an aimless college student residing in Philadelphia. She aspires to be a famous writer but drops out of school in her last semester of senior year on a whim. Immediately cut off from her disappointed Filipino mother and dumped by her studious boyfriend, she finds that she has to pay bills on her own for the first time. Distraught, she takes solace in her neighbor Tony, a self sufficient freelance photographer. Tony encourages her to pursue her passions and hold onto her friendships. With this in mind, Alice-Heart navigates the beginnings of adulthood and combats “adult baby” allegations along the way.

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Alice-Heart movie poster

Alice-Heart

Alice-Heart is an aimless college student residing in Philadelphia. She aspires to be a famous writer but drops out of school in her last semester of senior year on a whim. Immediately cut off from her disappointed Filipino mother and dumped by her studious boyfriend, she finds that she has to pay bills on her own for the first time. Distraught, she takes solace in her neighbor Tony, a self sufficient freelance photographer. Tony encourages her to pursue her passions and hold onto her friendships. With this in mind, Alice-Heart navigates the beginnings of adulthood and combats “adult baby” allegations along the way.

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Costume Designer

Alice-Heart movie poster

Alice-Heart

Alice-Heart is an aimless college student residing in Philadelphia. She aspires to be a famous writer but drops out of school in her last semester of senior year on a whim. Immediately cut off from her disappointed Filipino mother and dumped by her studious boyfriend, she finds that she has to pay bills on her own for the first time. Distraught, she takes solace in her neighbor Tony, a self sufficient freelance photographer. Tony encourages her to pursue her passions and hold onto her friendships. With this in mind, Alice-Heart navigates the beginnings of adulthood and combats “adult baby” allegations along the way.

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Story Consultant

Hazy, Hot & Stupid movie poster

Hazy, Hot & Stupid

A pair of people experience some interesting, fleeting moments in Pleasantville, New Jersey.

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Hazy, Hot & Stupid

Costume Designer

Gallery

Lissa Carandang-Sweeney portrait

Lissa Carandang-Sweeney portrait

Lissa Carandang-Sweeney portrait

Lissa Carandang-Sweeney portrait