The year is 1853, and after escaping a Fancy Maids auction, Idabelle finds that the Fugitive Slave Act makes honest work impossible. With nowhere else to turn, she ends up at Pinky’s Pleasure House, a brothel in the North where survival is as complicated as freedom itself. There, she meets a chosen family of women who have all escaped the cruelties of slavery, each carving out a life in a world that constantly reminds them of the past they left behind.

Idabelle must navigate this new life while confronting the shadows of her past, including the lingering trauma of enslavement and the impossible choices it forced upon her. Among her new sisters are Louella, a devout woman determined to save her daughter still trapped on an Alabama plantation, and Queenie, a jaded survivor who has entered a relationship with one of her regular white clients. Together, they confront the moral cost of freedom, the weight of collective rage, and the bonds of sisterhood forged through pain, resilience, and defiance.

“Fancy Maids” is a story about survival, agency, and the power of women to reclaim their stories. It explores how women who are not bound by blood but by shared history and struggle can build a family, a home, and a future, even in the face of relentless oppression. This is a story that demands to be seen and heard, bringing a largely untold history to life through heart, courage, and unflinching honesty.

Fancy Maids was written by Harold Hodge Jr. in 2017, inspired by the urgency of the Me Too movement and the long history of Black women fighting for autonomy over their own bodies and futures. The play received its first production at The Bridge Theater in November 2018 before going on to the Rave Theater Festival in 2019, where it won Outstanding along with two acting honors. In 2021, the script was published by Stage Rights. The play later received its Off-Broadway debut at Walkerspace in 2023, continuing to bring audiences into conversation with this powerful story. Now, Fancy Maids is being adapted for the screen, bringing this award-winning story to a wider audience, and with your support, helping ensure that the voices and stories of these women reach far beyond the stage.

Fancy Maids centers Black women not as symbols of suffering, but as full, complex people. While the story acknowledges the trauma they carry, it focuses on their sisterhood, resilience, joy, love, and healing. At a time when Black history is increasingly being erased or distorted, supporting this project helps elevate Black voices and preserve stories that deserve to be seen, heard, and remembered.project helps elevate Black voices and preserve stories that deserve to be seen, heard, and remembered.

Your support goes directly into making the film. The majority of our budget funds the talented cast and crew, as well as the equipment, locations, and design needed to bring Fancy Maids to life. Every dollar helps ensure this powerful story is told with the care, quality, and authenticity it deserves. This proof of concept will be a fully realized 10-minute scene from the feature film, crafted to showcase the tone, visual style, performances, and overall quality of the project. It will serve as a powerful tool to present to investors as we secure funding for the full feature.

BREAKDOWN OF FUNDRAISING GOALS

$35,000 - Shooting at Pinky's Pleasure House

The funds we need for a 2-day interior shoot.

------ STRETCH GOALS! ------

$40,000 - Additional Half-Day of Shooting 

This amount allows us to shoot a brief exterior scene at the top of the film at a location outside of NYC.

$45,000 - Full Budget

Production, Post-Production, and Festival Submissions - we plan to apply for post-production grants to supplement these costs.

A portion of our budget is dedicated to building the world of 1853. We are transforming a modern New York space into a fully realized Victorian bedroom, which requires carefully selected period furniture rentals, detailed props, intentional lighting design, and historically accurate costumes to achieve authenticity. Every element is being crafted to transport the audience into the time, ensuring the environment feels rich, lived in, and true to the story we are

While most films that touch on slavery are often done in a gritty style, Fancy Maids will take the same delicate picturesque tone as the stories that focus on White women of the same era. Fancy Maids will look like the opulent oil paintings that were painted during the 1800's. However, as those paintings always either beautified or completely erased the cruelties that Black people faced at the time, the Black experiences will be front row and center in the same romanticized world of dusty pastels. Audiences will be reminded that while Amy March fretted over French ribbons, Black Women were being subjected to the horrors of American slavery.

The following stills are from our Director of Photography’s previous work and reflect the visual language we will bring to Fancy Maids, with rich painterly compositions, natural light, and imagery that feels both intimate and cinematic. Their body of work demonstrates a strong command of period pieces, mood driven storytelling, and a deep understanding of lighting Black talent with care and intention.

We are raising $35,000 to bring this proof of concept to life and every dollar is going directly to production. This is what it takes to build the world, honor the period, and tell this story with the care, scale, and integrity it deserves.

If this is your first time hearing the term “Fancy Maid,” then this is exactly why this project matters. These women existed.

Their stories deserve to be seen, remembered, and honored.

Your support is not just a donation. It is an act of preservation. It is a commitment to making sure these women are not erased from history.

Help us tell this story. Help us make sure they are never forgotten.

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