Cessation
Atlanta, Georgia | Film Short
Horror
After an illegal abortion, Alice must exterminate the sinister presence growing inside of her before it takes control over her own body and life. With CESSATION, we hope to share a powerful story challenging the patriarchal system deciding what women can or can't do with their own bodies.
Cessation
Atlanta, Georgia | Film Short
Horror
1 Campaigns | Georgia, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $22,465 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
211 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
After an illegal abortion, Alice must exterminate the sinister presence growing inside of her before it takes control over her own body and life. With CESSATION, we hope to share a powerful story challenging the patriarchal system deciding what women can or can't do with their own bodies.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
THE STORY
.jpeg)
Cessation is a short horror film that follows Alice Tilden, a pest control worker making ends meet in a totalitarian America. After confirming that a missed period is indeed a pregnancy, Alice seeks help from Jimmy McMann - her married boyfriend, the suspicious non-dependable nephew of a prominent political figure. He is unwilling to help her and threatens to ruin her life if she tries to involve him. Abortion is illegal, democracy is shattered, and privacy is in the past. Racing against the clock to get an abortion, Alice acquires contraband pills that at first appear to work. Over the course of the following day, something begins to grow inside her at an alarming rate. Entombed in her apartment, Alice discovers the medication has been tampered with and she must now face the sinister presence that is growing inside her womb before it takes control over her own body and life.
WHY NOW
Abortion is health care. Abortion is freedom. Abortion is bodily autonomy. A country without this human right is not a free country. - H.R. Bellicosa, author of The Punishings, a novel about a world without abortion
When we are left alone to face particularly deep trauma, it can often transform into an even deeper wound.
Taking away the rights of a woman’s body and making a procedure as common as abortion illegal, can end up causing more pain and suffering.
Photo by Kaiyu Wu on Unsplash
In a post-Roe America, we are all now left to face the consequences of a growing attack on bodily autonomy in the United States
The horror genre is often one of the best tools in film to combat and explore issues of race, sex, gender, and politics. Horror can be ambivalent and its messages can be difficult to unpack with any sense of authority. In this film, the horror genre is a vehicle for the fear felt by women when their bodies are no longer their own. What can be more terrifying than growing a monster inside of you?
Cessation takes place in Atlanta in the winter. The stark, bare setting will emphasize the isolation and will highlight the dangerous growth inside her body. It will also explore what Atlanta (and surrounding areas) would look like if it was stripped of its culture and identity. How could this vibrant, diverse city change when the ability to express itself is gone?
DIRECTORS' STATEMENT
It was impossible to say no; how could we ignore the opportunity to tell such a powerful story when so many of us, so many women in the US, are so close to facing the very essence of Alice's journey?
When Eichenberger approached us with the premise for Cessation we were immediately drawn to it. Undoubtedly, the recent overturn of Roe v. Wade in the United States played an important factor in our decision to get on board. Eichenberger’s personal approach made the piece particularly relevant at a time when women were stripped of essential human rights. Utilizing the horror genre and its ability to showcase raw violations of the female body, we have embarked on an onerous task. One that seeks to tell a relatable story of a character trapped in a liminal space, while determined to empower women by avoiding exploitative attempts historically seen in cinema. By fictionalizing an experience shared by so many women, we hope to honor a shared truth and invite women to challenge the patriarchy; a social system that yet again is deciding what women can or can’t do with their own bodies.
COMPARABLE FILMS [STORY]
COMPARABLE FILMS [STYLE]
MOOD & TONE
The world of Cessation, just like Alice’s body, is one in transition that at first seems recognizable and somewhat familiar, but as the narrative unfolds, one that becomes stranger, threatening, and alien. We translate cinematically that liminal essence to the screen. On the one hand, the film’s opening refrains from manipulation and overwrought formalistic approaches, instead, it presents a natural yet pessimistic view of the world where Alice lives. As the story progresses, so does the film’s style; the visuals express pictorially the duress and distress that Alice is experiencing in her fight to take control over her own body.
COLOR PALETTE
Cessation will open with a cold blue color palette that will progressively transition to a feverish red. This unwanted warmth, initially produced by the omnipresent blood and pain of this totalitarian world, will by the end of the film define the courageous strength of Alice in her fight for freedom.
LIGHTING
Lighting will convey the contrast between the light and the darkness that intoxicates the totalitarian world where Alice is trapped; in a way the premonitory sign of this woman’s imminent future.
