MARY MEET GRACE

Los Angeles, California | Film Short

Thriller, Drama

Faryl Amadeus

1 Campaigns | California, United States

Green Light

This campaign raised $16,305 for pre-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.

229 supporters | followers

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When a troubled young woman gets a phone call from a stranger saying that the birth mother she never knew has died, she accompanies him into the desert to spread her mother’s ashes. Along the way she discovers dangerous truths and fights to untangle herself from a sinister plan.

About The Project

  • The Story
  • Wishlist
  • Updates
  • The Team
  • Community

Mission Statement

Inspired by my own experience reuniting with my birth mother, the seed of my film began as an examination of the intense yearning an adoptee might go through to know more about their past.

The Story

I have felt divinely driven to make this movie. I feel led. Obsessed. It has been a crystal vision from day 1.

The story follows Grace, who has suffered the recent loss of her father, as I just have. She is numb, vulnerable and craves family and connection. Considering herself a Charlie Brown type, the one who always gets the empty fortune cookie, she can't seem to get out from that dark cloud. Out of nowhere a stranger calls, telling Grace that the birth mother she never knew, Mary, has died.

He proposes to meet up, wanting to tell Grace about Mary and give her some of her personal items. When they meet in a local Los Angeles Park, he is shocked at the resemblance to Mary and immediately feels a connection. He asks if she would want to accompany him to the desert to spread Mary's ashes and along the way promises to tell her all about the woman she so desperately wanted to know.

As an adopted kid myself I yearned to discover where I came from and tried to imagine the woman who grew me. I love being adopted. Growing up I felt lucky and special, but I also felt a certain sadness and a disconnect to my lack of biological heritage. 

For Grace, her eager desperation blinds her to danger. She so badly wants to unlock these secret missing peices of herself that she can't see the warning signs right in front of her.

After fundraising we are ready to go right into production. Our crew is assembled, our locations are scouted, our actors are rehearsing. On set covid safety guidelines will be strictly followed. 

I'm excited to get into post production, which is a completely other art form. A beauiful beast of a thing, that blows my mind everytime. Once we have a final cut of MARY MEET GRACE, which is expected to run about 10-12 minutes, we will submit it to many festivals. I expect the next year to be busy. Stay tuned!

We're so excited to bring this fun, suspenseful and sinister story to light.

 

Wishlist

Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.

Cash Pledge

Costs $0

CAMERA & CREW

Costs $8,000

To call: "LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!" We need lights, cameras and YOUR ACTION!

Location Location Location

Costs $1,100

Spoiler: Dom takes Grace to a creepy trailer in the desert. We need to rent one!

Covid Compliance

Costs $1,200

Safety is paramount. We'll take all precautions on set, including having a Covid compliance officer.

Craft services

Costs $800

Feed the workers!

MAKEUP & WARDROBE

Costs $1,000

Well we can't be naked! (Or can we...?)

Festival Entry Costs

Costs $900

We want Mary, Meet Grace to be the belle of the ball at festivals across the globe.

POST!

Costs $3,000

Last looks, baby. Editing is magic.

About This Team

Hi, I'm Faryl Amadeus, the writer and director of Mary, Meet Grace. I'm a native New Yorker who now happily calls LA "home".

Everyone connected to this project I've met through fantastic people. Julia and Clint have worked together on muliple projects over the years. Nell, who I know from our days at NYU's Tisch school of the Arts, has also worked with Julia a wild amount and describes her as her "work wife". 

Everyone involved with Mary, Meet Grace is sincere and obsessed with storytelling and beauty. There is an optimistic energy that surrounds all of us and a palpible respect for one another. I'm so eager to collaborate with all these wonderful, creative people.

Clint Jordan "Dom"

Clint Jordan is a savagely talently, soulful actor. He's a visual artist and a musician and gives all he has to whatever part he's playing.

 

Julia Swain - DP

Julia Swain is a cinematographer known for her emotion-driven imagery and ability to portray the human experience on screen. During her time earning an MFA in cinematography from UCLA, she won the Women in Film Cinematography Fellowship and the American Society of Cinematographers awarded her the very first ASC Vision Scholarship. She lensed the feature SPEED OF LIFE, starring Ann Dowd, for director Liz Manashil that traveled to dozens of festivals worldwide including Atlanta. GOODNIGHT GRACIE, a horror short written and directed by Stellan Kendrick, premiered at SITGES. Most recently, her fifth feature film, LUCKY, for director Natasha Kermani and Epic Pictures Group, starring Brea Grant, was selected for a SXSW 2020 premiere. Her work ranges from dramatic narrative to commercials and music videos for artists like Hozier, Quinn XCII, Kelsea Ballerini and more. She is based in Los Angeles and is represented by WPA.

 

Nell Teare - Producer

Nell Teare is a force. She describes herself as "a story teller, a farmer’s daughter, and a philosopher." She is a director, a charmer, a producer, and anything she puts her mind to is a done deal. 

 

Beth Goodman - Art Director

Beth grew up and went to school in NYC with a stint in London at art school. At age 28 she started a lingerie company which was highly recognized by buyers and media for its innovative designs. Moving to LA to work for a large lingerie company she dreampt of designing for film. Eventually she started styling photo shoots and commercials. After 10 years of styling, she started her current passion, Marie Turnor, a leather handbag and accessory business, well known for its classic ‘Lunch’ bag. 

 

Current Team

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