Intrusively
New York City, New York | Film Short
Documentary
The common misuse of the phrase, "I'm so OCD," overshadows the realities of the mental disorder. In a climate of rising mental health awareness, Intrusively will explore real-life stories of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder to demonstrate its impact on everyday life and to help minimize the stigma.
Intrusively
New York City, New York | Film Short
Documentary
1 Campaigns | New York, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $6,548 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
65 supporters | followers
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The common misuse of the phrase, "I'm so OCD," overshadows the realities of the mental disorder. In a climate of rising mental health awareness, Intrusively will explore real-life stories of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder to demonstrate its impact on everyday life and to help minimize the stigma.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The thing about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is it invades your mind and forces you to imagine sometimes terrible scenarios. One moment you are sitting on a park bench with your 91-year-old grandmother listening to her talk about her senior living community, but the next moment an intrusive thought is pushing its way in. You could hurt her. It doesn’t make sense. You would never do that, but the thought continues to push and push until you are removing all the knives from your home because you think what if I took the knife and hurt my family? The thought ruminates inside your brain for several hours. One intrusive thought sends you spiraling.
Things as simple as locking the door are part of our daily routine. It becomes second nature to the point where when you walk through the door, your hand instinctively locks it behind you. You know you locked it because you always do, but now imagine a trickle of doubt. You walk over to the door to double check. But what if you weren’t really paying attention and imagined it was locked? What if someone breaks in and kills my family, and it's all my fault? The cycle continues for hours every night. You tell yourself you’ll check just one more time until you feel absolutely satisfied, but even after hundreds of checks the satisfication never comes.
You see something on the floor in the grocery store and pick it up so someone doesn’t trip. You make it to another aisle. Did I actually move it out of the way? You peak around the aisle to make sure and clock that the item is out of harm’s way, but did you just imagine that it was out of the way. The doubt sets in again the moment you move on, so you walk to the spot where it was on the floor to prove to yourself it's not there anymore. If you try to resist checking, you then think, what if I don't care and want people to trip… no of course I care.....and so you check again.
These examples represent only a few of the thousands of scenarios that can debilitate a person's life when living with OCD.
OCD is ego-dystonic, meaning thoughts or impulses opposite that of your values and beliefs. These thoughts are followed by intense, overbearing anxiety, paralysis, shame, guilt, and even disgust. The only way to find relief is through repetitive behaviors (physically and mentally), but the relief is temporary. The more you engage, the more intense the thoughts, images, or feelings become. You carry these thoughts, hide your rituals, and keep reassuring yourself one more time and I'll be free.
The common misuse of the phrase "I'm so OCD” as a personality descriptor, overshadows the realities of the mental disorder. In a climate of rising mental health awareness, the docu-series Intrusively will explore real-life stories of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder to demonstrate its impact on everyday life and to help minimize the stigma. We associate OCD with being neat and organized, but this miscategorization prevents proper diagnoses for the disease and harms people who are living with it, like me. There are stories of people living within these cycles for ten years or more, never realizing it was OCD because of the misassociation in our culture.
Each episode we will intimately follow a specific person and their unique experience with OCD. Fully immersed in sound design, cinematography, narrative reenactments, we will take the audience on a journey through what it is like to live with OCD.
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Exit 12
Like Exit 12, the first episode will use dance to help tell my story.
The Distraction- Matty Brown film
Just like the distraction- intrusively will allow you to feel what someone with ocd goes through.
Pure - HBO MAX
My Last Days
Like the documentary series "my last days" each episode will focus on one individual.
We will start with my personal journey with scrupulosity/moral ocd and a mix of other themes. Your generous donation will support this first episode.
