during her time on "general hospital", allen filmed a short film called "walls of jericho" for the 168 film festival. here she was reunited with on-screen mom karen geraghty who had also played allen's mother in her 2003 jif commercial. karen stated after filming "walls of jericho" that "i have worked with many kids before through commercials, short films, etc. but none compare to tessa. i love working with her and would do so again in a heartbeat". for her role as emily in this short film, allen was nominated for best supporting actress.