What if you could go back in time to stop the person who hurt someone you love?

In Red is a haunting proof-of-concept short for a planned feature film exploring the visceral intersections of trauma, memory, and transformation.

The Logline: When a woman’s troubled boyfriend takes his own life, she makes a deal with a dark entity to go back in time and kill his child molester—at the cost of her soul.

***Stretch Goal Update: 160 Followers to go!***

We’ve passed our initial funding goal (thank you!!) and raised $13K, but that only covers part of what we need to fully bring In Red to life.

Now we’re aiming for 350 followers by July 2 — this will make us eligible for Gold House x Seed&Spark rewards, including up to $10K in matching funds.

**Every follow counts, and it’s totally free:

https://seedandspark.com/fund/in-red

Thank you for helping us keep the momentum going!

With deep gratitude,

Rebecca

The story follows Red, a young Mixed Asian woman shattered by the suicide of her boyfriend, Angel, who struggled with the trauma of childhood sexual abuse. In her grief, she turns to music, seeking to transmute her pain. But during an audition at the bar where she works, Sal, the booking manager, takes advantage of her.

As Red is assaulted, her shadow contorts violently. She sees haunting visions—her mother’s corporal punishment, and flashbacks of Young Angel’s molestation. From the shadows, a sinister Figure in a Top Hat emerges, pulling her back to the moment before Sal’s assault.

This time, Red strikes back. Convinced she is killing Angel’s abuser, she stabs the figure before her—only to realize it is Sal. The dagger, disturbingly, has grown from her own hand.

The Figure thanks her, promising a reunion with Angel—if she completes two more kills: one to send her into the past before his trauma, and one to resurrect him by destroying his abuser.

I grew up under corporal punishment. While that trauma was cultural, abuse is universal. And the specific story of Asian American domestic abuse is rarely seen on screen.

When I reached the end of Black Swan, where a woman smiles as she bleeds out because she was finally “perfect,” I saw myself. A woman controlled by her mother, who turned her pain into a performance.

I wanted to write a Black Swan for a Mixed Asian woman.

The story was born from heartbreak, by someone I loved, who was molested as a child. I began to wonder: If I could go back in time and kill his abuser, would he be free of his trauma? Would he return to me? Or would I get lost in my own rage from my own abuse?

I’ve spoken with many Asian American women who were raised in similarly abusive or high-pressure households. So many of us are estranged from our parents, yet this experience is barely spoken about or acknowledged in film. I want to create conversations around this silence.

Inspired by Black Swan, Carrie, and Pan’s Labyrinth, In Red will feature surreal dreamscapes, vivid color palettes (red, purple, green, and blue), and stark contrasts of light and shadow. Original music will express Red’s internal struggle between healing and destruction, memory and escape.

In Red is more than a horror story—it’s a cinematic allegory for how trauma binds us, how rage consumes us, and how our minds reshape reality.

You’re not just backing a film. You’re helping tell a story that rarely gets told.

Your support amplifies underrepresented voices. You’re making space for Mixed Asian artists and abuse survivors to be seen—and heard.

We plan for a Fall/Winter shoot in 2025/26.

Why Your Support Matters

By supporting In Red, you’re helping bring a bold vision to life, and your contribution will directly fund:

• Fair compensation for our diverse cast and crew, with a focus on hiring women, nonbinary artists, and people of color
• Cinematography and production design to create vivid, surreal dreamscapes and the emotionally charged visual world Red inhabits
• High-quality special and practical effects to bring the film’s supernatural elements and psychological horror to life in a visceral, cinematic way
• Essential equipment rentals to ensure a professional and polished production
• Location fees that allow us to shoot in evocative, atmospheric spaces
• Post-production (editing, sound design, color grading) to fully realize the film’s aesthetic and emotional depth
• Original music composition that gives voice to Red’s inner transformation and pain

You’d be backing our all female creative team:

Seana Rogovin (Director of Photography) Native to New York City and the Hudson Valley, Seana has a profound appreciation for live event, fashion, commercials, beauty, story-telling, and the arts. As Seana grows as a filmmaker and collaborator, she approaches every project with a keen artistic eye, methodical perspective, and an intuitive sense of balance, elevating the creative process. Her versatile nature makes her a great asset to any project, big or small, New York City or beyond. https://www.seanaro.co/