I had my first thought about cursing God when I was around 13. I still remember the anxiety that jolted through my body. I felt breathless, scared, guilty, anxious, and it scared me to death because I love God and my faith is very important to me. I had this terrible “feeling” that something bad was going to happen because I “cursed God.” At that time, I placed so much importance on my thoughts – if I thought it, I meant it. I had no idea intrusive thoughts were normal. From that day on, the intrusive thoughts popped in more frequently, the compulsions were endless, and things escalated. The endless compulsions became my new normal, which left me missing out on important life experiences. In a classroom filled with laughter and budding friendships, I was sitting alone at a desk stuck in a cycle of prayer compulsions.
The mood/ tone of this will be illustrated by:
- The contrast of warm and cold
- Isolation
- Clutter and chaos
- Told through dance
This is a critical moment for OCD education and awareness. As the world copes with a global pandemic, it is becoming more cognizant of mental health and the importance of treating it as seriously as we would a physical illness. With this docuseries, we can tune into the current moment.
Even though there is so much more education out there on what ocd really is, the media and our society still get it wrong…
13 Reasons Why
Khlocd
Monk
Of course, filming during this time also requires extra attention to the health of our crew. On shooting days, we will provide PPE, do daily temperature checks, and mandate PCR COVID testing prior to shooting.
By simply sharing this campaign, you’re already helping us in a tremendous way! If you can’t make a monetary pledge, a donation would be much appreciated! Feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected] with any items that you may be willing to donate.
Here are some items that we’re seeking:
Early 2000s props and wardrobe (CDs, posters, etc.)
Dance Studio Space
PPE
We can NOT do this without you! Please share our campaign via your social media, email, word-of-mouth, morse code, however you want!
Here are some examples that you can copy + paste:
I’m so excited to share the doc-series, Intrusively, by For the Art Studios – a woman led production company created by Rosemarie Sparacio & Tunisia Seda. Support them on @seedandspark: www.seedandspark.com/fund/intrusively
Help For the Art studios by supporting their docu series, Intrusively. @seedandspark: www.seedandspark.com/fund/intrusively
Special thanks to Windsor Flynn
Windsor Flynn is a mental health advocate turned meditation teacher. After experiencing severe postpartum OCD she was inspired to share her story of recovery in the hopes that no mother would be left to suffer in silence with the condition. Finding success with meditation, Windsor became a certified teacher of the 1 Giant Mind Being meditation technique. When she isn’t busy teaching non-meditators how to meditate, she is living her best soccer mom life in foggy San Francisco.
Thank you for your support!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Production Expenses
Costs $3,150
This will cover travel expenses, film equipment, and craft services.
Post Production
Costs $1,050
Help us pay for sound design, editing, and color for our series
Share this update!
About This Team
ROSEMARIE
Producer/Director
Rosemarie Sparacio, a Queens native, is the other half of For the art studios, a production company founded by her and fellow team member and close friend, Tunisia Seda. Rosemarie has dreamed of making movies since she was thirteen.
She has followed that dream ever since. As a graduate of the New York Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications & Media Production, Rosemarie made it her mission to gain as much experience as she could. She worked on many short films, including "Lobster Fra Diavolo," which was selected to go to Cannes in 2015. Since then, she has worked for a few production companies on notable shows like Inside Edition and Bull(CBS). Rosemarie dreams of a career where the content she creates is a catalyst for change in the world.
Rosemarie has had obsessive compulsive disorder for as long as she can remember. For a long time, she had no idea the compulsions she was experiencing were part of a treatable mental disorder . After her official diagnosis and treatment in 2019, she's been on a mission to bring awareness to this disorder. This documentary series is the start of that campaign.
TUNISIA
Producer/ Director
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From The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to In the Heights, Tunisia has been able to delve into various forms of media. Her most recent scripted experience was a short film called “Life Black Voices” for Facebook, where she was afforded the opportunity to assistant direct.
Tunisia has a passion, not just for storytelling, but for the entire filmmaking process. Tunisia is the other half of For the Art Studios, a production company founded by she and her close friend and team member, Rosemarie Sparacio. In a field where lack of representation is still an issue, For the Arts Studio was founded on the idea to illuminate overlooked stories — we have a voice and we deserve to use it.