Alice is resilient and the once dreadful and terrifying shadows will progressively become her hiding place, her accomplice in a journey for survival and independence.
TIMELINE & LOGISTICS
- Pre-production: January - February 2023
- Production: March 4-8, 2023 in and around Atlanta, GA
- Post-Production: March - July 2023
We aim to have a first draft of the cut by May and a final edit by July 2023 followed by a festival run.
COVID STATEMENT
Due to the everchanging COVID Pandemic, we will be monitoring the situation closely and will follow the latest SAG guidelines as we get closer to the shoot date.
BUDGET
Cessation Production Goal - $22,000
We have been granted fiscal sponsorship from Stowe Story Labs (https://www.stowestorylabs.org/) which allows supporters/donors to receive tax deductions towards their contributions.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
FOLLOW
Follow our campaign and stay up-to-date on the latest Cessation news! It's 100% free.
What does the Cessation team get out of it? Seed&Spark rewards us for building our audience. The more followers we get, the more we unlock products, services, and festival fee waivers courtesy of Seed&Spark!
CONTRIBUTE AND PLEDGE
You can make a contribution to our film by making a pledge. Seed&Spark requires at least 80% of our goal in 30 days to receive ANY funds. You can choose an incentive or make a pledge to a specific wishlist item. You can choose any pledge and incentive amount that fits your budget. No pledge is too small. Every dollar makes a difference in making our film possible!
SPREAD THE WORD
The only way we will reach our crowdfunding goal is if we reach beyond our networks. If you’d like to be a part of supporting female filmmakers and supporting abortion access, YOU can make the difference in our success!
Please share our campaign via your social media, email, word-of-mouth, however you want! We can't do this without you!
Here are some examples. Feel free to copy and paste!
Help directors @alsosisters and actor/writer @katerina_eichenberger by supporting their horror film CESSATION about a young woman who gets an illegal abortion in a totalitarian America, left alone to face a sinister presence rapidly growing inside of her. Join them on @seedandspark: [link to Seed&Spark page].
Make a pledge to support CESSATION, by directors @alsosisters and actor/writer @katerina_eichenberger! Filming this winter. Support them on @seedandspark: [link to Seed&Spark page].
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Grip and Electrical Crew
Costs $3,500
Your pledge will go to the grip and electrical department who will bring this project to life.
Apartment and Park
Costs $2,000
We need a brick loft with natural light to help create the totalitarian world we are building.
Camera Crew
Costs $4,500
Your pledge will go to the camera department who will bring this project to life.
Production Design
Costs $3,500
Pulling in big favors, but we still need set design, wardrobe, HMU, SPFX to build our world.
Other Expenses
Costs $3,500
Submission to general production insurance, fundraising incidentals, etc
Catering
Costs $1,500
Your pledge will go towards feeding our cast and crew on the shoot days.
Share this update!
About This Team
Katerina Eichenberger (Writer, Actor/Alice)
Katerina is an actress, natural wine enthusiast, and the Operations Director for Stowe Story Labs. Most recently she wrapped filming House of Lies in December 2021 & The Beauty of Love in May 2021 as the principal actress, was featured in Your Worst Nightmare on ID TV in 2020, and has completed two short films in 2021 and a variety of commercials for companies such as the CDC and Michelob ULTRA. You can see more of her work here. Her most recent theatre credits include The Exterminating Angel adapted by Sawyer Estes (2021) Ubu adapted by Sawyer Estes (2020) and Spirits to Enforce by Mickle Maher (2019) all with Vernal & Sere Theatre Company in Atlanta. She is a gourmand with a budget and enjoys watching David Lynch’s Morning Weather Report. Katerina is based in Atlanta and is signed with the Stewart Talent Agency (NYC & ATL) and David Laffey at Wonder Street Management. She received her BFA in drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Learn more about her at katerinaeichenberger.com.
The Also Sisters (Director/Director of Photography)
Galician Filmmakers Sonia and Miriam Albert-Sobrino (together known as the Also Sisters) have since 2011 navigated the fluid world of Film and Media Arts from the United States. The Sisters have directed a number of projects ranging from feature films, shorts, documentaries and experimental work of different genres and styles. Oftentimes their work takes the form of a horror film that relies on surrealism, magical realism and unconventional modes of narrative to tell compelling stories about the transformative nature of liminal space, thresholds, and rites of passage. Major Festivals such as the Sitges Film Festival, Edinburgh Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Cinespaña, Chicago Underground Film Festival, among many others have shown and celebrated their work and accomplishments.
