DIVINATION
New York City, New York | Film Short
Thriller, Comedy
DIVINATION is a psychological thriller about 3 kids who chase a record deal & end up on a ritual table by Claire Rishi Seymour. Some puzzles aren't meant to be solved. They're meant to be felt. This story hasn't been told from a young woman's perspective. Until now.
DIVINATION
New York City, New York | Film Short
Thriller, Comedy
1 Campaigns | New York, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $1,195 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
36 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
DIVINATION is a psychological thriller about 3 kids who chase a record deal & end up on a ritual table by Claire Rishi Seymour. Some puzzles aren't meant to be solved. They're meant to be felt. This story hasn't been told from a young woman's perspective. Until now.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
IS A SHORT FILM ABOUT... what happens when ordinary people walk straight into something they don’t understand and what it takes to get out once they’re in too deep. Learn more on the official website with a new digital shoutout section!
Carrie and Ryan are musicians & best friends. Isabelle is Carrie’s little sister.
She's loves filming her sister's band because she believes in them deeply.
When Dido Enterprises invites them in, what starts as an audition unravels into a full day of escalating red flags It starts with a record deal, but something feels off almost immediately. No one seems to fully understand what the CEO actually wants. Eve is something more than a predatory executive. Richard, her assistant, is harder to read.
Claire Seymour (Carrie) & Frank Fillipazzo (Ryan)
Why We're Making This
There's a version of the internet that my generation lived through before safety concerns and major lawsuits. We just shake it off. "Oh that was funny, dank memes lulz." The part that shaped us before we were old enough to know what we were looking at. Zillennials grew up in a unique window: old enough to remember life before smartphones, young enough to be completely unsupervised online at the worst possible time.
DIVINATION exists because that story deserves to be told. Nobody chooses to become a victim of cyberbullying, sextortion, coercion, or early exposure to 18+ content online. When the Epstein files started surfacing, something clicked for me about the urgency of finishing this film. This isn't a film that glamorizes trauma, or even features it. Divination shows that when people look out for each other in, albeit, traumatizing situations, loved ones can come out stronger and closer together than they ever were. But there's always another side to any story... I don't think Isabelle, Carrie, and Ryan are ready to hear about that one yet.
Where Your Money Goes
Every dollar raised through this campaign goes directly into making DIVINATION the best version of itself. Here's exactly how we're putting it to work:
Locations — $250 Securing the spaces that bring the world of Dido Global Entertainment, Carrie's apartment, and everything in between to life.
Sound — $300 Professional sound is non-negotiable. This covers our sound operator for shoot day.
Consulting Fees — $75 Our musician Joel and screenwriting collaborator Stephen are being compensated for their expertise and time.
Festival Submissions — $150 Getting Divination in front of audiences and industry through film festival circuits.
SFX Makeup — $20 You'll know the scene when you see it.
Pre-Production — $60 Props (athame, candles, tapestries), printing, and the tools that keep this production running before we ever step on set.
Post-Production Contingency — $145 Editing, finishing music, and whatever Divination needs to cross the finish line.
How We Get There
I started writing DIVINATION in January 2025, finished the script in January 2026, finalized the cast, and started rehearsing. This campaign is the final push before it's real.
Where we've been: In the past few months alone we've locked locations, held our first table read, completed our cast, and shot our first promo photos. This project has momentum and a team that is fully committed.
Where we're going: The moment this campaign closes, we shoot. Our target production window is May 2026, with post-production running through the summer. We plan to submit to film festivals in fall 2026.
This movie is about what the internet did to us. Your support helps make sure it gets seen before it does it to someone else.
click the cast interview above w/ Frank (Ryan) and Chi (Richard) for more information...DIVIATION COMING SUMMER 2026
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Locations For DIVINATION
Costs $250
We really lucked out with our Executive Producer providing the office location, but for the rest of the film $200 will pay for everything
Consulting Fees
Costs $75
Covers script consultation and original music collaboration to ensure Divination achieves the right tone, feel, and sound world.
Props & SFX Makeup
Costs $80
The more props we get the more fun we have! Plus, Eve, needs a gorgeous ATHAME.
Sound
Costs $300
This project is is collaborative. We have a lot of the equipment, but sound is of the upmost importance.
Film Festival Submissions
Costs $150
This film was made for the people who grew up watching the internet shape the world around them. Film festivals are how it reaches them.
Postproduction
Costs $145
There is a lot of easter eggs in this project & the more funding I can get for this the more people will see the world from 4D chess mode.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
The Team
Divination wouldn't exist without the people around me. Years saying yes to almost everything has a way of building a community without you even realizing it. NYC is a beautiful place because, somehow, I keep meeting the most talented people in every room I walk into.
