Dom
New York City, New York | Film Short
Drama
Two old friends reunite on the hottest day of summer in NYC. *Above video is not a trailer.
Dom
New York City, New York | Film Short
Drama
1 Campaigns | New York, United States
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This campaign raised $5,068 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
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Two old friends reunite on the hottest day of summer in NYC. *Above video is not a trailer.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Characters & Synopsis:
DOM
BETH
When Dom teases Beth to join her on her daily drug route, she tags along listless and happy to spend the day biking through old NYC haunts with a long-lost sister. Drawn back to each other after a decade, they avoid going home, even if it means rupturing an unspoken truth that lies between them. *Storyboard Drawings by Kelsey-Louise Tyler.
Female Friendship & Sexuality:
Dom is an ode to female friendship and sexuality inspired by personal experience and conversations we’ve had with countless women about the impact female love has had on our lives. Growing up in a world that taught the denial and shame of our sexuality from childhood, as young girls and women we yearn for a safe space to express desire. This safe space was often found with our girlfriends, whether it was explored physically or in conversation.
When Beth finally acts on subverted feelings and exposes a tightly-wound want to her old friend, Dom, she is able to empathize with and embrace the many facets of her sexuality even if it means just being friends. The two women ultimately find a deeper connection for each other that transcends lust and brings them to equal ground. This capacity is often unique to female relationships and is part of our special bond within a world that continues to ignore our truth and be in solidarity with female repression.
Radical Women:
The female experience and her sexuality being a sacred part of her being as a whole continues to be repressed, disregarded, and misunderstood to the point of disgrace. We have no other choice but to dismantle patriarchy and dare to rewire the status quo by sharing our stories boldly. In turn, Dom, delves into undertold territory and celebrates the way in which women have innately provided radical love to heal that which we aren't given; power. Power isn't given, but seized. We bring to screen a real woman’s story to break the mold of our repressed idea of women in cinema and the long tradition of allowing misogynistic male fantasy to dictate the lens we fill.
Summer in New York City:
The winding city streets Beth and Dom weave through on their bikes are a visual metaphor for the meandering nature of female desire. Though they may not hang out beyond this one day, they seize the opportunity to get lost in each other’s company within the city they grew up and escape their daily grind as if they’re discovering a best skin. The stagnation of the hottest NYC summer day lifts once Dom enters Beth's world and they fly on their bikes.
Look & Feel:
Beth and Dom are a piece of one another's home and that home is NYC. The NYC summer heat is a character in the film. The blazing sun, the extra steamy streets, the sweat, the inability to stay dry; all of which only amplify an overall feeling of stuckiness and dread. The audience will feel as though they can taste Beth and Dom’s skin.
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Growing up together in the 90's and true to her character, Dom's apartment is stuck in time and adorned with relics from when they were friends. Through production design, the film subtlely evokes the era of their friendship to echo their past and subliminally shed light on the faded and broken nature of nostalgia that one can never quite get back to.
Anamorphic Lens:
The cinematography gives a textured sense of voyeurism. We shot on an anamorphic lens to evoke the place that Beth and Dom have both uniquely found themselves; stuck in their own world, but distinct against the backdrop of their ugly beautiful city as if nothing else exists but each other.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Film Festival Submission
Costs $1,250
So we can share this film with the world and travel to one out-of-state festival!
Share this update!
About This Team
Jane Stiles (Story & Co-writer/Beth/Co-director) is a filmmaker, actress, mover, and NYC native. Her work on film can be seen in Rodrigo Garcia’s series Blue, Jennifer DeLia’s feature film Why Not Choose Love: A Mary Pickford Manifesto and more. She wrote, directed, and starred in the original pilot One Eye Small, which premiered at SXSW 2018. BA Sarah Lawrence College. SAG AFTRA.
Annapurna Sriram (Dom) was born in Burlington VT, but raised in Nashville Tennessee since the age of four. As a teenager, she was a championship Irish Step Dancer and attended Nashville School of the Arts. Annapurna graduated from Rutgers University with a BFA in acting from Mason Gross School of the Arts. Annapurna has appeared on the New Group Stage and on the West End in Jesse Eisenberg's play "The Spoils", and in the US premiere of Wallace Shawn's play "Evening at the Talkhouse "Some TV credits include: Billions, The Black List, and South of Hell.
