Gribbon
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Comedy, Fantasy
This is a rom/com/dram for the folklore enthusiast, the anxious obsessive, and the feminist revisionist. A story about love and decapitation. A retelling of a folk horror classic, putting the Ribbon-Wearer, and her fears, anxiety, and bravery, front and center.
Gribbon
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Comedy, Fantasy
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $7,503 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
85 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
This is a rom/com/dram for the folklore enthusiast, the anxious obsessive, and the feminist revisionist. A story about love and decapitation. A retelling of a folk horror classic, putting the Ribbon-Wearer, and her fears, anxiety, and bravery, front and center.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
THE HISTORY OF GRIBBON
“And when he reached for her neck, and untied the ribbon… HER HEAD FELL OFF.”
You might have heard a scary story about a girl with a ribbon around her neck in your bunk at sleep away camp. You might have read in a literature course, an old folktale about a reanimated bourgeois temptress who lost her head in a guillotine. Or maybe you are just hearing of this story for the first time. This folktale is perhaps most notably recognized by millennials of a certain age from Alvin Schwartz’ In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories. I was maybe 7 or 8 when I first read his retelling, “The Green Ribbon” and I have never, ever forgotten about it. The girl with a ribbon around her neck has haunted me, walked with me, and shaped me in more ways than I may ever have the words to describe.
The earliest versions of the story focus on the devil and his use of ghostly women to trap and ensnare men. Examples of this are “The Adventure of the German Student” by Irving Washington, “Sir Guy Eveling’s Dream” by Horace Smith, and “The Woman with the Velvet Necklace” by Alexandre Dumas. (Special shout out to the Grimm's fairy tale "Under the Juniper Tree" where an evil stepmother decapitates her step son and ties his head back on with a scarf... but that's a different vibe.) The woman with the ribbon in these stories is a seductress, an adulterer, a deceiver. In more contemporary versions of the story, she is both a warning and a lesson for men of bodily autonomy and consent. Historically, in the story, there is a Ribbon-Wearer and Ribbon-Puller. The story is typically told from the perspective of the ribbon puller, identifying it as a lesson in boundaries, consent, and temptation.
From Eerie Magazine, "Adventure of the German Student", MAY 1967
WRITER'S STATEMENT
My take on this story is to tell it from the perspective of the ribbon wearer and the vulnerability and fear that comes from loving someone and therefore, giving them the ability to hurt you. In this story it plays into the literal sense but also emphasizes the emotional metaphorical sense. My interpretation highlights the trust and care necessary between two partners and the acknowledgement that being in love means accepting it may end at any moment. It’s about risking harm for the sake of something joyous and fulfilling. This romantic comedy built on the back of a magical realist fairytale is important because it’s a character study about themes of anxiety, fear of death, OCD, trust and self-acceptance. It addresses mental health through the vulnerable lens of someone with unmanaged anxiety, a tale that deserves a platform. I wanted to write a romance from the perspective of a woman with anxiety, so I wrote a body horror. This result was inevitable because love and fear are linked, especially for women and especially for women today.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
Our creative objective with this special piece is to hybridize and compound the script's unabashed derivation and reverence for the classic folk tale it borrows its basis from, with a more modern and stylized approach to its dark and universal themes. What gravitated me most towards this piece is how the ribbon stories are so distinctly tethered to their bygone eras, though their motifs are still perfectly primed for a contemporary piece thanks to timeless depictions of feelings of unease and doubt. We hope to amplify Gribbon's besieged protagonist's struggle with self-acceptance by bringing this classic folk tale's through-line to today's world, and explore how modernity has made our hero's self doubt and yearning for being seen on her own terms as relevant today as it has ever been. Utilizing decidedly long, moody and choreographed tableaus to curate our visual and editing palettes, we hope to employ these unbroken vignettes as a backdrop for the quiet suffering Ellie endures in silence, as the "normal life" she yearns for passes her by further and further with age.
.jpg)
From Gribbon Lookbook, Image reference: Rosemary's Baby, 1968
BUDGET
We're looking to raise $7,503 for this project. This goes towards labor, crafty, rentals, art, insurance, campaign incentives and festival submissions. It's an ambitiously low budget but with our team's vision, experience, and commitment, we're confident in the quality of execution. If we raise more than our goal, we will increase the day rates for our cast and crew, as well as set aside budget for post production.
