Simply existing in the world can be difficult; figuring out how to be a part of the world brings with it a whole other set of challenges. Chief among those challenges are finding where you fit in and creating room for yourself. Identifying a community that’s yours and owning your presence are especially daunting tasks for women, who are often excluded and made to feel guilty for taking up space.
Our latest round of crowdfunding picks feature women filmmakers who consider what it means to find your place and make space for yourself as a woman in the world.
Stephanie Amata’s “Pretty Sapphire” reimagines the teen movie, centering on a black girl trying to make space for herself at her all-white high school. Adriana Arvizu’s short film “Ella’s Interlude” paints a portrait of an artist in Mexico City who contends with loneliness and uncertainty as she finds her place in a big city. Finally, Amanda Bullis, Alli Trussell, and Molly Rydzel’s short-form comedy series “Assisted Living” follows two quippy, overworked personal assistants as they compromise their dignity to maintain their careers.
Here are Women and Hollywood’s newest crowdfunding picks by and about women.
“Pretty Sapphire” – Written and Directed by Stephanie Amata
Growing up, writer-director Stephanie Amata loved teen movies like “Clueless” and “Mean Girls.” But she soon noticed that black women were almost entirely excluded from the genre, and she fervently wanted to see herself represented in the movies she enjoyed so much. Now, with her film “Pretty Sapphire,” she’s become the change she wants to see. “It is with deep love and admiration that I take the tropes and convention of the [teen] genre and make them mine,” Amata says in the campaign’s director’s statement.
“Pretty Sapphire” tells the story of 16-year-old Safi, who struggles to fit in at her new, all-white high school. Frustrated that no one at school seems to notice she exists, Safi decides to reinvent her style in an effort to turn some heads. With the help of her hair stylist mother, Safi attempts to find herself and her place at school. Most importantly, she defies the pressure to assimilate by embracing what Amata proudly calls “black girl hair culture.”
“Pretty Sapphire” seeks to reinvent the teen movie genre for black girls, playing with its hallmark tropes and conventions while infusing the genre with a fresh narrative perspective. “Beyond anything, telling this story has brought me great joy,” Amata says. “It has allowed me talk about issues very close to my heart, like the place of Black women in the world.”
Donate to the film’s Kickstarter campaign here.
“Ella’s Interlude” (Short) – Written and Directed by Adriana Arvizu
Mexican writer-director Adriana Arvizu knows all about the struggle to find your place. A film student at CENTRO University, Arvizu’s thesis film, “Ella’s Interlude,” tells a story about carving out space for yourself in a large city and embracing the moments of solitude along the way. “The idea [for the film],” she says in the above video, “comes a bit from those moments when one is alone and has to deal with uncertainty and loneliness, and how within those same moments there can be a lot of beauty.”
“Ella’s Interlude” tells the story of Isabella (Ella, for short), a 27-year-old woman living in Downtown Mexico City. She lives alone, spending most of her days painting, walking around the park, and observing passersby. The short film offers viewers “a fragment of her life, where beauty and tranquility play an important role in her day-to-day existence.”
Perhaps most notable about “Ella’s Interlude” is its beautiful visual aesthetic. The film is filled with delicate, portrait-like shots of Ella’s apartment, the park she frequents, and the paintings she creates. Pastel paints, pale blue skies, and white baby’s-breath decorate every frame of Ella’s life. “Ella’s Interlude” promises not only to be a fascinating meditation on the role of one’s inner life in a bustling urban landscape, but also a visually stunning work of art.
Donate to the film’s Kickstarter campaign here.
“Assisted Living” (Web Series) – Created by Amanda Bullis, Alli Trussell, and Molly Rydzel
https://vimeo.com/311779681
Amanda Bullis and Alli Trussell know a thing or two about how hellish it can be to find your place and claim space for yourself in the context of your career. Now, they want to pass down the lessons they learned and trials they endured to us. Bullis and Trussell call themselves “recovering assistants”; they worked for years as personal assistants in New York City, satisfying the wild whims of the rich and powerful. Their experiences were so formative, that it inspired them to create, alongside Molly Rydzel, the web series “Assisted Living.”
“Assisted Living,” in Bullis and Trussell’s own words, is a dark comedy short-form series that follows personal assistants Bridget Clinton and Jo Burton “as they test the boundaries of human decency to excel at their jobs” as personal assistants to Manhattan moguls. “As the season progresses,” the creators say, “you watch them unravel as they try to complete increasingly insane tasks for their insatiable bosses.”
With a caustic sense of humor and gritty aesthetic, “Assisted Living” considers the true meaning of hard work, as well as the ways in which the modern professional landscape has become increasingly untenable for young people entering the workforce. “Millennials get a bad rap, but our characters are members of a generation of workers with college degrees, crippling debt, adult obligations, meager bank accounts, trying to gain power, access, and respect — if only through their bosses’ lives.” In addition to its lofty thematic intentions, “Assisted Living” also explores the relationship between Bridget and Jo as they do their best to find their place in a cut-throat profession and a demanding city.
Donate to the series’ Seed&Spark campaign here.
To be considered for Women and Hollywood’s biweekly crowdfunding feature, please write to womenandhollywoodinterns@gmail.com. All formats (features, shorts, web series, etc.) welcome. Projects must be by and/or about women.
