METHOD
Toledo, Ohio | Film Feature
Horror
In a moment of rising backlash against gender equity, METHOD confronts how patriarchal systems in the arts pit women against themselves—turning ambition into rivalry, harm, and survival. It uses horror’s commercial power and communal impact to expose hard truths.
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$9,860
Goal: $25,000 for production
In a moment of rising backlash against gender equity, METHOD confronts how patriarchal systems in the arts pit women against themselves—turning ambition into rivalry, harm, and survival. It uses horror’s commercial power and communal impact to expose hard truths.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
"For women, the boundaries of acceptability are strict, and they are many. We must be seductive but pure, quiet but not aloof, fragile but industrious, and always small - when we can’t manage the contradictory restrictions, we're turned into grotesques. Women have been monsters, and monsters have been women, in centuries’ worth of stories, because stories are a way to encode these expectations and pass them on.” - Jess Zimmerman
Nestled in the insular and claustrophobic world of a small university’s theatre department, a disillusioned acting professor casts herself alongside her college students in Shakespeare's bloody TITUS ANDRONICUS.
Her provocative methods unravel the very fabric of the production, plunging both her and the talented young ingénue, yearning for the life her mentor sacrificed, into a tumultuous spiral.
Through horror, humor, and with a dash of irreverence, METHOD delves into the obsession and rivalry between two ambitious women striving for agency and power in a culture that seeks to exclude them from both.
The pursuit of art has long been entangled with impossible contradictions: be ambitious, but not threatening; be brilliant, but deferential; be desired, but not desiring. In our culture, a woman who chooses art above all else is often branded selfish, difficult—even monstrous. Horror gives us the perfect language to explore that distortion.
In an era of rising misogyny and gender equality backlash, the concept of the monstrous-feminine film feels both exciting and timely. Barbara Creed's book The Monstrous-Feminine flipped the script on how women are portrayed in horror, showcasing them as powerful and terrifying figures rather than just victims. Our characters are examples of this.
LILLIAN
Deep in a mid-life crisis, reeling from the dissolution of her marriage and lack of professional opportunities, Professor Lillian Gordan casts herself across from her talented young protégé in a production of TITUS ANDRONICUS, hoping to resurrect her creative worth and identity.
KARA
Magnetic, intelligent, and brimming with passionate ambition, Kara is willing to do whatever it takes to impress her mentor, particularly if it involves delving further into the art of acting.
DR. ANN
Current Department Chair and former classmate of Lillian, Ann seeks to make the theatre program thrive but hesitates to push boundaries like Lillian does. Is it possible to balance inspiring, innovative teaching while adhering to departmental protocol?
METHOD is a psychological horror film exploring the pervasive presence of competition, suffocating insularity, and entitlement in higher education, specifically in performance art.
Tonally, METHOD blends biting irreverence with psychological unease, using humor and horror to destabilize the audience before plunging them into claustrophobic terror.
With cultural relevance wrapped in the irreverent tone of A24 HORROR/THRILLERS, the clash of ambition and unfulfilled dreams taken to PEARL-like extremes...
...and the female forward eroticism and generational conflict of TÁR , BLACK SWAN, and THE SUBSTANCE.
METHOD follows in the tradition of elevated horror: intelligent, unnerving, and culturally resonant!
WHY US?
We’re a small but diverse and experienced team of artists passionate about telling stories by and about the underrepresented. Our collective experience spans theatre and film, including writing, directing, acting, producing and teaching. Like so many filmmakers we’ve been profoundly impacted by the huge shifts happening in our industry. As hard as these changes have been, they’ve also renewed and galvanized our belief in the true spirit of “independent” film.
We believe that a core group of like-minded, smart creatives can produce relevant and quality work despite a tight budget. We also believe that working within constraints actually amplifies creativity and risk-taking. It’s a model that we feel not only works but is fast becoming the most effective and exciting model of filmmaking in our industry.
Check out our Team Page to learn more about us!
WHY THIS?
Horror films are a popular and profitable genre that provide unique opportunities for visual and narrative risk taking. Beyond the economic possibilities, horror films also offer a communal experience for the audience. Consequently, we feel the best horror films use the genre as a vehicle to pull back the blinds on deep and relevant truths.
Whether it be THE BABADOOK using horror to dive into the complexity of grief, THE SUBSTANCE using the genre to point a finger at the relentless obsession with beauty and youth in our culture, or the way Jordan Peele embeds relevant social commentary and humor into his exquisite horror films, METHOD seeks to follow in this tradition.
WHY NOW?
In 2026 there continues to be a global backlash against gender equality that seems to be only escalating. METHOD is a female-driven, thematically urgent, and unapologetically bold film that doesn’t just scare—it provokes.
Drawing inspiration from Barbara Creed’s The Monstrous-Feminine, the film pulls back the curtain on how internalized patriarchy, and the attempts to combat it, can create both expansive and monstrous results. It’s both a satire of the toxic insularity of performance education and an unsettling portrait of female rivalry, desire, and generational inheritance.