WHY YOU SHOULD SUPPORT
Okay, you've scrolled to the bottom of our page. You got a little history lesson, a look into our creative vision, and checked out our beautiful green pie
chart. Now you're wondering, "Should I...?" One of the easiest ways to support this project is to follow our instagram page @gribbon film and share our
campaign page! Then of course, donate to our campaign! We have put a lot of work into our pre-production and this campaign will help us get principal
photography off and running. We aim to get this film a wide audience, and with your support, we will be submitting to film festivals far and wide!
Independent film has long been a refuge for unique stories from underrepresented voices. Your support of Gribbon will elevate a story about a woman, usually called a girl, who is not a prop or plot device for the growth of a man, but instead, entirely her own, headless or not.
.jpg)
From Gribbon Lookbook, Image reference: Trust, 1990
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Cast & Crew Labor & Travel
Costs $3,425
We have a dedicated team of industry professionals working on this project, and with the lack of work in LA right now we want to pay them!
Rentals and Insurance
Costs $2,378
This covers the rentals for our camera, and G&E!
Crafty & Meals
Costs $800
A fed crew is a happy crew!
Publicity and Festivals
Costs $600
This covers submission to film festivals ($$) and production costs for campaign incentives ($).
Art
Costs $300
Art and set decoration to fill out the world of Gribbon!
Share this update!
About This Team
MEET OUR TEAM
Anne Peyton Brothers (Writer/"Ellie") is an writer and actor, hailing from Appalachia (hence the double name.) She wrote and starred in the short film Low Risk Spectre, which took home Best Short at Triborough Film Festival, and has screened at venerable festivals across the U.S. (Chain Film Festival, Weyaweuga Film Festival, New Hope Film Festival, Maryland International Film Festival.) Acting credits include psychological horror feature She Did It, VEEPS sketch comedy show Improbably Poppy, and comedy shorts A Dish Best Served Hot, and Molly Hope vs Falconess. Her feature script Yr Old Wives is currently optioned with Bliss Films. Anne Peyton lives in Los Angeles with her beloved rescue mutt, Bobbi and terror kitten, Dorcas.
Josh Kay (Director) is an IATSE Local 871 set dec and art dept. coordinator with ten years of experience in the Union production scenes around Los Angeles, New York and New Orleans. He recently wrote and served as the showrunner on 2024's blockbuster smash runaway television series and success story Improbably Poppy, starring nu-metal indietronica artist Poppy, which premiered on the Veeps network. He is also nearing completion of his first directorial effort in a decade, A Dish Best Served Hot, which he hopes will be sort of like Improbably Poppy but with less nu-metal indietronica. Josh has seen the band Ween live 25 times and if he has it his way will see them 25000 more.
Based in Los Angeles, Joanna Monfreda (Producer) currently works as a Production Coordinator and Producer. Her TV work includes shows for Netflix, AppleTV+, Peacock and more. Her short films have earned official selections at LA Shorts, Hollyshorts Film Festival, and the Culver City Film Festival, as well as a grant from the CNY Film Fund. Joanna loves handling logistics and is passionate about cultivating comfortable and creative environments for filmmakers to manifest the true vision of their story. When she’s not supporting sets, you can find her traveling with friends, enjoying tunes at concerts around town, or in her kitchen attempting to perfect her nonna’s pasta sauce for the thousandth time.
Nathan Krauss (DP) lives in Brooklyn, NY and works as a DoP and Gaffer. He can often be found smiling on a film set. With a decade of experience, Nathan specializes in narrative storytelling and beauty lighting. Notable works include: A Dish Best Served Hot (dir. Josh Kay); and The Victorias (dir. Ethan Fuirst), winner of the Documentary Jury Prize at Aspen Shortsfest ‘22 and acquired by The New Yorker Documentary. Outside of work, Nathan loves to play board games and read science fiction. He is passionate about creating awesome images and strives to participate in storytelling that is empathetic and inspiring.
Nate Pringle ("George") is an actor, filmmaker, writer and “comedian” originally from Spokane, WA. As an actor he’s starred in films that have screened at SXSW, Palm Springs ShortsFest, Encounters Film Festival, and more. His voice can be heard in the Adult Swim Smalls shows “Let’s Play Pretend” (Mr. Butthroat) and “Mayor Mochi” (Mitch/Skater Squirrel.) Nate currently resides in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and pug Tony LA, and is forever grateful for their love and support.