MIKA
Director of Photography
Mika is a cinematographer and camera assistant originally from Boulder, Colorado. She’s worked in the film industry in New York for four years, on projects ranging from narrative shorts and features, to commercials and fashion, and, most recently, working on the Showtime series Couples Therapy. Mika is passionate about emotive, sensitive, female-centered storytelling, and is excited to take Intrusively to the next stage of production.
ERIN
Associate Producer
Erin is one of our writers, but will not shy away from doing whatever needs to be done, from researching grants to going on coffee runs. She is a graduate of the Ohio State University (go Buckeyes!) and started her work in the entertainment field as an intern at The Tonight Show in 2018. Since then, Erin has worked for talent and literary agencies, enjoyed a stint as a production assistant, and currently works as a content supervisor for the Youtube Channel of a well established production company.
"In my experience, writing requires you to know each character as you do yourself, which in theory, should be easy. It's not. We lie to ourselves all the time. Reality is distorted by what WE see. Each character in the story comes from you and already possesses inherent biases based on your life experiences. The real trick is discovering what those are and seeing yourself and the character through a different lens. I should also add, my viewpoint on writing is sure to change too."
FRANCES
Assistant Director
Frances is a Social Video Producer at BuzzFeed. She is a graduate of the Hofstra University Honors program with a Bachelor of Science degree in Video, TV, and Film production.
She may have RBF, but she's actually very friendly! Her favorite shows are Outlander and Attack on Titan. She loves to write stories and be involved in any form of production. Her goal is to be the next Shonda Rhimes.
DANIELLA
Production Coordinator/Casting Director
Daniella Macolino is an Actor and Writer with diverse experience in production and casting. A Kean University graduate in Communication and Film led her to intern at one of the top casting agencies in New York City, Paladino Casting. She gained experience working as a production coordinator on several projects with MartiniCaruso Productions including, “Scenes from the Blackout,” a still photo exhibition, which was an Official Selection at the 2019 Venice Biennale. Daniella continues to work on her craft as an actor for TV and Film and met Tunisia and Rosemarie after being cast in their short film. They kept in touch and Daniella since become an integral member of their crew. She resides in New Jersey with her husband David and cat Beau.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The thing about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is it invades your mind and forces you to imagine sometimes terrible scenarios. One moment you are sitting on a park bench with your 91-year-old grandmother listening to her talk about her senior living community, but the next moment an intrusive thought is pushing its way in. You could hurt her. It doesn’t make sense. You would never do that, but the thought continues to push and push until you are removing all the knives from your home because you think what if I took the knife and hurt my family? The thought ruminates inside your brain for several hours. One intrusive thought sends you spiraling.
Things as simple as locking the door are part of our daily routine. It becomes second nature to the point where when you walk through the door, your hand instinctively locks it behind you. You know you locked it because you always do, but now imagine a trickle of doubt. You walk over to the door to double check. But what if you weren’t really paying attention and imagined it was locked? What if someone breaks in and kills my family, and it's all my fault? The cycle continues for hours every night. You tell yourself you’ll check just one more time until you feel absolutely satisfied, but even after hundreds of checks the satisfication never comes.
You see something on the floor in the grocery store and pick it up so someone doesn’t trip. You make it to another aisle. Did I actually move it out of the way? You peak around the aisle to make sure and clock that the item is out of harm’s way, but did you just imagine that it was out of the way. The doubt sets in again the moment you move on, so you walk to the spot where it was on the floor to prove to yourself it's not there anymore. If you try to resist checking, you then think, what if I don't care and want people to trip… no of course I care.....and so you check again.
These examples represent only a few of the thousands of scenarios that can debilitate a person's life when living with OCD.