We aim to shoot this film in Toledo, Ohio in the summer of 2026 using the micro-budget indie model of our first film - LONE WOLVES, making thousands in Ohio feel like millions elsewhere. Blending the state's burgeoning tax credits, the quick and easy permitting and access to discounted or free locations, along with a nimble, skilled crew, Northwest Ohio is a dynamic and cost-efficient place for the old indie-model to both thrive but have space to innovate.
We are teaming up with some incredible partners including local Toledo organizations Madhouse Films and Public Works Collaborative. As well as Chicago-based production company Rm. 19 Productions whose mission is to ensure the stories they tell and the spaces they create reflect the vibrant diversity of their audiences through storytelling, community building, and professional development. Rm. 19 is led by women, for everyone.
We are raising funds to cover some key stages of the filmmaking process, including pre-production, production, and post-production. The majority of the money we are raising is meant to cover the labor costs of our cast and crew, including their rates, lodging, transportation, and food.
Other key areas of funding will contribute to the equipment needed during production, labor costs of post-production, and marketing and fees that may come with distribution.
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We are aiming to raise 25k here on Seed & Spark, but have a greater budget of 300k that is being raised through grants, private equity, and fiscal sponsorship. We are hoping to utilize Ohio’s Motion Picture Tax Credit, administered by the Ohio Film Office, which provides up to 30% back on eligible in-state production expenses. That means every dollar we spend on Ohio cast, crew, locations, equipment, and post-production can return real money to the film. By shooting in Ohio and hiring local artists, we’re not only investing in regional talent — we’re strategically stretching our budget so more of your support goes directly onto the screen.
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Every penny counts!
It takes a village to make a film and that’s where you come in. Seed&Spark gives us 30 days to reach 80% of our funding goal to receive the raised funds. Your tangible support will help:
- Champion female-focused and relevant storytelling.
- Support new and emerging filmmakers.
- Galvanize independent film.
- Secure items on our Wishlist Page!
And, in turn, we’ll offer opportunities for you to have a fly-on-the-wall view as this film becomes a reality:
- Check out our Incentives for Giving!
If you cannot contribute financially, you can help out by:
- Sharing this campaign with your circle!
- Following our social media: @methodfeaturefilm
- Checking out our website: www.methodfilm.info
- If you are an artist in the community and would like to offer equipment/props/costumes for us to borrow, reach out to us at [email protected]
Thank you! We couldn't do this without you!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Food & Craft Services
Costs $8,000
Keep our cast and crew full and well-fed, and ready to make movie magic. We aim to put our money towards local businesses in Toledo!
Intimacy Coordinator
Costs $2,500
To ensuring safety, consent, and clear communication during intimate scenes for our actors.
Picture Cars
Costs $500
We're in need of a U-Haul, pickup truck, and a sedan. You might have our perfect car!
Fake Blood (and other Production Design)
Costs $6,000
Blood and gore don't make themselves!
Stunt Coordinator
Costs $8,000
To make the horror and action the best it can be on camera, and the safest it can be behind the scenes.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Cora Vander Broek | Director, Co-Writer, Key Cast
Cora Vander Broek is an award winning actor, writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles with over 25 years of professional experience.
Acting credits include the World Premiere of Pulitzer and Tony Award winner Tracy Letts' LINDA VISTA (Tony Nomination for "Actress in a Featured Role"). Cora was named an "Actor to Watch" by the Chicago Tribune, nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award and Ovation Award, and is a recipient of an After Dark Award for "Outstanding Performance." TV credits include Netflix's GRACE AND FRANKIE (recurring), LAW AND ORDER: SVU. Film credits include: BLUR CIRCLE, FOLLOW ME, SWITCH AND BAIT, LONE WOLVES and the upcoming I ALWAYS HATED MY BROTHER.
Writing credits include the short film THE MODEL (2022) which she executive produced. Cora also co-wrote and executive produced the award winning feature film LONE WOLVES directed by Ryan Cunningham (INSIDE AMY SCHUMER, BROAD CITY) which premiered in 2024 and is currently being distributed by Twin Engines Global. She will be making her feature film directorial debut in 2026 with METHOD - which she co-wrote - in collaboration with Madhouse Films, Rm.19 Productions and Public Works Collaborative. www.coravanderbroek.com
Maya McGowan | Key Cast, Associate Producer
Maya McGowan is delighted to be joining the METHOD team as both Kara and Associate Producer. She is a proud Korean-American actress, best known for her portrayal of Marta in the psychological thriller FOLLOW ME, starring Connie Nielsen, where she had the privilege of working opposite Cora Vander Broek for the first time.
Her passion for the stage continues to shape her career and has led her to perform in numerous theaters across Los Angeles. Notable credits include Sara Jane Moore in ASSASINS at the historic East West Players, Audrey Hepburn in ICONS ONLY at the Long Beach Playhouse, and Gyo Fujikawa in INK & PAINT, a new musical celebrating Disney’s pioneering female animators presented at both the Santa Monica Playhouse and Zephyr Theatre. For her performance in INK & PAINT, Maya was awarded Best Supporting Actress at the SheLA festival. To learn more about Maya and her work, please visit mayamcgowan.com.