The work of these twin sisters, whose peculiar collaboration has often been characterized as the result of two heads thinking as one, does not stop on a movie set or in an art studio; committed to teaching the upcoming generations of filmmakers, the Also Sisters work as professors at the University of Utah’s Film and Media Arts Department.
WHY ALSO SISTERS? ALSO SISTERS is Sonia and Miriam’s professional adopted name. A portmanteau of their last name: ALbert-SObrino and the answer to the all too frequent questions: “So, you make films together? And you are ALSO Sisters?“
See their work here: https://alsosisters.com/
Cool Mischief (Producers)
James and Ana Mackenzie co-founded Cool Mischief, an independent film production company, in 2013, which has produced international and award-winning films. In 2017, friends and fellow mischief makers Malerie Grady and Onye Eme-Akwari joined the team. They strive to make quality films that inspire positive cultural discourse through three-dimensional stories and characters.
James' MFA thesis short, Audrey Makes a Mixtape, was an official selection of multiple film festivals and was recognized on the US BAFTA Student Awards shortlist. As a member of the Film Independent / Loyola Marymount University post-graduate Incubator Lab, Ana and James completed production on their award-winning feature, American Zealot, which premiered at the 2016 St. Louis International Film Festival. Tough Love, a passion project for its star and producer, Malerie Grady, premiered last year at Outfest Los Angeles 2019 and was selected for the 2020 Tribeca N.O.W. Creators Market. Three Men Named Mantas, the team’s first international co-production, premiered at Atlanta Film Festival 2020, and their latest project, Renée and the Seven Cards, premieres on OML on Revry in March 2021.
HyeYun Lee (Executive Producer)
HyeYun has over 10 years of experience providing consulting services for Fortune 500, multinational, Foreign Direct Invested, and public and private companies across various industries in the US, South Korea, and Vietnam. She is a Charted Financial Analyst (CFA) and has extensive experience working in South Korea and has lived and worked in Vietnam for 2.5 years. She is based in Atlanta and is signed with East Coast Talent Agency.
Ethell Yarbrough (UPM)
Ethell Yarbrough is a stay at home mom and does production coordinating for indie productions on her down time. She is particularly invested in stories about minorities and inclusivity because it helps shine a light on stories that she wished were more prevalent in her childhood. She graduated from the University of North Georgia with a BS in Film and Digital Media. Working in several film festivals around Georgia and watching other filmmaker’s works keeps her invested in helping out in the film world however she can.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
THE STORY
Cessation is a short horror film that follows Alice Tilden, a pest control worker making ends meet in a totalitarian America. After confirming that a missed period is indeed a pregnancy, Alice seeks help from Jimmy McMann - her married boyfriend, the suspicious non-dependable nephew of a prominent political figure. He is unwilling to help her and threatens to ruin her life if she tries to involve him. Abortion is illegal, democracy is shattered, and privacy is in the past. Racing against the clock to get an abortion, Alice acquires contraband pills that at first appear to work. Over the course of the following day, something begins to grow inside her at an alarming rate. Entombed in her apartment, Alice discovers the medication has been tampered with and she must now face the sinister presence that is growing inside her womb before it takes control over her own body and life.
WHY NOW
Abortion is health care. Abortion is freedom. Abortion is bodily autonomy. A country without this human right is not a free country. - H.R. Bellicosa, author of The Punishings, a novel about a world without abortion
When we are left alone to face particularly deep trauma, it can often transform into an even deeper wound.
Taking away the rights of a woman’s body and making a procedure as common as abortion illegal, can end up causing more pain and suffering.
Photo by Kaiyu Wu on Unsplash
In a post-Roe America, we are all now left to face the consequences of a growing attack on bodily autonomy in the United States
The horror genre is often one of the best tools in film to combat and explore issues of race, sex, gender, and politics. Horror can be ambivalent and its messages can be difficult to unpack with any sense of authority. In this film, the horror genre is a vehicle for the fear felt by women when their bodies are no longer their own. What can be more terrifying than growing a monster inside of you?
Cessation takes place in Atlanta in the winter. The stark, bare setting will emphasize the isolation and will highlight the dangerous growth inside her body. It will also explore what Atlanta (and surrounding areas) would look like if it was stripped of its culture and identity. How could this vibrant, diverse city change when the ability to express itself is gone?