OCD is ego-dystonic, meaning thoughts or impulses opposite that of your values and beliefs. These thoughts are followed by intense, overbearing anxiety, paralysis, shame, guilt, and even disgust. The only way to find relief is through repetitive behaviors (physically and mentally), but the relief is temporary. The more you engage, the more intense the thoughts, images, or feelings become. You carry these thoughts, hide your rituals, and keep reassuring yourself one more time and I'll be free.
The common misuse of the phrase "I'm so OCD” as a personality descriptor, overshadows the realities of the mental disorder. In a climate of rising mental health awareness, the docu-series Intrusively will explore real-life stories of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder to demonstrate its impact on everyday life and to help minimize the stigma. We associate OCD with being neat and organized, but this miscategorization prevents proper diagnoses for the disease and harms people who are living with it, like me. There are stories of people living within these cycles for ten years or more, never realizing it was OCD because of the misassociation in our culture.
Each episode we will intimately follow a specific person and their unique experience with OCD. Fully immersed in sound design, cinematography, narrative reenactments, we will take the audience on a journey through what it is like to live with OCD.
Exit 12
Like Exit 12, the first episode will use dance to help tell my story.
The Distraction- Matty Brown film
Just like the distraction- intrusively will allow you to feel what someone with ocd goes through.
Pure - HBO MAX
My Last Days
Like the documentary series "my last days" each episode will focus on one individual.
We will start with my personal journey with scrupulosity/moral ocd and a mix of other themes. Your generous donation will support this first episode.
I had my first thought about cursing God when I was around 13. I still remember the anxiety that jolted through my body. I felt breathless, scared, guilty, anxious, and it scared me to death because I love God and my faith is very important to me. I had this terrible “feeling” that something bad was going to happen because I “cursed God.” At that time, I placed so much importance on my thoughts – if I thought it, I meant it. I had no idea intrusive thoughts were normal. From that day on, the intrusive thoughts popped in more frequently, the compulsions were endless, and things escalated. The endless compulsions became my new normal, which left me missing out on important life experiences. In a classroom filled with laughter and budding friendships, I was sitting alone at a desk stuck in a cycle of prayer compulsions.
The mood/ tone of this will be illustrated by:
- The contrast of warm and cold
- Isolation
- Clutter and chaos
- Told through dance
This is a critical moment for OCD education and awareness. As the world copes with a global pandemic, it is becoming more cognizant of mental health and the importance of treating it as seriously as we would a physical illness. With this docuseries, we can tune into the current moment.
Even though there is so much more education out there on what ocd really is, the media and our society still get it wrong…
13 Reasons Why
Khlocd
Monk
Of course, filming during this time also requires extra attention to the health of our crew. On shooting days, we will provide PPE, do daily temperature checks, and mandate PCR COVID testing prior to shooting.
By simply sharing this campaign, you’re already helping us in a tremendous way! If you can’t make a monetary pledge, a donation would be much appreciated! Feel free to shoot us an email at [email protected] with any items that you may be willing to donate.
Here are some items that we’re seeking:
Early 2000s props and wardrobe (CDs, posters, etc.)
Dance Studio Space
PPE
We can NOT do this without you! Please share our campaign via your social media, email, word-of-mouth, morse code, however you want!
Here are some examples that you can copy + paste:
I’m so excited to share the doc-series, Intrusively, by For the Art Studios – a woman led production company created by Rosemarie Sparacio & Tunisia Seda. Support them on @seedandspark: www.seedandspark.com/fund/intrusively
Help For the Art studios by supporting their docu series, Intrusively. @seedandspark: www.seedandspark.com/fund/intrusively
Special thanks to Windsor Flynn
Windsor Flynn is a mental health advocate turned meditation teacher. After experiencing severe postpartum OCD she was inspired to share her story of recovery in the hopes that no mother would be left to suffer in silence with the condition. Finding success with meditation, Windsor became a certified teacher of the 1 Giant Mind Being meditation technique. When she isn’t busy teaching non-meditators how to meditate, she is living her best soccer mom life in foggy San Francisco.