Julia Relova | Producer
Julia Relova is a queer Filipino-American filmmaker and creative producer based in Chicago. She co-founded Rm. 19 Productions, a company dedicated to telling stories that center women—both on screen and behind the camera. Julia has produced indie features like ROLLER BABIEZ and YEAR ONE, the latter of which is a ReFrame-stamped film—a designation from Sundance and Women in Film that recognizes gender-balanced productions. She’s also worked on a range of short films centering queer stories, both as a producer and director. In addition to her film work, Julia is a co-organizer of Film Girlz Brunch Chicago, a community dedicated to supporting women and non-binary creatives. Across all her work, she’s passionate about emotionally honest storytelling, collaborative sets, and uplifting underrepresented voices.
Heidi-Marie Ferren | Executive Producer
Heidi-Marie Ferren is an award-winning Cherokee/Sioux-Polish-American writer, producer, actor, and singer/songwriter who recently staffed on Fox & Warner Bros.’ Memory of a Killer. Prior to that, she wrote on Shonda Rhimes’ hit ABC series, Station 19. Heidi is a 2025 Warner Bros. Access Fellowship recipient, a 2023 Disney/ABC Fellowship recipient, and a member of the Native American Media Alliance’s Showrunner Program and Netflix Accelerator. Her original pilots and features have garnered awards and recognition from over three dozen film festivals worldwide. In addition to her work in film and television, Heidi serves as the last and longest-reigning Miss USO, performing and speaking across the globe in over 1,000 venues and before four U.S. Presidents. As a former foster youth and survivor of homelessness and assault, she has also passionately dedicated herself to helping young people use their story for good. She is currently a Court Appointed Advocate (CASA) for foster youth and an advocate in the fight to end human trafficking and combat the epidemic of violence against Indigenous women throughout Canada, the United States, and Latin America.
Matt Foss | Co-Writer, Executive Producer
Matt Foss is an Autistic writer who writes original stories and adapts a wide range of IP for stage and screen.
He grew up on a cotton farm in West Texas, worked as a wildlife biologist in Montana before transitioning to working as a professional actor and playwright in Chicago and trained and performed at Russia’s famous Moscow Art Theatre. He has an MFA and PhD in theatre.
In 2023, the Austin Film Festival and Movie Maker Magazine named him one of the Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch. He is a recipient of the Kennedy Center’s David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award and his adaptations and productions have won multiple Joseph Jefferson Awards - Chicago’s top theatre prize.
His comedy feature, LONE WOLVES, directed by Ryan Cunningham (INSIDE AMY SCHUMER, BROAD CITY) premiered in 2024 and is currently being distributed by Twin Engines Global.
He is directing and the co-librettist for a new opera of A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT that will premiere in 2026 for the 50th anniversary of the novella’s publication.
He is a member of the WGA-East, repped by Tom Carter at Artillery Creative and a proud graduate of SPACE CAMP at the U.S. Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He was twelve and it was amazing.
Judy Febles | Line Producer, First Assistant Director
Judy Febles moved to Chicago to study film at Columbia College Chicago after serving in the military. She loves the challenge of bringing material alive in character-driven films that showcase identities not seen in the mainstream media. Her producer credits include the short film “Warren?”, which won the Audience Choice Award from the Chicago Latino Film Festival and the feature film “Firstness”, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Outfest Film Festival. Drawing from personal experiences as a Queer, Veteran, and as a first-generation Cuban & Puerto Rican-American, Febles seeks to depict the unique intersections that encompass her identity. She believes in honoring multifarious narratives and the power of storytelling as a means to revolutionize society.
Logan Brown | Cinematographer, Editor
Logan Brown is a cinematographer based in Toledo, Ohio. His first feature film, LONE WOLVES (editor, cinematographer) premiered in 2024 and will be streaming in 2026. He is an award-winning creative lead with Madhouse Films – a full-service production house with a distinctly human approach to creative solutions and thoughtful storytelling. Logan has served as the director of photography, editor and producer on a wide-ranging slate of projects across the country. He has a degree in Marketing from Bowling Green State University but learned everything he knows from YouTube. When he’s not filming something or making a new project, you can probably find him checking on his garden or cooking in the kitchen.
Jennifer Decilveo | Composer
Jennifer Decilveo is an American Grammy-winning, Brit and Mercury Prize-nominated record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter.
Her production and songwriting credits include Beth Ditto of The Gossip, Bat for Lashes, Andra Day, Porridge Radio, Miley Cyrus, Hozier, FLETCHER, Melanie Martinez, Anne-Marie, Albert Hammond Jr. of The Strokes, The Wombats, Phantogram, Marina, Lucius, White Reaper, and Angelique Kidjo.