Meryl Jones Williams (Director/Co-writer) is a filmmaker and actress residing in Brooklyn. Some recent credits include films: Sundance Select’s Palimpsest across Peter Saarsgard, Confetti, Roxanne, Roxanne (Spike Lee Presents - Sundance 2017), Rob Reiner’s And So It Goes alongside Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton, Thanksgiving (PBS), Girl Night Stand. As a filmmaker, Biophilia, a film she co-produced and played the lead, premiered this summer at the Brooklyn Film Festival and went on to screen at festivals Northbend, Indiefest, and Middlecoast. She is currently in pre-production for her first feature as a writer/director.
Lizzie Shapiro (Producer) is a freelance producer based in Brooklyn, NY. She has produced short films that have premiered at film festivals worldwide, including One Eye Small (SXSW 2018) Frankie Keeps Talking (Santa Barbara Film Festival 2017), Hamptons International Film Festival (2017), Where There’s Smoke (Tribeca Film Festival 2017, Edmonton Grand Jury Winner 2017), and Jahar (Tribeca Film Festival 2016).
Lizzie attended the Film Independent Producer’s Lab 2017 and IFP Week 2017 with the feature film, Mickey and the Bear - currently in production.
Other feature credits include Peter Brunner’s To The Night (Karlovy Vary 2018), Matthew Porterfield’s Sollers Point (San Sebastian 2018), and Goat (Sundance 2016, Berlin 2016). She holds a BFA in Film Production from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Cory Fraiman-Lott (Cinematographer) spent his youth cleaning his room and watching Michael Jackson music videos on VHS. Shortly after his parents’ divorce, Cory decided to swear off love altogether and focus solely on cinematography. In the proceeding years, he has applied his eye for aesthetics to numerous award-winning works featured in such festivals as Sundance, Tribeca, and New York Television. Most recently, his VR short “King Of Infinite Space” was nominated for Best Cinematic VR Experience at the 2018 Raindance Film Festival. Under the supervision of a friendly WitchDoctor™, Cory hopes to subject his body and mind to feature filmmaking for the rest of eternity.
Colleen Dodge (Production Designer)
Colleen grew up on the coastline of Southern California, but despite the sunny the beaches, always imagined the world beyond. Her curiosity led her to see much of the country; from restoring 1950s housewife dresses by hand in Portland, Oregon to guiding rail tours across the Alaskan wilderness. After landing in New York City she fell in love with a city as vibrant as her imagination, working in the art department on films like "Beach Rats" (Neon, 2017), "First Reformed" (A24, 2018), and "Monsters & Men" (Neon, 2018) before discovering the chance to design her own worlds.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Characters & Synopsis:
DOMBETH
When Dom teases Beth to join her on her daily drug route, she tags along listless and happy to spend the day biking through old NYC haunts with a long-lost sister. Drawn back to each other after a decade, they avoid going home, even if it means rupturing an unspoken truth that lies between them. *Storyboard Drawings by Kelsey-Louise Tyler.
Female Friendship & Sexuality:
Dom is an ode to female friendship and sexuality inspired by personal experience and conversations we’ve had with countless women about the impact female love has had on our lives. Growing up in a world that taught the denial and shame of our sexuality from childhood, as young girls and women we yearn for a safe space to express desire. This safe space was often found with our girlfriends, whether it was explored physically or in conversation.
When Beth finally acts on subverted feelings and exposes a tightly-wound want to her old friend, Dom, she is able to empathize with and embrace the many facets of her sexuality even if it means just being friends. The two women ultimately find a deeper connection for each other that transcends lust and brings them to equal ground. This capacity is often unique to female relationships and is part of our special bond within a world that continues to ignore our truth and be in solidarity with female repression.
Radical Women:
The female experience and her sexuality being a sacred part of her being as a whole continues to be repressed, disregarded, and misunderstood to the point of disgrace. We have no other choice but to dismantle patriarchy and dare to rewire the status quo by sharing our stories boldly. In turn, Dom, delves into undertold territory and celebrates the way in which women have innately provided radical love to heal that which we aren't given; power. Power isn't given, but seized. We bring to screen a real woman’s story to break the mold of our repressed idea of women in cinema and the long tradition of allowing misogynistic male fantasy to dictate the lens we fill.
Summer in New York City:
The winding city streets Beth and Dom weave through on their bikes are a visual metaphor for the meandering nature of female desire. Though they may not hang out beyond this one day, they seize the opportunity to get lost in each other’s company within the city they grew up and escape their daily grind as if they’re discovering a best skin. The stagnation of the hottest NYC summer day lifts once Dom enters Beth's world and they fly on their bikes.