Jen Brothers ("Mom") is making her film debut in Gribbon. When not providing her voice for her daughter's passion projects, she is also a trained psycho-therapist and an ordained minister in the PCUSA.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
THE HISTORY OF GRIBBON
“And when he reached for her neck, and untied the ribbon… HER HEAD FELL OFF.”
You might have heard a scary story about a girl with a ribbon around her neck in your bunk at sleep away camp. You might have read in a literature course, an old folktale about a reanimated bourgeois temptress who lost her head in a guillotine. Or maybe you are just hearing of this story for the first time. This folktale is perhaps most notably recognized by millennials of a certain age from Alvin Schwartz’ In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories. I was maybe 7 or 8 when I first read his retelling, “The Green Ribbon” and I have never, ever forgotten about it. The girl with a ribbon around her neck has haunted me, walked with me, and shaped me in more ways than I may ever have the words to describe.
The earliest versions of the story focus on the devil and his use of ghostly women to trap and ensnare men. Examples of this are “The Adventure of the German Student” by Irving Washington, “Sir Guy Eveling’s Dream” by Horace Smith, and “The Woman with the Velvet Necklace” by Alexandre Dumas. (Special shout out to the Grimm's fairy tale "Under the Juniper Tree" where an evil stepmother decapitates her step son and ties his head back on with a scarf... but that's a different vibe.) The woman with the ribbon in these stories is a seductress, an adulterer, a deceiver. In more contemporary versions of the story, she is both a warning and a lesson for men of bodily autonomy and consent. Historically, in the story, there is a Ribbon-Wearer and Ribbon-Puller. The story is typically told from the perspective of the ribbon puller, identifying it as a lesson in boundaries, consent, and temptation.
From Eerie Magazine, "Adventure of the German Student", MAY 1967
WRITER'S STATEMENT
My take on this story is to tell it from the perspective of the ribbon wearer and the vulnerability and fear that comes from loving someone and therefore, giving them the ability to hurt you. In this story it plays into the literal sense but also emphasizes the emotional metaphorical sense. My interpretation highlights the trust and care necessary between two partners and the acknowledgement that being in love means accepting it may end at any moment. It’s about risking harm for the sake of something joyous and fulfilling. This romantic comedy built on the back of a magical realist fairytale is important because it’s a character study about themes of anxiety, fear of death, OCD, trust and self-acceptance. It addresses mental health through the vulnerable lens of someone with unmanaged anxiety, a tale that deserves a platform. I wanted to write a romance from the perspective of a woman with anxiety, so I wrote a body horror. This result was inevitable because love and fear are linked, especially for women and especially for women today.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
Our creative objective with this special piece is to hybridize and compound the script's unabashed derivation and reverence for the classic folk tale it borrows its basis from, with a more modern and stylized approach to its dark and universal themes. What gravitated me most towards this piece is how the ribbon stories are so distinctly tethered to their bygone eras, though their motifs are still perfectly primed for a contemporary piece thanks to timeless depictions of feelings of unease and doubt. We hope to amplify Gribbon's besieged protagonist's struggle with self-acceptance by bringing this classic folk tale's through-line to today's world, and explore how modernity has made our hero's self doubt and yearning for being seen on her own terms as relevant today as it has ever been. Utilizing decidedly long, moody and choreographed tableaus to curate our visual and editing palettes, we hope to employ these unbroken vignettes as a backdrop for the quiet suffering Ellie endures in silence, as the "normal life" she yearns for passes her by further and further with age.
From Gribbon Lookbook, Image reference: Rosemary's Baby, 1968
BUDGET
We're looking to raise $7,503 for this project. This goes towards labor, crafty, rentals, art, insurance, campaign incentives and festival submissions. It's an ambitiously low budget but with our team's vision, experience, and commitment, we're confident in the quality of execution. If we raise more than our goal, we will increase the day rates for our cast and crew, as well as set aside budget for post production.
WHY YOU SHOULD SUPPORT
Okay, you've scrolled to the bottom of our page. You got a little history lesson, a look into our creative vision, and checked out our beautiful green pie
chart. Now you're wondering, "Should I...?" One of the easiest ways to support this project is to follow our instagram page @gribbon film and share our
campaign page! Then of course, donate to our campaign! We have put a lot of work into our pre-production and this campaign will help us get principal
photography off and running. We aim to get this film a wide audience, and with your support, we will be submitting to film festivals far and wide!
