A woman's son was killed by a police officer—maybe a mermaid can help. SIRENS uses elements of fantasy to explore the reality of what women like Lezley McSpadden (Michael Brown), Sybrina Fulton (Trayvon Martin), and Mamie Till (Emmet Till) have had to face. The film asks: what do we do with pain?
A woman's son was killed by a police officer—maybe a mermaid can help. SIRENS uses elements of fantasy to explore the reality of what women like Lezley McSpadden (Michael Brown), Sybrina Fulton (Trayvon Martin), and Mamie Till (Emmet Till) have had to face. The film asks: what do we do with pain?
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Story
Mission Statement
SIRENS is a beautiful story about a black mermaid--something we rarely see in media--dealing with an issue that affects black people in America. We believe in equality, opportunity, and representation of people of color in our cast and crew. Together, we can build the next generation of Hollywood!About The Project
Sirens is a ten minute short film with elements of fantasy, grounded in reality.
Mermaids exist. In Sirens, you won't find our main character, Shea, hiding her tail from people or trapped in a lab, waiting to be experimented on.
You'll find her living on a houseboat in the marina--because where else would mermaids live? And regular humans come to her for help. For a fee, Shea will use her powers of persuasion and hypnosis to make you stop craving cigarettes or get over a breakup.
However, an older woman named, Ruby, approaches Shea for a different reason:
Ruby's son was killed by a police officer three years ago, but the pain still feels fresh. Shea decides to remove her pain at the dismay of Ruby's other son, Dorian.
We need the money to pay for a mermaid tail and assure that we can safely and efficiently film underwater. We need to have a scuba rescue diver and location permits. Here's a breakdown that illustrates where our Seed & Spark Funds will go:
Our goal is to make something beautiful and powerful.
We want our audience to walk away saying:
We would love to get into film festivals. We would love the opportunity to expand this into a series or a feature. We would love for this to be the project that takes our careers to the next level.
At the end day, if we've made something beautiful and powerful, then we've met our goal.
Thank you!
Incentives
$5
Mermaid
A personal thank you!
We're so grateful and you'll know it!
$10
Water Nymph
Social Media Thank You
We will shout our gratitude from the internet rooftops!
$25
Ariel
Digital download of the script.
Read Sirens!
$50
Aquamarine
Private digital link to completed short film.
Watch Sirens before anyone else!
And all of the above!
$100
Fish Tales
Special thanks in credits.
A personalized thank you from cast & crew!
And all of the above!
$250
Splash
An original poem by Joshua Roark.
Give us the first sentence and Josh will create a sonnet for you.
And all of the above!
$500
H2O
A custom 8 x 10 print of original Sirens-inspired art!
And all of the above!
$1,000
Siren
Associate Producer Credit
And all of the above!
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to pledge cash and loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an incentive directly.
$5
Mermaid
A personal thank you!
We're so grateful and you'll know it!
$10
Water Nymph
Social Media Thank You
We will shout our gratitude from the internet rooftops!
$25
Ariel
Digital download of the script.
Read Sirens!
$50
Aquamarine
Private digital link to completed short film.
Watch Sirens before anyone else!
And all of the above!
$100
Fish Tales
Special thanks in credits.
A personalized thank you from cast & crew!
And all of the above!
$250
Splash
An original poem by Joshua Roark.
Give us the first sentence and Josh will create a sonnet for you.
And all of the above!
$500
H2O
A custom 8 x 10 print of original Sirens-inspired art!
And all of the above!
$1,000
Siren
Associate Producer Credit
And all of the above!
- Updates
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Current Team
About This Team
Jo-Dean Roark is a comedy writer and director from Minneapolis, currently based in Los Angeles. She holds a BFA in Drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and is also an alumnus of Teach for America (Mississippi Delta). Teaching five classes a day turned out to be a rigorous comedy training ground where Jo-Dean worked jokes into lessons for her live and captive audience of sixth graders. With Issa Rae Productions, she created and directed Black Student Union (BSU). She is also the creator and director of Dorm Therapy and Max Compact. Jo-Dean is a writer on several series for Black&Sexy TV and she directed a sizzle for Elizabeth Bank's digital comedy platform, WhoHaha.
From Austin to New York, Berlin, and now LA, Rachel Upshaw lets her eternal love of a good story propel her path forward in life. Taking inspiration from her adventures working as a healthcare consultant, Rachel wrote the rom-com screenplay Berlin is for Lovers. She also co-wrote, produced and directed the digital series Breaking Open, a metamorphosis comedy about a woman who sprouts a pair of wings. Rachel started her company Spirachel Productions in 2015 to share stories with heart made by people who believe in equality, opportunity, and passion.
Anup Kulkarni is a multiple award-winning famous Cinematographer and Visual effects supervisor from Hollywood who has a background in visual effects from the Rhythm & Hues Studios. In Los Angeles, he has had the opportunity to work on award-winning and prestigious projects such as Life of Pi, Thor 2, Percy Jackson, R.I.P.D and many others. His work has taken him all around the world and he has contributed to projects in a variety of genres, ranging from feature films, TV-shows, documentaries, and dramas to sci-fi, thriller, and art films.
Kari Nicolle is a storyteller. An actor-producer originally from the San Francisco Bay Area she moved to New York to attend NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where she studied at the Atlantic Theater Company. Graduating with honors, a BFA in Drama, and minoring in English. She has worked on Broadway, Film, and TV and she can also be found around the country either training future indoor cycling stars or teaching epic indoor cycling classes as a Senior Master Instructor at CycleBar. She currently lives in Los Angeles.
A South African native, Theo Bongani Ndyalvane is an LA based actor known for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Terrence Malick's Voyage of Time: the IMAX Experience, Terrence Malick's Voyage of Time: Life's Journey and Terrence Malick's Knight of Cups. Theo is a versatile actor who, still at the beginning of his career, was blessed to capture the attention of his favorite directors Terrence Malick and Zack Snyder, among other directors he's worked with.
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