Decilveo co-wrote and produced Andra Day's Rise Up on her critically acclaimed album Cheers to the Fall. The album was nominated for Best R&B Album and the album's main single, Rise Up, was nominated for Best R&B Performance at the 2016 Grammy Awards. Decilveo and Day are winners of BET's 2016 Soul Train Music Awards The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award. Decilveo also produced Marina's Man's World which was nominated for the 2021 Ivor Novello Awards for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.
Lalo Ayala | Production Designer
Lalo Ayala is a Chicago-based production designer, art director, and prop master. Their skills as an art department jack-of-all-trades was first honed in the interdisciplinary art program at the University of Massachusetts, where they majored in Art and Critical Gender Studies. In their short 4 years in Chicago, Lalo has amassed multiple credits on projects ranging across short films, features, commercials, and international campaigns. With four major feature films under their belt as production designer, Lalo has cultivated an appreciation for genre filmmaking, with horror filling a special place in their heart.
Sarah Mosher | Costume Designer
Sarah Mosher is a performance designer specializing in costume design and technology, a fiber artist, and an Assistant Professor at Baylor University in Waco, Tx. Sarah is interested in the critical area of sustainability in the textile and clothing industry, and the exploration of how to apply this thinking to theatrical construction and labor practices. She has a passion for costume history, specifically the impact on society, and reflection of the values of each time and place and an interest in engaging with questions about design lifecycles across disciplines. Sarah has worked professionally as a costume designer for theatre, opera, film, and dance in Seattle and in Central Texas. Her work has encompassed interdisciplinary approaches and she has a passion for the dramaturgical work inherent in theatrical and film design.
Kimberlee Soo | Creative Consultant
Kimberlee Soo most recently served as Executive Producer for the short film, The Model, and Associate Producer for the feature film, Lone Wolves.
As a Creative Consultant, she works alongside memoirists, playwrights, screenwriters, and actors to tell life-changing stories. With over three decades of collected experience as an actor, published author, editor of creative nonfiction, performance director, and story developer for film, television, and stage, Kimberlee has walked alongside artists at every phase of project development. From inception, to first and final drafts, self-tapes to callbacks, casting (and recasting), table reads to final cut, publication to public readings, she advises unique and authentic voices on how to bring their work of art to life.
She is published in the short story anthology Briefly Knocked Unconscious by a Low-Flying Duck (Elephant Rock Books), as well as by In the Fray Magazine and 2nd Story’s 2D Magazine. Notable projects in the acting realm include the west coast premiere of Pacific Overtures (starring Mako), the midwest premiere of David Henry Hwang's Golden Child (Silk Road Rising), the original production of Eleven Rooms Of Proust, adapted/directed by Mary Zimmerman (About Face/Lookingglass), the world premiere of Rebecca Gilman’s The Crime of the Century (Circle Theatre, Chicago Jeff Citation Winner, Best Production), Being Eleven (Serendipity Theatre Company, Chicago After Dark Award Winner, Best Ensemble) and the revival of her role as Lucy Law in Coeurage Ensemble’s west coast premiere of The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love Suicide (Los Angeles Ovation Award Nomination, Best Featured Actress).
Matthew Brumlow | Associate Producer
Matthew Brumlow (BA English, MA Theatre, MFA Directing) is a graduate of Northwestern University and is now a Los Angeles based producer, director, and award-winning actor. Matthew has been a resident company member since 2001 of Chicago’s American Blues Theater, winner of the American Theatre Wing’s prestigious National Theatre Company Award. Other selected Chicago credits include lead roles with the Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Court Theatre, Writers’ Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Timeline Theatre Company, and Chicago Dramatists. Selected Regional credits include lead roles with Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Peninsula Players Theatre, Kansas City Repertory, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, a national tour of A Streetcar Named Desire in which he played “Stanley” with Montana Repertory Theatre, and over ten credits with Indiana Repertory Theatre where he played the title role in “Hamlet.” A recipient of a Broadway World Chicago “Best Actor" nomination and three Equity Joseph Jefferson nominations in Chicago, Matthew was the 2014 Equity Joseph Jefferson Award Winner for Best Principal Actor in a Musical. Matthew has directed and acted at the Tennessee Williams Festival in Clarksdale Mississippi as well as the Moscow Art Theatre in Russia. Film credits include: Endings, Where We Started, Blur Circle, Of Minor Prophets, and I Always Hated My Brother. For his film work, Matthew was recently awarded “Best Actor” honors at the Reel East Texas Film Festival, Canada’s ReelheART Film Festival, and the Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival. Matthew recently served as Executive Producer of the SAG short film The Model and Associate Producer of the SAG feature Lone Wolves.