Independent film has long been a refuge for unique stories from underrepresented voices. Your support of Gribbon will elevate a story about a woman, usually called a girl, who is not a prop or plot device for the growth of a man, but instead, entirely her own, headless or not.
From Gribbon Lookbook, Image reference: Trust, 1990
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Cast & Crew Labor & Travel
Costs $3,425
We have a dedicated team of industry professionals working on this project, and with the lack of work in LA right now we want to pay them!
Rentals and Insurance
Costs $2,378
This covers the rentals for our camera, and G&E!
Crafty & Meals
Costs $800
A fed crew is a happy crew!
Publicity and Festivals
Costs $600
This covers submission to film festivals ($$) and production costs for campaign incentives ($).
Art
Costs $300
Art and set decoration to fill out the world of Gribbon!
Share this update!
About This Team
MEET OUR TEAM
Anne Peyton Brothers (Writer/"Ellie") is an writer and actor, hailing from Appalachia (hence the double name.) She wrote and starred in the short film Low Risk Spectre, which took home Best Short at Triborough Film Festival, and has screened at venerable festivals across the U.S. (Chain Film Festival, Weyaweuga Film Festival, New Hope Film Festival, Maryland International Film Festival.) Acting credits include psychological horror feature She Did It, VEEPS sketch comedy show Improbably Poppy, and comedy shorts A Dish Best Served Hot, and Molly Hope vs Falconess. Her feature script Yr Old Wives is currently optioned with Bliss Films. Anne Peyton lives in Los Angeles with her beloved rescue mutt, Bobbi and terror kitten, Dorcas.
Josh Kay (Director) is an IATSE Local 871 set dec and art dept. coordinator with ten years of experience in the Union production scenes around Los Angeles, New York and New Orleans. He recently wrote and served as the showrunner on 2024's blockbuster smash runaway television series and success story Improbably Poppy, starring nu-metal indietronica artist Poppy, which premiered on the Veeps network. He is also nearing completion of his first directorial effort in a decade, A Dish Best Served Hot, which he hopes will be sort of like Improbably Poppy but with less nu-metal indietronica. Josh has seen the band Ween live 25 times and if he has it his way will see them 25000 more.
Based in Los Angeles, Joanna Monfreda (Producer) currently works as a Production Coordinator and Producer. Her TV work includes shows for Netflix, AppleTV+, Peacock and more. Her short films have earned official selections at LA Shorts, Hollyshorts Film Festival, and the Culver City Film Festival, as well as a grant from the CNY Film Fund. Joanna loves handling logistics and is passionate about cultivating comfortable and creative environments for filmmakers to manifest the true vision of their story. When she’s not supporting sets, you can find her traveling with friends, enjoying tunes at concerts around town, or in her kitchen attempting to perfect her nonna’s pasta sauce for the thousandth time.
Nathan Krauss (DP) lives in Brooklyn, NY and works as a DoP and Gaffer. He can often be found smiling on a film set. With a decade of experience, Nathan specializes in narrative storytelling and beauty lighting. Notable works include: A Dish Best Served Hot (dir. Josh Kay); and The Victorias (dir. Ethan Fuirst), winner of the Documentary Jury Prize at Aspen Shortsfest ‘22 and acquired by The New Yorker Documentary. Outside of work, Nathan loves to play board games and read science fiction. He is passionate about creating awesome images and strives to participate in storytelling that is empathetic and inspiring.
Nate Pringle ("George") is an actor, filmmaker, writer and “comedian” originally from Spokane, WA. As an actor he’s starred in films that have screened at SXSW, Palm Springs ShortsFest, Encounters Film Festival, and more. His voice can be heard in the Adult Swim Smalls shows “Let’s Play Pretend” (Mr. Butthroat) and “Mayor Mochi” (Mitch/Skater Squirrel.) Nate currently resides in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and pug Tony LA, and is forever grateful for their love and support.
Jen Brothers ("Mom") is making her film debut in Gribbon. When not providing her voice for her daughter's passion projects, she is also a trained psycho-therapist and an ordained minister in the PCUSA.