Thank you for your support!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Production Expenses
Costs $3,150
This will cover travel expenses, film equipment, and craft services.
Post Production
Costs $1,050
Help us pay for sound design, editing, and color for our series
Share this update!
About This Team
ROSEMARIE
Producer/Director
Rosemarie Sparacio, a Queens native, is the other half of For the art studios, a production company founded by her and fellow team member and close friend, Tunisia Seda. Rosemarie has dreamed of making movies since she was thirteen.
She has followed that dream ever since. As a graduate of the New York Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications & Media Production, Rosemarie made it her mission to gain as much experience as she could. She worked on many short films, including "Lobster Fra Diavolo," which was selected to go to Cannes in 2015. Since then, she has worked for a few production companies on notable shows like Inside Edition and Bull(CBS). Rosemarie dreams of a career where the content she creates is a catalyst for change in the world.
Rosemarie has had obsessive compulsive disorder for as long as she can remember. For a long time, she had no idea the compulsions she was experiencing were part of a treatable mental disorder . After her official diagnosis and treatment in 2019, she's been on a mission to bring awareness to this disorder. This documentary series is the start of that campaign.
TUNISIA
Producer/ Director
From The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to In the Heights, Tunisia has been able to delve into various forms of media. Her most recent scripted experience was a short film called “Life Black Voices” for Facebook, where she was afforded the opportunity to assistant direct.
Tunisia has a passion, not just for storytelling, but for the entire filmmaking process. Tunisia is the other half of For the Art Studios, a production company founded by she and her close friend and team member, Rosemarie Sparacio. In a field where lack of representation is still an issue, For the Arts Studio was founded on the idea to illuminate overlooked stories — we have a voice and we deserve to use it.
MIKA
Director of Photography
Mika is a cinematographer and camera assistant originally from Boulder, Colorado. She’s worked in the film industry in New York for four years, on projects ranging from narrative shorts and features, to commercials and fashion, and, most recently, working on the Showtime series Couples Therapy. Mika is passionate about emotive, sensitive, female-centered storytelling, and is excited to take Intrusively to the next stage of production.
ERIN
Associate Producer
Erin is one of our writers, but will not shy away from doing whatever needs to be done, from researching grants to going on coffee runs. She is a graduate of the Ohio State University (go Buckeyes!) and started her work in the entertainment field as an intern at The Tonight Show in 2018. Since then, Erin has worked for talent and literary agencies, enjoyed a stint as a production assistant, and currently works as a content supervisor for the Youtube Channel of a well established production company.
"In my experience, writing requires you to know each character as you do yourself, which in theory, should be easy. It's not. We lie to ourselves all the time. Reality is distorted by what WE see. Each character in the story comes from you and already possesses inherent biases based on your life experiences. The real trick is discovering what those are and seeing yourself and the character through a different lens. I should also add, my viewpoint on writing is sure to change too."
FRANCES
Assistant Director
Frances is a Social Video Producer at BuzzFeed. She is a graduate of the Hofstra University Honors program with a Bachelor of Science degree in Video, TV, and Film production.
She may have RBF, but she's actually very friendly! Her favorite shows are Outlander and Attack on Titan. She loves to write stories and be involved in any form of production. Her goal is to be the next Shonda Rhimes.
DANIELLA
Production Coordinator/Casting Director
Daniella Macolino is an Actor and Writer with diverse experience in production and casting. A Kean University graduate in Communication and Film led her to intern at one of the top casting agencies in New York City, Paladino Casting. She gained experience working as a production coordinator on several projects with MartiniCaruso Productions including, “Scenes from the Blackout,” a still photo exhibition, which was an Official Selection at the 2019 Venice Biennale. Daniella continues to work on her craft as an actor for TV and Film and met Tunisia and Rosemarie after being cast in their short film. They kept in touch and Daniella since become an integral member of their crew. She resides in New Jersey with her husband David and cat Beau.