Madhouse Films is a brand storytelling company. We partner with clients to uncover the heart of their message—approaching every project with empathy, creativity, and cinematic craft. From live action to 3D modeling and animation, we create emotionally resonant films and visuals that turn brand messages into stories people feel. www.madmadmad.com
Public Works Collaborative (PWC) has long been focused on telling stories in Toledo. At PWC, we believe in responsible community engagement, using the power of creative storytelling to bring people together and effect positive change. www.publicworkscollaborative.org
RM. 19 is a production company that creates films and events that rewrite the script for inclusivity and empowerment in the creative realm. Their mission is to ensure the stories they tell and the spaces they create reflect the vibrant diversity of their audiences through storytelling, community building, and professional development. Led by women, for everyone, they're not just breaking barriers – they're building bridges. rm19productions.com
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
"For women, the boundaries of acceptability are strict, and they are many. We must be seductive but pure, quiet but not aloof, fragile but industrious, and always small - when we can’t manage the contradictory restrictions, we're turned into grotesques. Women have been monsters, and monsters have been women, in centuries’ worth of stories, because stories are a way to encode these expectations and pass them on.” - Jess Zimmerman
Nestled in the insular and claustrophobic world of a small university’s theatre department, a disillusioned acting professor casts herself alongside her college students in Shakespeare's bloody TITUS ANDRONICUS.
Her provocative methods unravel the very fabric of the production, plunging both her and the talented young ingénue, yearning for the life her mentor sacrificed, into a tumultuous spiral.
Through horror, humor, and with a dash of irreverence, METHOD delves into the obsession and rivalry between two ambitious women striving for agency and power in a culture that seeks to exclude them from both.
The pursuit of art has long been entangled with impossible contradictions: be ambitious, but not threatening; be brilliant, but deferential; be desired, but not desiring. In our culture, a woman who chooses art above all else is often branded selfish, difficult—even monstrous. Horror gives us the perfect language to explore that distortion.
In an era of rising misogyny and gender equality backlash, the concept of the monstrous-feminine film feels both exciting and timely. Barbara Creed's book The Monstrous-Feminine flipped the script on how women are portrayed in horror, showcasing them as powerful and terrifying figures rather than just victims. Our characters are examples of this.
LILLIAN
Deep in a mid-life crisis, reeling from the dissolution of her marriage and lack of professional opportunities, Professor Lillian Gordan casts herself across from her talented young protégé in a production of TITUS ANDRONICUS, hoping to resurrect her creative worth and identity.
KARA
Magnetic, intelligent, and brimming with passionate ambition, Kara is willing to do whatever it takes to impress her mentor, particularly if it involves delving further into the art of acting.
DR. ANN
Current Department Chair and former classmate of Lillian, Ann seeks to make the theatre program thrive but hesitates to push boundaries like Lillian does. Is it possible to balance inspiring, innovative teaching while adhering to departmental protocol?
METHOD is a psychological horror film exploring the pervasive presence of competition, suffocating insularity, and entitlement in higher education, specifically in performance art.
Tonally, METHOD blends biting irreverence with psychological unease, using humor and horror to destabilize the audience before plunging them into claustrophobic terror.
With cultural relevance wrapped in the irreverent tone of A24 HORROR/THRILLERS, the clash of ambition and unfulfilled dreams taken to PEARL-like extremes...
...and the female forward eroticism and generational conflict of TÁR , BLACK SWAN, and THE SUBSTANCE.
METHOD follows in the tradition of elevated horror: intelligent, unnerving, and culturally resonant!
WHY US?
We’re a small but diverse and experienced team of artists passionate about telling stories by and about the underrepresented. Our collective experience spans theatre and film, including writing, directing, acting, producing and teaching. Like so many filmmakers we’ve been profoundly impacted by the huge shifts happening in our industry. As hard as these changes have been, they’ve also renewed and galvanized our belief in the true spirit of “independent” film.
We believe that a core group of like-minded, smart creatives can produce relevant and quality work despite a tight budget. We also believe that working within constraints actually amplifies creativity and risk-taking. It’s a model that we feel not only works but is fast becoming the most effective and exciting model of filmmaking in our industry.
Check out our Team Page to learn more about us!
WHY THIS?
Horror films are a popular and profitable genre that provide unique opportunities for visual and narrative risk taking. Beyond the economic possibilities, horror films also offer a communal experience for the audience. Consequently, we feel the best horror films use the genre as a vehicle to pull back the blinds on deep and relevant truths.
Whether it be THE BABADOOK using horror to dive into the complexity of grief, THE SUBSTANCE using the genre to point a finger at the relentless obsession with beauty and youth in our culture, or the way Jordan Peele embeds relevant social commentary and humor into his exquisite horror films, METHOD seeks to follow in this tradition.
WHY NOW?
In 2026 there continues to be a global backlash against gender equality that seems to be only escalating. METHOD is a female-driven, thematically urgent, and unapologetically bold film that doesn’t just scare—it provokes.
Drawing inspiration from Barbara Creed’s The Monstrous-Feminine, the film pulls back the curtain on how internalized patriarchy, and the attempts to combat it, can create both expansive and monstrous results. It’s both a satire of the toxic insularity of performance education and an unsettling portrait of female rivalry, desire, and generational inheritance.
We aim to shoot this film in Toledo, Ohio in the summer of 2026 using the micro-budget indie model of our first film - LONE WOLVES, making thousands in Ohio feel like millions elsewhere. Blending the state's burgeoning tax credits, the quick and easy permitting and access to discounted or free locations, along with a nimble, skilled crew, Northwest Ohio is a dynamic and cost-efficient place for the old indie-model to both thrive but have space to innovate.