DIRECTORS' STATEMENT
It was impossible to say no; how could we ignore the opportunity to tell such a powerful story when so many of us, so many women in the US, are so close to facing the very essence of Alice's journey?
When Eichenberger approached us with the premise for Cessation we were immediately drawn to it. Undoubtedly, the recent overturn of Roe v. Wade in the United States played an important factor in our decision to get on board. Eichenberger’s personal approach made the piece particularly relevant at a time when women were stripped of essential human rights. Utilizing the horror genre and its ability to showcase raw violations of the female body, we have embarked on an onerous task. One that seeks to tell a relatable story of a character trapped in a liminal space, while determined to empower women by avoiding exploitative attempts historically seen in cinema. By fictionalizing an experience shared by so many women, we hope to honor a shared truth and invite women to challenge the patriarchy; a social system that yet again is deciding what women can or can’t do with their own bodies.
COMPARABLE FILMS [STORY]
COMPARABLE FILMS [STYLE]
MOOD & TONE
The world of Cessation, just like Alice’s body, is one in transition that at first seems recognizable and somewhat familiar, but as the narrative unfolds, one that becomes stranger, threatening, and alien. We translate cinematically that liminal essence to the screen. On the one hand, the film’s opening refrains from manipulation and overwrought formalistic approaches, instead, it presents a natural yet pessimistic view of the world where Alice lives. As the story progresses, so does the film’s style; the visuals express pictorially the duress and distress that Alice is experiencing in her fight to take control over her own body.
COLOR PALETTE
Cessation will open with a cold blue color palette that will progressively transition to a feverish red. This unwanted warmth, initially produced by the omnipresent blood and pain of this totalitarian world, will by the end of the film define the courageous strength of Alice in her fight for freedom.
LIGHTING
Lighting will convey the contrast between the light and the darkness that intoxicates the totalitarian world where Alice is trapped; in a way the premonitory sign of this woman’s imminent future.
Alice is resilient and the once dreadful and terrifying shadows will progressively become her hiding place, her accomplice in a journey for survival and independence.
TIMELINE & LOGISTICS
- Pre-production: January - February 2023
- Production: March 4-8, 2023 in and around Atlanta, GA
- Post-Production: March - July 2023
We aim to have a first draft of the cut by May and a final edit by July 2023 followed by a festival run.
COVID STATEMENT
Due to the everchanging COVID Pandemic, we will be monitoring the situation closely and will follow the latest SAG guidelines as we get closer to the shoot date.
BUDGET
Cessation Production Goal - $22,000
We have been granted fiscal sponsorship from Stowe Story Labs (https://www.stowestorylabs.org/) which allows supporters/donors to receive tax deductions towards their contributions.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
FOLLOW
Follow our campaign and stay up-to-date on the latest Cessation news! It's 100% free.
What does the Cessation team get out of it? Seed&Spark rewards us for building our audience. The more followers we get, the more we unlock products, services, and festival fee waivers courtesy of Seed&Spark!
CONTRIBUTE AND PLEDGE
You can make a contribution to our film by making a pledge. Seed&Spark requires at least 80% of our goal in 30 days to receive ANY funds. You can choose an incentive or make a pledge to a specific wishlist item. You can choose any pledge and incentive amount that fits your budget. No pledge is too small. Every dollar makes a difference in making our film possible!
SPREAD THE WORD
The only way we will reach our crowdfunding goal is if we reach beyond our networks. If you’d like to be a part of supporting female filmmakers and supporting abortion access, YOU can make the difference in our success!
Please share our campaign via your social media, email, word-of-mouth, however you want! We can't do this without you!
Here are some examples. Feel free to copy and paste!
Help directors @alsosisters and actor/writer @katerina_eichenberger by supporting their horror film CESSATION about a young woman who gets an illegal abortion in a totalitarian America, left alone to face a sinister presence rapidly growing inside of her. Join them on @seedandspark: [link to Seed&Spark page].
Make a pledge to support CESSATION, by directors @alsosisters and actor/writer @katerina_eichenberger! Filming this winter. Support them on @seedandspark: [link to Seed&Spark page].
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Grip and Electrical Crew
Costs $3,500
Your pledge will go to the grip and electrical department who will bring this project to life.
Apartment and Park
Costs $2,000
We need a brick loft with natural light to help create the totalitarian world we are building.
Camera Crew
Costs $4,500
Your pledge will go to the camera department who will bring this project to life.