Francesco plays Ryan and is also our Assistant Director. We met on set, honestly I can't remember if it was Black Rabbit or Your Friends and Neighbors, those jobs blur together in the best way, and he's been number one on my list ever since. He's a professional photographer, a multi-hyphenate, and the kind of person who makes every project better just by showing up.
Isabelle and brings a film degree and a genuine passion for art direction. She's already shaping how this world looks on screen, and she's fully committed to the scene that may or may not involve fake blood.
Chi plays Richard. We met on Elsbeth, he gave me a hard time about the prop food being cold, which, yes, it was cold, it's a prop. He's trained in improv at Second City, and has credits in film, commercials, and live events. His smile is genuinely contagious, which is exactly what this role needs
Mike plays Dan, a Dido employee who knows more than he lets on. Mike is a Staten Island native, a talented photographer, and someone who shows up for the people around him. Our first promo shoot together already proved he's got great instincts on both sides of the camera.
Anneke plays Eve, CEO of Dido Global Entertainment. “She is originally from the Bay Area, California, but recently moved to NYC after graduating with her BFA in Musical Theatre from The Boston Conservatory. She brings just the right energy to a key role in this film.
Geranimo is a model, actor, and someone I worked with as a producer on a short film with Albert Santiago. He's coming on to help with logistical stuff and be our Executive Producer. He will also make a few special character appearances, details TBA.
Lucas is a director and writer whose short film A Part of Me I acted in last fall. Having him as our DP means I get to trust someone who already knows how to build a world on a small budget.
________________________________________________________________________
Consultants
Joel is a Queens-born musician and artist whose sound is going to define the texture of this film. He's producing original music for Divination, including the debut single for RUNOFF, the in-universe band at the heart of the story.
Stephen studied theater and screenwriting in Connecticut and is working with Lucas on pacing and shot list, specifically pulling out the psychological thriller elements that live underneath the surface of this script.
________________________________________________________________________
Claire Seymour writes, directs, and plays Carrie. She has a degree in graphic design from Milwaukee, which is where she lived before moving to the Bronx. She has worked on short films including Folding Chairs (dir. Geoff Amend) and Dad, That's My Boyfriend (dir. Gregory Santiago), and on network television with Impractical Jokers and NBC's Philly Homicide.
Carrie is inspired in part by Claire's mother, Carrie-Ann Lashelle Stella Lane Seymour, a musician and the creator of grrltuesdayrecords. The kick-ass guitar from the 90s featured throughout the film was hers. Claire appeared on the cover of her debut album at five years old, and her mother's song will close out the film. Listen to her track here
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
IS A SHORT FILM ABOUT... what happens when ordinary people walk straight into something they don’t understand and what it takes to get out once they’re in too deep. Learn more on the official website with a new digital shoutout section!
Carrie and Ryan are musicians & best friends. Isabelle is Carrie’s little sister.
She's loves filming her sister's band because she believes in them deeply.
When Dido Enterprises invites them in, what starts as an audition unravels into a full day of escalating red flags It starts with a record deal, but something feels off almost immediately. No one seems to fully understand what the CEO actually wants. Eve is something more than a predatory executive. Richard, her assistant, is harder to read.
Claire Seymour (Carrie) & Frank Fillipazzo (Ryan)
Why We're Making This
There's a version of the internet that my generation lived through before safety concerns and major lawsuits. We just shake it off. "Oh that was funny, dank memes lulz." The part that shaped us before we were old enough to know what we were looking at. Zillennials grew up in a unique window: old enough to remember life before smartphones, young enough to be completely unsupervised online at the worst possible time.
DIVINATION exists because that story deserves to be told. Nobody chooses to become a victim of cyberbullying, sextortion, coercion, or early exposure to 18+ content online. When the Epstein files started surfacing, something clicked for me about the urgency of finishing this film. This isn't a film that glamorizes trauma, or even features it. Divination shows that when people look out for each other in, albeit, traumatizing situations, loved ones can come out stronger and closer together than they ever were. But there's always another side to any story... I don't think Isabelle, Carrie, and Ryan are ready to hear about that one yet.
Where Your Money Goes
Every dollar raised through this campaign goes directly into making DIVINATION the best version of itself. Here's exactly how we're putting it to work:
Locations — $250 Securing the spaces that bring the world of Dido Global Entertainment, Carrie's apartment, and everything in between to life.
Sound — $300 Professional sound is non-negotiable. This covers our sound operator for shoot day.
Consulting Fees — $75 Our musician Joel and screenwriting collaborator Stephen are being compensated for their expertise and time.
