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Dirty Girl
TYPE: Narrative Short
GENRE: Horror
STATUS: Pre-Production
LOGLINE
When a sexy night out is interrupted by the worst period of her life, a woman’s walk home quickly spirals into a bloody nightmare.
SYNOPSIS
A WOMAN walks home alone after unexpectedly getting the worst period of her life. Along the way she’s offered assistance by AVERAGE WHITE MAN, a white knight who “just wants to help.” She politely rejects his overtures, but he won’t take “No.” for an answer.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
Sometimes having your period is pedestrian, other times a living hell. Drained, aching, and cramping, the vagina becomes an endless tap of blood. Then, there’s the period shits. Ever felt them? Or heard of them? It’s the phenomenon of period cramps placing immense pressure on your bowels and creating an unparalleled urgency in your colon. One night on a walk home from the train I experienced just that, leaving me feeling completely exposed. I walked down the middle of the street, consciously avoiding the dimly lit sidewalk as I had been taught by the women in my community. With my keys splayed between my knuckles, I thought about the vulnerability I had in that moment, and thought to myself, “What a shitty moment for me to be attacked right now, I’d end up shitting all over them. Disgusting!” I walked forward uncomfortably, growing more upset with myself with every step. For some reason I had created my hypothetical attacker and my first reactions were flooded with sympathy for him and shame for myself that I would somehow defile his rapist tool with my discharges. Shouldn’t I be relieved? Proud, even?! In an effort to reclaim the emotional reaction I’d like to become instinctual, and to find the humor in the absurdity of existing as a woman in a world filled with Rape culture, I wrote Dirty Girl: a story about the disgusting clash between expectation and reality.
KEY CREW
Michaela Fraboni - Executive Producer / Co-director / Writer
Michaela Fraboni is a producer/actor/writer/director who holds her BFA in Acting from Rutgers University. She was most recently producing for MasterClass (Esther Perel Teaches Relational Intelligence, Roy Choi Teaches Intuitive Cooking, and more), and has worked on the production team for dozens of commercials, shorts, and features. With creative partner Emily Faris, Michaela produced and acted in short film, KÄRA DOTTER, filmed in the countryside of Sweden. She can be seen in indie film CREEDMORIA (winner of Best Narrative Feature Film Comedy at Cinequest Film Festival).
Emily Faris - Producer / Co-director / Actor
Emily Faris is a Swedish-American actor/writer/director dividing her time between Los Angeles and Stockholm. She holds a BFA in Acting from CalArts where she initially discovered her passion for generating original work. Emily wrote the semi-autobiographical short film, KÄRA DOTTER, which she co-produced, and starred in together with Michaela. Other credits include: the VR short based on Richard McGuire’s graphic novel HERE (premiered at Venice Biennale 2020); MERINGUE (premiered at LA Shorts 2020); the VR short A SAFE GUIDE TO DYING (premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2020); and the Swedish feature film, UPPSALAKIDNAPPNINGEN.
Nic Murphy - Producer
Nic is based in Los Angeles, where he has spent the last 7 years full time freelancing between directing, producing, writing, editing, photography, and creative consulting. His most recent long-term project was CAGES, the beloved multimedia immersive musical in Downtown LA. He is currently the Head of Production / Film / TV / Immersive @ Misfit.co.
Sarah Anne Pierpont - Director of Photography
Sarah Anne Pierpont is an LA-based cinematographer originally from New Jersey. A 2020 graduate of the American Film Institute Conservatory with a background in theater and music, Sarah Anne’s collaborations have screened at festivals worldwide. Her most recent film JULIET has seen dozens of screenings including CILECT, ABQ Indie, Lonely Wolf, QueerX, Manchester, Diversity in Cannes and the CAA Moebius Film Festivals. Upcoming films screen at Palm Springs and Dances with Films in 2023. Sarah Anne’s commercial portfolio includes collaborations with Adobe, Facebook, Vanity Fair, Nike and Warner Music Group. Sarah Anne is a member of the ICFC: International Collective of Female Cinematographers and ICG: International Cinematographers Guild Local 600.
Emily Moran - Costume Designer
Emily Moran is an LA-based designer and stylist. She received her B.F.A. in Costume Design from CalArts in 2014, and through her studies, she developed a deep love of both character design and film theory. Emily's design work creates visually rich worlds, silently exploring characters’ self expression whilst completing the tableau of the scene. Her designs for film have been screened at festivals like Sundance, Slamdance, Rotterdam, and LA Film Fest. In addition to garment design (color and shape theory), Emily studied various areas of art making during her time at CalArts. From metal work to weaving textiles, her thorough technical education not only informs her design work but also inspires her near constant fabrication on and off set.
Dallas Wexler - Production Designer
Dallas (she/her) is a scenographer and interdisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles. She holds a B.F.A. in set and video design from California Institute of the Arts and M.F.A., with distinction in scenography from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London. Her work examines the physical and visceral implications of the body while embracing humor and beauty in the grotesque. Dallas has designed performances for the Victoria & Albert Museum, Royal Stratford East and Hackney Showroom in London, and Los Angeles-based theatre companies including Casa 0101, Company of Angel, and Highways Performance Space.
Jeanne-Mare Raubenheimer - SFX / Hair & Makeup
Jeanne-Mare Raubenheimer is a special effects makeup and bodypainting artist working in the film/tv, Commercial, theatre and events industries. With over 20 years of experience, her client list is studded with big hitters like Netflix, Apple tv, HBO Max, Adidas, Saatchi & Saatchi, Bokeh international film festival, Absa le Atelier, Black and White mode magazine, and Ministry of Sound. Jeanne-Mare has showcased her work globally and has collaborated with clients in USA, South Africa, UK, Europe and Northern Africa. She has worked on large scale productions and feature films including, Lion King musical in London, Maze Runner Death Cure, The Resident Evil franchise, Raised by Wolves, Bloodshot and Kissing Booth 2 and 3 to mention a few. Jeanne-Mare has competed and obtained a world rank 5th place in SFX Bodypaint and 5th place in UV bodypaint) at the World Bodypainting Competition (held annually in Austria) as well as been invited to the Korean international Bodypainting competition as a judge and showcase artist.
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