This film is dedicated to the beautiful, mysterious mess that is girlhood. Through our main character’s story, we hope to honor the experience of young queer women, as well as lift up the artistry and tenacity of female athleticism.

Summer in rural Michigan. Thick air. Scorched grass. And the sweet sound of a soccer ball kissing the back of the net. This is the world of 17-year-old Teddy. Isolated, with a quiet storm raging inside of her, Teddy has one goal set in her crosshairs: becoming the best player on The Hurricanes, an elite soccer team. Nothing can distract her—well, maybe one thing…her teammate Raya. 

Team Captain and the coach’s daughter, Raya is not only the player to beat on the field, she’s the girl everyone wants to be. The on-field rivalry between Raya and Teddy spills over into their friendship. Teddy never knows exactly where she stands with Raya, and that’s just how Raya wants it. One night, the heat between them finally breaks when they kiss for the very first time. Longtime teammates, it isn’t the first time Teddy and Raya have touched. But it’s the first touch with intention. The one that’s scary and yummy and unknown. The one that brings Teddy’s world into focus for the first time. That cracks open possibilities she’s never dreamed of. But before Teddy can settle into this newfound safety, her world collapses when Raya betrays her.

Wounded, with nowhere to place her pain, Teddy lashes out at practice. Her outburst doesn’t just hurt Raya, though. It seals her off from her teammates too. Unable to face anyone—most of all herself—Teddy runs, ending up the last place she wants to be. Alone.

 

STEAL THE BACON is an excavation/transformation of the memories/imaginings that go BANG! in my head sometimes. This story came to me as fireworks—a night where two girls share their first kiss together. But I wondered, what would it look like if the same night your world opened, it snapped shut just as quickly? Coming-of-age narratives often follow young folks’ journeys, all the while carefully charting their growth. They learn a lesson. Or something about who they really are. And by the end of things, they’re (usually) a better or happier version of themselves. I love those kinds of movies. But STEAL THE BACON is not that movie. 

This story is about what happens when you end up further inside of yourself, caged within your own body. Becoming yourself isn’t a linear process by any means, and this film attempts to honor one of the many detours that we encounter along the way. Teddy and Raya are two young people trying to navigate the blooming attraction that exists between them, amidst all the uncertainty, pressure, and shame that often haunts young people, especially young queer women.

The only place Teddy truly feels free is the soccer field. The field is not a peripheral location. It is an essential site of this story. Soccer practice. It’s sports bras and cut-offs. It’s sweat and getting to the ball first. It’s corner kicks and elbows and gallons of water. Custom tournament t-shirts. Sun absolutely cooking you between games. Blades of grass stuck between your shin guards and leg. It’s blood and cramps. Freshly pierced ears. Long, stinky car rides home. Summer camp crossbar challenges. Pixy Stix and pop-corn so salty it burns your lips. That’s the arena of this story. That’s where we want to take our audience. 

We also want the audience to really feel the soccer in this film. Training means sweat and bruises and cramps burning in your calves. It is ugly. It stinks. It is not cute. We want to honor the physical discipline of female athletes. The field is their church and their skill should be portrayed as nothing short of sacred.

 

The film aims to capture the vulnerability, texture, and intimacy of our two main characters, using the frame as a means to coney their moments of closeness, as well as their moments of isolation. Some of the films we are inspired by include Mosquita y Mari (dir. Aurora Guerrero, 2012; photo 1 below), Selah and the Spades (dir. Tayarisha Poe, 2019; photo 2 below), Water Lillies (dir. Céline Sciamma, 2008), Bend It Like Beckham (dir. Gurinder Chadha, 2003), and Girlfight (dir. Karyn Kusama, 2000).

 

With our script locked, pre-production is fully underway for us. This campaign will allow us to move full speed ahead into production in late July, helping us to cover the costs of filming. Any additional funds we're able to raise will be put towards post-production costs. STEAL THE BACON is both the director's and producer’s final short film as Columbia University Film MFA students, and it will be an important calling card in their portfolios after graduation. We plan to premiere the film at the 2023 Columbia University Film Festival, before launching a broader festival run to share and screen this special story.