Festival Submissions — $150 Getting Divination in front of audiences and industry through film festival circuits.
SFX Makeup — $20 You'll know the scene when you see it.
Pre-Production — $60 Props (athame, candles, tapestries), printing, and the tools that keep this production running before we ever step on set.
Post-Production Contingency — $145 Editing, finishing music, and whatever Divination needs to cross the finish line.
How We Get There
I started writing DIVINATION in January 2025, finished the script in January 2026, finalized the cast, and started rehearsing. This campaign is the final push before it's real.
Where we've been: In the past few months alone we've locked locations, held our first table read, completed our cast, and shot our first promo photos. This project has momentum and a team that is fully committed.
Where we're going: The moment this campaign closes, we shoot. Our target production window is May 2026, with post-production running through the summer. We plan to submit to film festivals in fall 2026.
This movie is about what the internet did to us. Your support helps make sure it gets seen before it does it to someone else.
click the cast interview above w/ Frank (Ryan) and Chi (Richard) for more information...DIVIATION COMING SUMMER 2026
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Locations For DIVINATION
Costs $250
We really lucked out with our Executive Producer providing the office location, but for the rest of the film $200 will pay for everything
Consulting Fees
Costs $75
Covers script consultation and original music collaboration to ensure Divination achieves the right tone, feel, and sound world.
Props & SFX Makeup
Costs $80
The more props we get the more fun we have! Plus, Eve, needs a gorgeous ATHAME.
Sound
Costs $300
This project is is collaborative. We have a lot of the equipment, but sound is of the upmost importance.
Film Festival Submissions
Costs $150
This film was made for the people who grew up watching the internet shape the world around them. Film festivals are how it reaches them.
Postproduction
Costs $145
There is a lot of easter eggs in this project & the more funding I can get for this the more people will see the world from 4D chess mode.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
The Team
Divination wouldn't exist without the people around me. Years saying yes to almost everything has a way of building a community without you even realizing it. NYC is a beautiful place because, somehow, I keep meeting the most talented people in every room I walk into.
Francesco plays Ryan and is also our Assistant Director. We met on set, honestly I can't remember if it was Black Rabbit or Your Friends and Neighbors, those jobs blur together in the best way, and he's been number one on my list ever since. He's a professional photographer, a multi-hyphenate, and the kind of person who makes every project better just by showing up.
Isabelle and brings a film degree and a genuine passion for art direction. She's already shaping how this world looks on screen, and she's fully committed to the scene that may or may not involve fake blood.
Chi plays Richard. We met on Elsbeth, he gave me a hard time about the prop food being cold, which, yes, it was cold, it's a prop. He's trained in improv at Second City, and has credits in film, commercials, and live events. His smile is genuinely contagious, which is exactly what this role needs
Mike plays Dan, a Dido employee who knows more than he lets on. Mike is a Staten Island native, a talented photographer, and someone who shows up for the people around him. Our first promo shoot together already proved he's got great instincts on both sides of the camera.
Anneke plays Eve, CEO of Dido Global Entertainment. “She is originally from the Bay Area, California, but recently moved to NYC after graduating with her BFA in Musical Theatre from The Boston Conservatory. She brings just the right energy to a key role in this film.
Geranimo is a model, actor, and someone I worked with as a producer on a short film with Albert Santiago. He's coming on to help with logistical stuff and be our Executive Producer. He will also make a few special character appearances, details TBA.
Lucas is a director and writer whose short film A Part of Me I acted in last fall. Having him as our DP means I get to trust someone who already knows how to build a world on a small budget.
________________________________________________________________________
Consultants
Joel is a Queens-born musician and artist whose sound is going to define the texture of this film. He's producing original music for Divination, including the debut single for RUNOFF, the in-universe band at the heart of the story.
Stephen studied theater and screenwriting in Connecticut and is working with Lucas on pacing and shot list, specifically pulling out the psychological thriller elements that live underneath the surface of this script.
________________________________________________________________________
Claire Seymour writes, directs, and plays Carrie. She has a degree in graphic design from Milwaukee, which is where she lived before moving to the Bronx. She has worked on short films including Folding Chairs (dir. Geoff Amend) and Dad, That's My Boyfriend (dir. Gregory Santiago), and on network television with Impractical Jokers and NBC's Philly Homicide.
Carrie is inspired in part by Claire's mother, Carrie-Ann Lashelle Stella Lane Seymour, a musician and the creator of grrltuesdayrecords. The kick-ass guitar from the 90s featured throughout the film was hers. Claire appeared on the cover of her debut album at five years old, and her mother's song will close out the film. Listen to her track here