Production Design
Costs $3,500
Pulling in big favors, but we still need set design, wardrobe, HMU, SPFX to build our world.
Other Expenses
Costs $3,500
Submission to general production insurance, fundraising incidentals, etc
Catering
Costs $1,500
Your pledge will go towards feeding our cast and crew on the shoot days.
Share this update!
About This Team
Katerina Eichenberger (Writer, Actor/Alice)
Katerina is an actress, natural wine enthusiast, and the Operations Director for Stowe Story Labs. Most recently she wrapped filming House of Lies in December 2021 & The Beauty of Love in May 2021 as the principal actress, was featured in Your Worst Nightmare on ID TV in 2020, and has completed two short films in 2021 and a variety of commercials for companies such as the CDC and Michelob ULTRA. You can see more of her work here. Her most recent theatre credits include The Exterminating Angel adapted by Sawyer Estes (2021) Ubu adapted by Sawyer Estes (2020) and Spirits to Enforce by Mickle Maher (2019) all with Vernal & Sere Theatre Company in Atlanta. She is a gourmand with a budget and enjoys watching David Lynch’s Morning Weather Report. Katerina is based in Atlanta and is signed with the Stewart Talent Agency (NYC & ATL) and David Laffey at Wonder Street Management. She received her BFA in drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Learn more about her at katerinaeichenberger.com.
The Also Sisters (Director/Director of Photography)
Galician Filmmakers Sonia and Miriam Albert-Sobrino (together known as the Also Sisters) have since 2011 navigated the fluid world of Film and Media Arts from the United States. The Sisters have directed a number of projects ranging from feature films, shorts, documentaries and experimental work of different genres and styles. Oftentimes their work takes the form of a horror film that relies on surrealism, magical realism and unconventional modes of narrative to tell compelling stories about the transformative nature of liminal space, thresholds, and rites of passage. Major Festivals such as the Sitges Film Festival, Edinburgh Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Cinespaña, Chicago Underground Film Festival, among many others have shown and celebrated their work and accomplishments.
The work of these twin sisters, whose peculiar collaboration has often been characterized as the result of two heads thinking as one, does not stop on a movie set or in an art studio; committed to teaching the upcoming generations of filmmakers, the Also Sisters work as professors at the University of Utah’s Film and Media Arts Department.
WHY ALSO SISTERS? ALSO SISTERS is Sonia and Miriam’s professional adopted name. A portmanteau of their last name: ALbert-SObrino and the answer to the all too frequent questions: “So, you make films together? And you are ALSO Sisters?“
See their work here: https://alsosisters.com/
Cool Mischief (Producers)
James and Ana Mackenzie co-founded Cool Mischief, an independent film production company, in 2013, which has produced international and award-winning films. In 2017, friends and fellow mischief makers Malerie Grady and Onye Eme-Akwari joined the team. They strive to make quality films that inspire positive cultural discourse through three-dimensional stories and characters.
James' MFA thesis short, Audrey Makes a Mixtape, was an official selection of multiple film festivals and was recognized on the US BAFTA Student Awards shortlist. As a member of the Film Independent / Loyola Marymount University post-graduate Incubator Lab, Ana and James completed production on their award-winning feature, American Zealot, which premiered at the 2016 St. Louis International Film Festival. Tough Love, a passion project for its star and producer, Malerie Grady, premiered last year at Outfest Los Angeles 2019 and was selected for the 2020 Tribeca N.O.W. Creators Market. Three Men Named Mantas, the team’s first international co-production, premiered at Atlanta Film Festival 2020, and their latest project, Renée and the Seven Cards, premieres on OML on Revry in March 2021.
HyeYun Lee (Executive Producer)
HyeYun has over 10 years of experience providing consulting services for Fortune 500, multinational, Foreign Direct Invested, and public and private companies across various industries in the US, South Korea, and Vietnam. She is a Charted Financial Analyst (CFA) and has extensive experience working in South Korea and has lived and worked in Vietnam for 2.5 years. She is based in Atlanta and is signed with East Coast Talent Agency.
Ethell Yarbrough (UPM)
Ethell Yarbrough is a stay at home mom and does production coordinating for indie productions on her down time. She is particularly invested in stories about minorities and inclusivity because it helps shine a light on stories that she wished were more prevalent in her childhood. She graduated from the University of North Georgia with a BS in Film and Digital Media. Working in several film festivals around Georgia and watching other filmmaker’s works keeps her invested in helping out in the film world however she can.