 

In order to bring the story of STEAL THE BACON to life, we both need and appreciate your support. Please consider contributing to our campaign at any level you can. The funds we raise will be allocated towards location fees, production design, wardrobe needs, cast and crew fees, catering costs, travel expenses, and our other production and post-production demands. Any amount you can contribute will truly help us so much. We also have some fun perks, so be sure to check those out! It is our small way of saying thank you for your generous support.

You can also help us by sharing our campaign with any friends or family. We’ve even prepared a handy social media-friendly template about our project that you can use to share our story:

STEAL THE BACON tells the story of Teddy, a 17-year-old soccer phenom whose relationship with her soccer teammate Raya will break more than just her heart. Learn more about the project and contribute to their fundraising campaign at www.seedandspark.com/fund/steal-the-bacon

Thank you so much for your time and consideration. We truly appreciate it!

 

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic impacting the safety of our peers and communities, creating a robust and comprehensive safety plan is essential to our pre-production process.

As a Columbia University thesis-level film, our production will adhere to the production protocols in place at the time of principal photography. This means that we will have a COVID Compliance Officer on set for the duration of production who will help us enforce the following safety measures: all cast and crew will be required to provide proof of a negative PCR test within the required time frame before arriving to set; complete a daily symptoms survey/health attestation; and wear a mask at all times on set. Our production team will prioritize and plan on extra expenses due to COVID protocols, maintaining a supply of PPE and cleaning supplies. 

The majority of the film takes place outside, which allows us to maximize space for social distancing and guarantees us adequate air circulation. Each day, we will make sure any cast involved in any form of touching or intimacy as defined by Columbia University’s close-contact guidelines will be required to receive a negative rapid test before filming begins. We will also designate zones for any cast and crew who will be on standby during shooting to maximize social distancing opportunities. If there is a case where someone does report a positive COVID result in the middle of the film shoot, we will take necessary steps from Columbia University, CDC guidelines, and SAG-AFTRA to ensure everyone's safety. Producer of the project, Emily Eng, and Director, Angeline Dimambro, will confirm backup dates, as well as potential back-ups for key cast and crew positions, before principal photography begins in order to mitigate the possible impact of a positive test. Should any production protocols change before filming commences, we will update our on-set protocols accordingly.

 

DIRECTOR - Angeline Joelle Dimambro

Angeline Joelle Dimambro is a full-on Midwestern gal. Originally from Michigan, she is a screenwriter studying in New York City at Columbia University’s Film MFA program where she is a Hobson/Lucas Fellow. She holds a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Michigan, where she graduated with highest honors and was awarded the Emerging Writers Award for her thesis, a collection of quasi-comic short stories entitled WELCOME HOME.  Her current projects range from supernatural comedy and horror to nunsploitation and (anti)coming-of-age drama. Her original mockumentary pilot, MORTUARY ACADEMY, was a winner of the spring 2021 Sloan Foundation Screenplay Treatment Competition at Columbia University. Dimambro is currently in post-production on her second short film, TRIANGLE OF PERFECTION, as well as developing her feature-length thesis screenplay, LAKE, a Midwestern Gothic anthology film. She is also the producer of several short films, her most recent project being SUMMERTIME PIE, directed by Danielle Dougé. Dimambro doesn’t take herself too seriously and is most interested in telling stories that center the poetic, ugly mess that is being awake in this world.

 

PRODUCER - Emily Eng

Emily Eng is a passionate storyteller born and raised in East Brunswick, NJ. She earned her BFA degree in Filmmaking through Rutgers University - Mason Gross School of the Arts. Throughout her filmmaking career she has produced and directed student short films that were selected by several film festivals, including the Garden State Film Festival and New York Shorts International Film Festival. She has also worked alongside Emmy award winning documentarians, Andrew cohn and Thomas Lennon for their upcoming feature films. Emily continued her interest in development through long form documentaries by working with producers in ViacomCBS and Jigsaw Productions. 

 

CINEMATOGRAPHER - Shanming Guo

Shanming Guo is a filmmaker born in Shenzhen, China, and grew up between cities in China and Canada. The oppression and influence of environments on individuals are at the core of her work. Her films focus on young women trying to find emotional escape from their surroundings.

Shanming is in her third year in the MFA Film program in Directing at Columbia. Before Columbia, she was a graphic designer with a professional focus in brand identity. Her design works have won typography awards and toured around the world.