OSCAR-SHORTLISTED FILMMAKER LISA COLE

presents a bold new short film

"FILTHY"

WE MET OUR INITIAL GOAL OF $10K...

NOW THE SKY'S THE LIMIT!

Our initial crowdfunding goal of $10K is part of our $50K overall goal 

(including grants and other funding)

2025 has been tough—but in hard times, art matters more than ever.

Growing up in conservative culture,

I was taught my changing body was dangerous.

Something to hide. That my period was shameful.

That my worth depended on my 'purity.'

My new short film 'Filthy' demonstrates how these messages often

damage young women - and champions a girl who breaks free.

We're making FILTHY to empower young people and ensure

the next generation doesn't inherit our shame.

FILTHY tells the story of a teenage girl finding her voice in a world that wants to silence her.

HELP US TURN SHAME INTO STRENGTH

The film follows CASS, 13, who transforms a traumatic moment

- getting her first period during a Purity Ball rehearsal -

into a bold rebellion that liberates herself, and the girls & women around her.

OUR AMAZING TALENTED CAST INCLUDES ICONIC ACTRESS

LORETTA DEVINE!

My team shares more than just production credits—

Many of us carry scars from shame-based childhoods

OUR FILM'S MESSAGE HAS THE POWER TO HEAL

FILTHY SYNOPSIS:

13-year-old Cass struggles during Purity Ball rehearsal

under former beauty queen Virgie's, 50s, harsh instruction.

When Cass gets her first period,

Mean girl Mable, 16, publicly humiliates her,

deliberately offering a single tampon

(wrongly believed to "steal one's virginity").

Unable to manage initially,

Cass's desperate tissue solution fails spectacularly,

exposing her to everyone...

Later, facing a single tampon as her only option,

Cass transforms her shame into war paint

and finds her voice through raw, instinctual movement

that sets her free!

When the other girls discover Cass in this liberated state,

they're mesmerized by her transformation and join her rebellion.

Abandoning the rigid choreography,

the girls define their own rhythm and celebrate their bodies.

As Pastor Chuck watches his control unravel,

Cass's mother, Diana, tears down the purity banner

in solidarity with her daughter.

Cass and Diana's rage screams culminate in all the girls

- even Virgie - using their voices to claim freedom.

FILTHY exposes how purity culture often weaponizes

shame against natural development.

Girls are taught:

menstruation is shameful

tampons compromise virginity

and natural desires are sinful.

This harmful messaging devastates a young person's confidence

precisely when they need it most.

EVEN TODAY,

Tampax tries to dispel the myth that tampons steal virginity!

Through Cass's journey from suffocating shame

to liberating self-acceptance,

FILTHY challenges institutions that attempt to control young women

through fear and misinformation.

In a time when female bodily autonomy faces renewed attacks,

FILTHY makes one thing powerfully clear:

Our bodies belong to us alone.

WITH YOUR HELP we can make this film a reality

and bring it to audiences who need to see it most

EVERY DOLLAR, SUPPORT, "LIKE", & SHARE

helps us complete this powerful film!

OUR FILMING LOCATIONS INCLUDE:

the historic Wilshire Ebell of Los Angeles

(as seen in Apple's "The Studio", the feature film "Oppenheimer"

& hundreds of films & TV shows)

The beautiful First United Methodist Church of Pasadena

FILTHY was selected as only 1 of 7 out of 500+ projects for the prestigious

2025 Alliance of Women Directors Rising Director Fellowship

The year-long mentorship program culminates in an industry screening early 2026

at United Talent Agency in Beverly Hills, California

ACCLAIMED DIRECTOR NIKI CARO

(Whale Rider, North Country, Mulan, The Mother)

is mentoring Lisa on the project

Caren Spruch, National Director of Arts & Entertainment for Planned Parenthood

is the film's Executive Producer

Our goals are aligned in empowering women and dispelling misinformation

We've met our initial goal of $10K...

NOW WE HOPE TO GO BEYOND!

(It take mucho mucho money to make a film, y'all!)

Our $50K budget allows us to cover production costs, post & launch a robust festival campaign!

So many of you supported Lisa's last film "Bienvenidos a Los Angeles"

which went on to be Oscar-Shortlisted in 2024 for the 96th Academy Awards!

That film also won the Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase sponsored by Viola Davis!

She even gave us a 'Shout Out' during our Oscar Campaign!

That award-winning film started right here...

on Seed&Spark!

Bit by bit, frame by frame, together, we create revolution through art!

Help us empower girls and young people everywhere!

WE CAN'T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!

Every $ counts

Every voice matters

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

XO

Lisa & Team FILTHY

To our younger selves who needed to know then, but can learn now...

You can listen to your body. You can trust yourself.

And you are good at your core."

~Hillary L. McBride, PhD