We are teaming up with some incredible partners including local Toledo organizations Madhouse Films and Public Works Collaborative. As well as Chicago-based production company Rm. 19 Productions whose mission is to ensure the stories they tell and the spaces they create reflect the vibrant diversity of their audiences through storytelling, community building, and professional development. Rm. 19 is led by women, for everyone.
We are raising funds to cover some key stages of the filmmaking process, including pre-production, production, and post-production. The majority of the money we are raising is meant to cover the labor costs of our cast and crew, including their rates, lodging, transportation, and food.
Other key areas of funding will contribute to the equipment needed during production, labor costs of post-production, and marketing and fees that may come with distribution.
We are aiming to raise 25k here on Seed & Spark, but have a greater budget of 300k that is being raised through grants, private equity, and fiscal sponsorship. We are hoping to utilize Ohio’s Motion Picture Tax Credit, administered by the Ohio Film Office, which provides up to 30% back on eligible in-state production expenses. That means every dollar we spend on Ohio cast, crew, locations, equipment, and post-production can return real money to the film. By shooting in Ohio and hiring local artists, we’re not only investing in regional talent — we’re strategically stretching our budget so more of your support goes directly onto the screen.
Every penny counts!
It takes a village to make a film and that’s where you come in. Seed&Spark gives us 30 days to reach 80% of our funding goal to receive the raised funds. Your tangible support will help:
- Champion female-focused and relevant storytelling.
- Support new and emerging filmmakers.
- Galvanize independent film.
- Secure items on our Wishlist Page!
And, in turn, we’ll offer opportunities for you to have a fly-on-the-wall view as this film becomes a reality:
- Check out our Incentives for Giving!
If you cannot contribute financially, you can help out by:
- Sharing this campaign with your circle!
- Following our social media: @methodfeaturefilm
- Checking out our website: www.methodfilm.info
- If you are an artist in the community and would like to offer equipment/props/costumes for us to borrow, reach out to us at [email protected]
Thank you! We couldn't do this without you!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Food & Craft Services
Costs $8,000
Keep our cast and crew full and well-fed, and ready to make movie magic. We aim to put our money towards local businesses in Toledo!
Intimacy Coordinator
Costs $2,500
To ensuring safety, consent, and clear communication during intimate scenes for our actors.
Picture Cars
Costs $500
We're in need of a U-Haul, pickup truck, and a sedan. You might have our perfect car!
Fake Blood (and other Production Design)
Costs $6,000
Blood and gore don't make themselves!
Stunt Coordinator
Costs $8,000
To make the horror and action the best it can be on camera, and the safest it can be behind the scenes.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Cora Vander Broek | Director, Co-Writer, Key Cast
Cora Vander Broek is an award winning actor, writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles with over 25 years of professional experience.
Acting credits include the World Premiere of Pulitzer and Tony Award winner Tracy Letts' LINDA VISTA (Tony Nomination for "Actress in a Featured Role"). Cora was named an "Actor to Watch" by the Chicago Tribune, nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award and Ovation Award, and is a recipient of an After Dark Award for "Outstanding Performance." TV credits include Netflix's GRACE AND FRANKIE (recurring), LAW AND ORDER: SVU. Film credits include: BLUR CIRCLE, FOLLOW ME, SWITCH AND BAIT, LONE WOLVES and the upcoming I ALWAYS HATED MY BROTHER.
Writing credits include the short film THE MODEL (2022) which she executive produced. Cora also co-wrote and executive produced the award winning feature film LONE WOLVES directed by Ryan Cunningham (INSIDE AMY SCHUMER, BROAD CITY) which premiered in 2024 and is currently being distributed by Twin Engines Global. She will be making her feature film directorial debut in 2026 with METHOD - which she co-wrote - in collaboration with Madhouse Films, Rm.19 Productions and Public Works Collaborative. www.coravanderbroek.com
Maya McGowan | Key Cast, Associate Producer
Maya McGowan is delighted to be joining the METHOD team as both Kara and Associate Producer. She is a proud Korean-American actress, best known for her portrayal of Marta in the psychological thriller FOLLOW ME, starring Connie Nielsen, where she had the privilege of working opposite Cora Vander Broek for the first time.
Her passion for the stage continues to shape her career and has led her to perform in numerous theaters across Los Angeles. Notable credits include Sara Jane Moore in ASSASINS at the historic East West Players, Audrey Hepburn in ICONS ONLY at the Long Beach Playhouse, and Gyo Fujikawa in INK & PAINT, a new musical celebrating Disney’s pioneering female animators presented at both the Santa Monica Playhouse and Zephyr Theatre. For her performance in INK & PAINT, Maya was awarded Best Supporting Actress at the SheLA festival. To learn more about Maya and her work, please visit mayamcgowan.com.