Look & Feel:
Beth and Dom are a piece of one another's home and that home is NYC. The NYC summer heat is a character in the film. The blazing sun, the extra steamy streets, the sweat, the inability to stay dry; all of which only amplify an overall feeling of stuckiness and dread. The audience will feel as though they can taste Beth and Dom’s skin.
Growing up together in the 90's and true to her character, Dom's apartment is stuck in time and adorned with relics from when they were friends. Through production design, the film subtlely evokes the era of their friendship to echo their past and subliminally shed light on the faded and broken nature of nostalgia that one can never quite get back to.
Anamorphic Lens:
The cinematography gives a textured sense of voyeurism. We shot on an anamorphic lens to evoke the place that Beth and Dom have both uniquely found themselves; stuck in their own world, but distinct against the backdrop of their ugly beautiful city as if nothing else exists but each other.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Film Festival Submission
Costs $1,250
So we can share this film with the world and travel to one out-of-state festival!
Share this update!
About This Team
Jane Stiles (Story & Co-writer/Beth/Co-director) is a filmmaker, actress, mover, and NYC native. Her work on film can be seen in Rodrigo Garcia’s series Blue, Jennifer DeLia’s feature film Why Not Choose Love: A Mary Pickford Manifesto and more. She wrote, directed, and starred in the original pilot One Eye Small, which premiered at SXSW 2018. BA Sarah Lawrence College. SAG AFTRA.
Annapurna Sriram (Dom) was born in Burlington VT, but raised in Nashville Tennessee since the age of four. As a teenager, she was a championship Irish Step Dancer and attended Nashville School of the Arts. Annapurna graduated from Rutgers University with a BFA in acting from Mason Gross School of the Arts. Annapurna has appeared on the New Group Stage and on the West End in Jesse Eisenberg's play "The Spoils", and in the US premiere of Wallace Shawn's play "Evening at the Talkhouse "Some TV credits include: Billions, The Black List, and South of Hell.
Meryl Jones Williams (Director/Co-writer) is a filmmaker and actress residing in Brooklyn. Some recent credits include films: Sundance Select’s Palimpsest across Peter Saarsgard, Confetti, Roxanne, Roxanne (Spike Lee Presents - Sundance 2017), Rob Reiner’s And So It Goes alongside Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton, Thanksgiving (PBS), Girl Night Stand. As a filmmaker, Biophilia, a film she co-produced and played the lead, premiered this summer at the Brooklyn Film Festival and went on to screen at festivals Northbend, Indiefest, and Middlecoast. She is currently in pre-production for her first feature as a writer/director.
Lizzie Shapiro (Producer) is a freelance producer based in Brooklyn, NY. She has produced short films that have premiered at film festivals worldwide, including One Eye Small (SXSW 2018) Frankie Keeps Talking (Santa Barbara Film Festival 2017), Hamptons International Film Festival (2017), Where There’s Smoke (Tribeca Film Festival 2017, Edmonton Grand Jury Winner 2017), and Jahar (Tribeca Film Festival 2016).
Lizzie attended the Film Independent Producer’s Lab 2017 and IFP Week 2017 with the feature film, Mickey and the Bear - currently in production.
Other feature credits include Peter Brunner’s To The Night (Karlovy Vary 2018), Matthew Porterfield’s Sollers Point (San Sebastian 2018), and Goat (Sundance 2016, Berlin 2016). She holds a BFA in Film Production from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Cory Fraiman-Lott (Cinematographer) spent his youth cleaning his room and watching Michael Jackson music videos on VHS. Shortly after his parents’ divorce, Cory decided to swear off love altogether and focus solely on cinematography. In the proceeding years, he has applied his eye for aesthetics to numerous award-winning works featured in such festivals as Sundance, Tribeca, and New York Television. Most recently, his VR short “King Of Infinite Space” was nominated for Best Cinematic VR Experience at the 2018 Raindance Film Festival. Under the supervision of a friendly WitchDoctor™, Cory hopes to subject his body and mind to feature filmmaking for the rest of eternity.
Colleen Dodge (Production Designer)
Colleen grew up on the coastline of Southern California, but despite the sunny the beaches, always imagined the world beyond. Her curiosity led her to see much of the country; from restoring 1950s housewife dresses by hand in Portland, Oregon to guiding rail tours across the Alaskan wilderness. After landing in New York City she fell in love with a city as vibrant as her imagination, working in the art department on films like "Beach Rats" (Neon, 2017), "First Reformed" (A24, 2018), and "Monsters & Men" (Neon, 2018) before discovering the chance to design her own worlds.