We meet Adele as she’s juggling two children and her potentially terminal husband. She prepares for the busy day—until, she catches her husband trying to skip out on his appointment for business. 

Adele isn’t having it. Viewing their missions of equal importance— Isac trying to provide and Adele trying to keep him alive—it’s a standoff. Both knowing neither will win, Adele compromises, she’ll take care of his business and he’ll go to the doctor. Seems reasonable…  until Isac hands her a gun. Surprisingly, Adele doesn’t flinch, but complains, “Where am I supposed to put that?”. They trade places, Isac takes the baby, Adele takes the gun. 

Adele arrives at the diner, the pistol in her waistband like an ice cube down her back, she approaches two mob men, making her intention clear, they dismiss her. Awkwardly, she retreats, but stops— she’s had enough of arrogant wiseguys. She pivots on a heel, marches back, and shows them a new way of doing things... maybe she was made for this. 

The theme of Babygirl is independence. Adele is a woman caught between times. The 1980s see female empowerment, yet Italian-American values were slower to change. On top of that there are certain expectations of Adele as a mob wife. Adele’s journey is about discovering her true power through enduring marriage to a mobster and raising kids in that dangerous world.

We will use colors from the 80s combined with patterns from classic mob films. Babygirl will offer a new female perspective to a familiar story. The visual juxtaposition between violence and children will reveal a life in conflict, posing the question: can a mother really belong in this mob space? 

This short film is a collection of scenes from a feature script of the same title. The goal of this project is to serve as a springboard to tell Adele's full story. This short will be submitted to festivals to help us gain exposure and add to our bodies of work.

Babygirl is about a woman learning her true power. Although the circumstances may be unconventional, Adele has a transformation from a woman dependent on her husband, to a confident powerhouse with nothing in her way. This story is about empowering women by presenting an authentically flawed person who overcomes her fears by stepping beyond her role in society. 

We are also making every effort to empower women and diverse voices behind the camera. Our team is women-led and we are hiring from a pool of extremely talented, diverse individuals who will make this movie possible. 

We are a ragtag bunch of independent filmmakers who are used to making a dollar stretch as far as it can. Your contributions, no matter how big, are going toward making this project as good as it possibly can be!

In order to keep everyone safe, we have pushed our shoot days to April in hopes the situation in NY will improve. On set, proper PPE will be provided. Testing will be required for anyone working on set. All pre-production meetings and casting sessions are being held virtually. Our top priority is the safety and well-being of all involved.

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Thank you for reading! 

Video Shot and Edited by Adam Petsos

Music Composed by Otha Derek Hernandez Pena