Julia Relova | Producer
Julia Relova is a queer Filipino-American filmmaker and creative producer based in Chicago. She co-founded Rm. 19 Productions, a company dedicated to telling stories that center women—both on screen and behind the camera. Julia has produced indie features like ROLLER BABIEZ and YEAR ONE, the latter of which is a ReFrame-stamped film—a designation from Sundance and Women in Film that recognizes gender-balanced productions. She’s also worked on a range of short films centering queer stories, both as a producer and director. In addition to her film work, Julia is a co-organizer of Film Girlz Brunch Chicago, a community dedicated to supporting women and non-binary creatives. Across all her work, she’s passionate about emotionally honest storytelling, collaborative sets, and uplifting underrepresented voices.
Heidi-Marie Ferren | Executive Producer
Heidi-Marie Ferren is an award-winning Cherokee/Sioux-Polish-American writer, producer, actor, and singer/songwriter who recently staffed on Fox & Warner Bros.’ Memory of a Killer. Prior to that, she wrote on Shonda Rhimes’ hit ABC series, Station 19. Heidi is a 2025 Warner Bros. Access Fellowship recipient, a 2023 Disney/ABC Fellowship recipient, and a member of the Native American Media Alliance’s Showrunner Program and Netflix Accelerator. Her original pilots and features have garnered awards and recognition from over three dozen film festivals worldwide. In addition to her work in film and television, Heidi serves as the last and longest-reigning Miss USO, performing and speaking across the globe in over 1,000 venues and before four U.S. Presidents. As a former foster youth and survivor of homelessness and assault, she has also passionately dedicated herself to helping young people use their story for good. She is currently a Court Appointed Advocate (CASA) for foster youth and an advocate in the fight to end human trafficking and combat the epidemic of violence against Indigenous women throughout Canada, the United States, and Latin America.
Matt Foss | Co-Writer, Executive Producer
Matt Foss is an Autistic writer who writes original stories and adapts a wide range of IP for stage and screen.
He grew up on a cotton farm in West Texas, worked as a wildlife biologist in Montana before transitioning to working as a professional actor and playwright in Chicago and trained and performed at Russia’s famous Moscow Art Theatre. He has an MFA and PhD in theatre.
In 2023, the Austin Film Festival and Movie Maker Magazine named him one of the Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch. He is a recipient of the Kennedy Center’s David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award and his adaptations and productions have won multiple Joseph Jefferson Awards - Chicago’s top theatre prize.
His comedy feature, LONE WOLVES, directed by Ryan Cunningham (INSIDE AMY SCHUMER, BROAD CITY) premiered in 2024 and is currently being distributed by Twin Engines Global.
He is directing and the co-librettist for a new opera of A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT that will premiere in 2026 for the 50th anniversary of the novella’s publication.
He is a member of the WGA-East, repped by Tom Carter at Artillery Creative and a proud graduate of SPACE CAMP at the U.S. Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He was twelve and it was amazing.
Judy Febles | Line Producer, First Assistant Director
Judy Febles moved to Chicago to study film at Columbia College Chicago after serving in the military. She loves the challenge of bringing material alive in character-driven films that showcase identities not seen in the mainstream media. Her producer credits include the short film “Warren?”, which won the Audience Choice Award from the Chicago Latino Film Festival and the feature film “Firstness”, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Outfest Film Festival. Drawing from personal experiences as a Queer, Veteran, and as a first-generation Cuban & Puerto Rican-American, Febles seeks to depict the unique intersections that encompass her identity. She believes in honoring multifarious narratives and the power of storytelling as a means to revolutionize society.
Logan Brown | Cinematographer, Editor
Logan Brown is a cinematographer based in Toledo, Ohio. His first feature film, LONE WOLVES (editor, cinematographer) premiered in 2024 and will be streaming in 2026. He is an award-winning creative lead with Madhouse Films – a full-service production house with a distinctly human approach to creative solutions and thoughtful storytelling. Logan has served as the director of photography, editor and producer on a wide-ranging slate of projects across the country. He has a degree in Marketing from Bowling Green State University but learned everything he knows from YouTube. When he’s not filming something or making a new project, you can probably find him checking on his garden or cooking in the kitchen.
Jennifer Decilveo | Composer
Jennifer Decilveo is an American Grammy-winning, Brit and Mercury Prize-nominated record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter.
Her production and songwriting credits include Beth Ditto of The Gossip, Bat for Lashes, Andra Day, Porridge Radio, Miley Cyrus, Hozier, FLETCHER, Melanie Martinez, Anne-Marie, Albert Hammond Jr. of The Strokes, The Wombats, Phantogram, Marina, Lucius, White Reaper, and Angelique Kidjo.
Decilveo co-wrote and produced Andra Day's Rise Up on her critically acclaimed album Cheers to the Fall. The album was nominated for Best R&B Album and the album's main single, Rise Up, was nominated for Best R&B Performance at the 2016 Grammy Awards. Decilveo and Day are winners of BET's 2016 Soul Train Music Awards The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award. Decilveo also produced Marina's Man's World which was nominated for the 2021 Ivor Novello Awards for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.
