Beatrice is a young, successful tap dancer. The summer before beginning rehearsals for a new show, she joins her friends on a camping trip. The promise of a relationship with the newly single Shane, a longtime friend in the group, seems evident. However, unbeknownst to Shane, Beatrice solely witnesses him commit an act of violence. Afraid of the consequences, Beatrice withholds what she’s seen from even her closest friends. Beatrice’s very sense of identity begins to unravel as she struggles to untangle her morality, sexuality, and sense of justice. When Beatrice learns Shane has a new girlfriend, she begins asking herself a question she can no longer ignore: who does she tell what she’s seen, and what are the consequences if she doesn’t?

Beatrice is the story of a woman who desperately wants to understand herself and the violent world around her. She struggles with a deep sense of shame around who she is, what she desires, and what she deserves. Beatrice is a deeply personal story to me, and it asks questions around how we negotiate violence in our daily lives, how we largely ignore gendered violence, and how we measure the value of human and nonhuman life.

When I first wrote Beatrice's story, and showed the short film to audiences, there were often many questions after it screened. Questions around what exactly happened the summer Beatrice saw Shane kill an animal, and everything that she experienced in the lead up to their final confrontation. I had visualized all of those events in my head when writing her character the first time around, but I knew I hadn't lived in her experiences long enough to truly understand her and all of her choices. I just wasn't done with her. Beatrice is a character that deserves to be lived with--she deserves a feature-length arc, and I knew it was time to flesh out her story. 

Directing films has always felt like an exercise of agency and autonomy for me. In my films, I create the world. I have complete and utter authority on how my stories are told through image and sound. To create a film, for me, is to create my own power. I have never made a feature film before, and I am thrilled to be doing it with an incredible team of people working alongside me.

Due to the themes this film embodies, it was very important to me to employ as many women as possible. All of our department heads from production to cinematography to post all identify as women. We are beyond proud to advance the creative voices of so many talented women in this field, and we hope the story of Beatrice resonates with you just as much as it does with us.

As we work through pre-production, we realize that making a feature film is a beast of its own, and we are going to need all the help we can get. We’re calling on our friends, family, and community (that means you!) to help us bring this story to life! Here’s how you can help:

Our $21,000 goal is a fraction of the money needed to complete the production. Monetary donations towards this goal will directly support:

• The People (actors, crew members, and designers)
• The Stuff (costumes, props, and some animals)
• The Places (location rentals)
• The Process (all the random stuff, but most importantly, food for everyone on set)

WE HAVE A STRETCH GOAL!!!!

Our $21,000 goal is the bare minimum needed to get us through production. We have a stretch goal of $27,000, which will help us improve production quality and support our post-production process. We need the additional funds for editing, coloring, scoring, marketing, and distributing the film!

We hope for this film to reach as many diverse audiences as possible at film festivals and eventually streaming platforms after its festival run. If you want to see this film on the big screen and get it to these audiences, this is how you can make that dream a reality.

You can also help us secure locations for the film! We’re actively searching for several locations in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs to film in June and July. We need the following locations:

• A dance studio (with big glass windows and an office!)
• A café (ideally on a pedestrian heavy street)
• A theatre stage (with a lobby)

If you or someone you know owns a space like any of these and you want it to be featured in the film, please reach out to us!



If you are interested in helping out on set, please send us an email at [email protected] with your availability and any special skills (driving, cooking, or fundraising). Making a film calls for a lot of helping hands, and we would love any help we can get!

Since wrapping on the short film, we have been working on expanding Beatrice’s world and diving deep into her mind as she is driven over the edge. This has included writing, and rewriting, and deleting, and rewriting again Beatrice’s story. It has also included doing camera tests, location scouting, casting our characters, and exploring abandoned buildings. We recently went to check out the location for the opening scene, which takes place at a campground, and this place was pretty perfect. Check out some of the BTS below from our trip!

After such a successful scout, we are so excited to finish up prepping for production! We are building our crew, casting our actors, and on the hunt for locations. We will be ready to film in June, but for this film to be all it can be, we need you! Thank you for considering supporting our film, and if we would love it if you could follow and share this campaign!

Please follow & share this campaign!