Shannon Sullivan (Director) is a Brooklyn based director, writer & actress. Originally from the Bay Area, she started acting on stage at the age of five and has continued to work in film for the last ten years. Her work centers around women’s stories. She is currently in post production for her short film Liminal and in pre production for her upcoming feature The Houseguest. linktr.ee/shannonsullivan

Mika Lungulov-Klotz (Producer) is a Chilean-Serbian photographer and filmmaker living and working in New York City. Her work explores themes of intimacy, gender, the overwhelming and disgusting, but tender, experience of having to perceive yourself, and life in the ‘inbetween’. She focuses on surreal narrative and photo and film documentary.

Her work has been exhibited throughout New York City, as well as internationally, and featured on Wallpaper*, DAZED, W magazine, Vogue, The New York Times, Sundance Film Festival, and Berlinale. https://mlungulovklotz.com/

Caroline Mills (Practical Special Effects) is a skilled hair and makeup artist specializing in practical special effects. Based in NYC, she excels in beauty, special effects, blood gags, and custom prosthetics. A key player in film, she recently contributed to a Martin Scorsese-executive produced feature, Pet Shop Days, starring Willem Dafoe. Her work extends to music videos, photoshoots, editorial, commercial projects, NYFW, and live performance, with credits including possession makeup for Chloe Cherry, prosthetics for Alex Consani, glam for Veronica Slowikowska, an old age transformation makeup for Jack Haven, and a gunshot wound prosthetic for Bob Balaban.

Holding a BFA in Art History and Performance Studies from Pratt Institute, a NY State Esthetics License, and a Mastery Makeup certificate from MUD, Caroline operates from her East Williamsburg studio. There, she crafts custom prosthetics, silicone props, and dynamic blood effects for any project’s needs. A versatile and driven artist, she continues to shape the industry with her expertise. https://carolinemillsmuafx.com

Rebecca Lee Lerman (Writer and Actor) is a New York City-based performer, writer, and producer dedicated to telling bold, underrepresented stories. With a diverse background in theater, film, and voiceover, she explores identity, trauma, and resilience.

Her theatrical credits include Urinetown (Fire Island Pines Arts Project), Elf (Mill Mountain Theatre), and Beautiful Thing (Nicu’s Spoon Theatre). She has also performed in National Asian Artists Project’s all-Asian productions of Hello, Dolly!, Carousel, and Oliver!

Rebecca’s screen work includes the upcoming TV movie A Conflict of (Love) Interest, as well as voiceover roles in Reimagined: A Virtual Reality Animation Series and Sora Shorts—projects commissioned by the Tribeca Film Festival.

As a writer, her musical Her Hotel won Outstanding Production at WTFringe Virtual Festival (2020) and was an Official Selection at Queens World Film Festival (2021) and a Semi-Finalist at Dumbo Film Festival. Her films and plays have been featured at Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, Universe Multicultural Film Festival, and The Asian American Film Festival.

Her psychological horror screenplay, In Red, was a Quarterfinalist in Screencraft Horror 2024 and Filmmatic Horror Awards (Season 8), as well as a Semi-Finalist in Horror2Comic 2024 and the Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards - Diversity Initiative VIII.

Rebecca has written for Mixed Asian Media and served as Media Director for the Mixed Asian Media Festival, amplifying Mixed Asian voices. Passionate about genre storytelling, she creates thought-provoking narratives that spark conversation, promote healing, and push for greater diversity in the entertainment industry. https://www.rebeccaleelerman.net

Leviathan Lab (Fiscal Sponsor) Founded in 2009, Leviathan Lab is an award-winning not-for-profit creative studio whose mission is the advancement of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) performing artists and their work. Through the speaking of AANHPI artists’ words, and the presentation of AANHPI bodies, presence, and gestures on stage and film, Leviathan works to open spaces that promote social justice, bridge communities, and assert the power of art to change the world. We function as a lab where early-career and established AANHPI artists can be courageous, experiment, and thrive as they create works that captivate the audiences we serve.  www.leviathanlab.org

***We thank Leviathan Lab for supporting us as a fiscal sponsor. Your support is tax-deductible! Tax receipts will be issued from Leviathan Lab once the campaign has concluded.

Poster Art by Gavin Calais