Ian and Ryan Scura got their cinematic start as kids, born seven years apart but united by a shared love of filmmaking.
The brothers experimented with camera equipment in the basement of their childhood home in Concord, where their parents still live today.
They returned to that home to document their mother’s yearly endeavor of baking over 26-dozen Christmas cookies to mail to friends and family, a tradition started by her step-grandmother. Their resulting short film “Liquid, Fragile, Perishable,” released in 2024, has won a 2026 Boston/New England Emmy for short form content, a surreal recognition for the homegrown filmmakers.
“To win an award like this feels almost not real,” said Ian Scura.
The film’s subject, Maureen Redmond-Scura, views the tradition as a way to connect with family across time and distance.
“Having a recipe that’s come down from the people that love you, there’s this connection,” she reflects in the film.
Likewise, her sons viewed their creative project as a way to connect with their mom, grandmother and step-great-grandmother. As the short film developed, they also found connection with their grandfather, who passed before they were born but who’s death greatly impacted the family.
Childhood friend, cinematographer and musician Dylan Ladds joined the Scura brothers to create the film.
Ian Scura accepted the award on the group’s behalf earlier this month, surrounded by fellow creatives at the Regional Emmys ceremony in Boston.
“It felt special to be in a room of people who care about stuff like this,” he said. It was “really special to hear that [the film] resonated with people.”
The brothers don’t have any current plans for another project, but they hope they’ll be able to collaborate more in the future.
“It was fun to be able to work on something personal for the both of us and find that creative spark together,” said Ryan Scura.
Ian previously won the 2024 NH Filmmaker of the Year Award for his work on “Liquid, Fragile, Perishable” and “A Handmade Life.”