Lalo Ayala | Production Designer
Lalo Ayala is a Chicago-based production designer, art director, and prop master. Their skills as an art department jack-of-all-trades was first honed in the interdisciplinary art program at the University of Massachusetts, where they majored in Art and Critical Gender Studies. In their short 4 years in Chicago, Lalo has amassed multiple credits on projects ranging across short films, features, commercials, and international campaigns. With four major feature films under their belt as production designer, Lalo has cultivated an appreciation for genre filmmaking, with horror filling a special place in their heart.
Sarah Mosher | Costume Designer
Sarah Mosher is a performance designer specializing in costume design and technology, a fiber artist, and an Assistant Professor at Baylor University in Waco, Tx. Sarah is interested in the critical area of sustainability in the textile and clothing industry, and the exploration of how to apply this thinking to theatrical construction and labor practices. She has a passion for costume history, specifically the impact on society, and reflection of the values of each time and place and an interest in engaging with questions about design lifecycles across disciplines. Sarah has worked professionally as a costume designer for theatre, opera, film, and dance in Seattle and in Central Texas. Her work has encompassed interdisciplinary approaches and she has a passion for the dramaturgical work inherent in theatrical and film design.
Kimberlee Soo | Creative Consultant
Kimberlee Soo most recently served as Executive Producer for the short film, The Model, and Associate Producer for the feature film, Lone Wolves.
As a Creative Consultant, she works alongside memoirists, playwrights, screenwriters, and actors to tell life-changing stories. With over three decades of collected experience as an actor, published author, editor of creative nonfiction, performance director, and story developer for film, television, and stage, Kimberlee has walked alongside artists at every phase of project development. From inception, to first and final drafts, self-tapes to callbacks, casting (and recasting), table reads to final cut, publication to public readings, she advises unique and authentic voices on how to bring their work of art to life.
She is published in the short story anthology Briefly Knocked Unconscious by a Low-Flying Duck (Elephant Rock Books), as well as by In the Fray Magazine and 2nd Story’s 2D Magazine. Notable projects in the acting realm include the west coast premiere of Pacific Overtures (starring Mako), the midwest premiere of David Henry Hwang's Golden Child (Silk Road Rising), the original production of Eleven Rooms Of Proust, adapted/directed by Mary Zimmerman (About Face/Lookingglass), the world premiere of Rebecca Gilman’s The Crime of the Century (Circle Theatre, Chicago Jeff Citation Winner, Best Production), Being Eleven (Serendipity Theatre Company, Chicago After Dark Award Winner, Best Ensemble) and the revival of her role as Lucy Law in Coeurage Ensemble’s west coast premiere of The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love Suicide (Los Angeles Ovation Award Nomination, Best Featured Actress).
Matthew Brumlow | Associate Producer
Matthew Brumlow (BA English, MA Theatre, MFA Directing) is a graduate of Northwestern University and is now a Los Angeles based producer, director, and award-winning actor. Matthew has been a resident company member since 2001 of Chicago’s American Blues Theater, winner of the American Theatre Wing’s prestigious National Theatre Company Award. Other selected Chicago credits include lead roles with the Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Court Theatre, Writers’ Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Timeline Theatre Company, and Chicago Dramatists. Selected Regional credits include lead roles with Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Peninsula Players Theatre, Kansas City Repertory, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, a national tour of A Streetcar Named Desire in which he played “Stanley” with Montana Repertory Theatre, and over ten credits with Indiana Repertory Theatre where he played the title role in “Hamlet.” A recipient of a Broadway World Chicago “Best Actor" nomination and three Equity Joseph Jefferson nominations in Chicago, Matthew was the 2014 Equity Joseph Jefferson Award Winner for Best Principal Actor in a Musical. Matthew has directed and acted at the Tennessee Williams Festival in Clarksdale Mississippi as well as the Moscow Art Theatre in Russia. Film credits include: Endings, Where We Started, Blur Circle, Of Minor Prophets, and I Always Hated My Brother. For his film work, Matthew was recently awarded “Best Actor” honors at the Reel East Texas Film Festival, Canada’s ReelheART Film Festival, and the Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival. Matthew recently served as Executive Producer of the SAG short film The Model and Associate Producer of the SAG feature Lone Wolves.
Madhouse Films is a brand storytelling company. We partner with clients to uncover the heart of their message—approaching every project with empathy, creativity, and cinematic craft. From live action to 3D modeling and animation, we create emotionally resonant films and visuals that turn brand messages into stories people feel. www.madmadmad.com
Public Works Collaborative (PWC) has long been focused on telling stories in Toledo. At PWC, we believe in responsible community engagement, using the power of creative storytelling to bring people together and effect positive change. www.publicworkscollaborative.org
RM. 19 is a production company that creates films and events that rewrite the script for inclusivity and empowerment in the creative realm. Their mission is to ensure the stories they tell and the spaces they create reflect the vibrant diversity of their audiences through storytelling, community building, and professional development. Led by women, for everyone, they're not just breaking barriers – they're building bridges. rm19productions.com