Submission
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Thriller, Drama
When Natalie awakens knowing something is wrong with her body, her memory, or both, she questions whether the blame lies with her husband - or her grasp on reality. A psychological thriller inspired by the Gisele Pelicot trial.
Submission
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Thriller, Drama
1 Campaigns | California, United States
22 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$5,890
Goal: $25,000 for development
When Natalie awakens knowing something is wrong with her body, her memory, or both, she questions whether the blame lies with her husband - or her grasp on reality. A psychological thriller inspired by the Gisele Pelicot trial.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
SUBMISSION explores the fragility of memory, the erosion of trust, and the terror of not knowing what happened to your own body.
Natalie, a woman in her 30s, wakes up next to her husband—but something is off. Her body aches. There are unexplained signs of intrusion, confusion, and violations both subtle and visceral. As she struggles to make sense of what’s happening, Natalie begins to question her memory, her relationships, and her very sanity.
SUBMISSION is told entirely through Natalie’s perspective — visually, emotionally, and psychologically. Like in films such as Oxygen or Son of Saul, the camera never leaves her. We experience every moment of confusion, fear, and revelation as she does: in real time, in close quarters, and without reprieve.
This one-actor approach creates an unflinching intimacy. The audience is locked inside Natalie’s experience, forced to navigate her disorientation, mistrust, and physical vulnerability with no external relief. There is no “objective” reality offered — only Natalie’s evolving perception, making the story as much about internal unraveling as external threat.
SUBMISSION takes its inspiration from the Dominique Pelicot story - the tale of profound spousal betrayal that broke hearts across the world and launched a reckoning over toxic male abuse.
Society has made us increasingly strangers to one another. And when we stop recognizing ourselves in someone else's experience, empathy begins to disappear. We often ask how acts of violence can continue to exist, but we ask far less often what it feels like to live through them.
Submission exists to humanize one of the most vulnerable and least portrayed moments of victimization: the period before certainty. Before there are answers. Before there is proof. Before someone even has the words to describe what is happening to them. We often see stories of survivors after they understand their experience and decide what to do next. This film invites audiences to stay with someone who doesn't know yet.
The film's perspective is intentionally intimate. The camera never leaves Natalie. The audience is never given more information than she has. We are trapped inside her uncertainty, sharing her growing anxiety as she struggles to understand what her own body is trying to tell her.
Our hope is that audiences leave with greater compassion for those navigating the invisible and deeply isolating early stages of trauma. Rather than offering easy answers, Submission seeks to begin conversations rooted in empathy. The film was never intended to be a statement for one group against another. It is an invitation for everyone to engage in a difficult but necessary conversation about trust, memory, and the human cost of uncertainty.
By supporting Submission, you are helping bring to the screen a deeply human story about an experience that is rarely seen, yet profoundly deserves to be understood.
We want to give a HUGE thank you to our incredible fiscal sponsor, From The Heart Productions. This fundraising effort would not be as easy without them. We are eternally grateful for their support and generosity in this process.
With the help of From The Heart Productions, this donation will also be tax-deductible. You'll receive instructions when the campaign ends! It can even be supported by your company’s matching donation program, since From the Heart Productions is a 501c3 Non-Profit organization. Double check with your company before donating to see if you can take advantage of this type of program.
$25,000 will allow us to make SUBMISSION. But every dollar raised beyond that minimum brings us closer to the film we truly envision.
Our three funding levels show how additional support would allow us to strengthen the production, expand our creative possibilities, and ultimately bring the fullest version of SUBMISSION to the screen.
$25,000 — Minimum Production Budget: The film can be made professionally with a strong core crew, two-day shoot, professional sound, post, VFX, festival strategy and contingency.
$30,000 — Target Budget: The additional $5K allows us to add an additional production day, resulting in a three day shoot. More time allows us to elevate the execution: more complicated and cinematic shot composition, the ability to craft time-consuming lighting setups, and increased takes to dial in and experiment with performance.
$35,000 — Full Vision: The additional $5K beyond the $30K target isn't simply spent on "more" of everything. It allows for meaningful creative upgrades: a dedicated rehearsal/pre-production day, a significantly upgraded camera/lens package, and an original score. We'd give the actors and creative team dedicated preparation time, give the DP substantially more freedom with the visual language, and create an original musical identity for the film. We’ll have a better camera and lighting, stronger postproduction, more VFX, a stronger festival/marketing campaign, an upgraded location, fairer key crew compensation, dedicated continuity support, and more financial breathing room.
- Crowdfunding: September - October 2026
- Filming: December 2026
- Post-production 1st - 2nd Quarter 2027
- Festival Submissions: 3rd - 4th Quarter 2027
- Film Festivals: 2028 and beyond!
Follow us on Instagram, @Submission.film for updates, behind-the-scenes looks, and future news about the project!
Thank you to everyone supporting SUBMISSION! You are family to us and it means the world to have your support.
Love,
The SUBMISSION Team
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Above the Line
Costs $4,150
This funding for our cast and creative team will allow them to dedicate the time and care necessary to tell this story.
PRODUCTION
Costs $15,480
This film will thrive with a standout crew, a standard industry camera, lenses, production equipment, and a stellar filming location.
POST PRODUCTION
Costs $5,000
These finishing touches are what transform raw footage into a polished, immersive story that audiences can truly connect with!
CONTINGENCY
Costs $370
Every film has unexpected expenses, this will help us be prepared for anything that comes our way.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
From upper left to write: Nu Nguyen, Shady Malak, Jon Sprik, Claire Simba & Eric Bergemann
BIOS
Claire Simba - Writer, Producer, Lead Actress
Claire Simba is a Franco-Cameroonian actor, writer, and director whose work spans film, television, and theatre in the U.S., France, and Africa.
A graduate of the prestigious MFA Acting program at the Old Globe/University of San Diego, she has performed on stages including The Old Globe, Antaeus Theatre, Theatricum Botanicum, Cincinnati Playhouse, and Bucks County Playhouse, where she appeared in the original cast of Clue.
Her screen credits include Netflix’s John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA, CBS’s Madam Secretary, and films including Morbayassa, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and Les Pirogues des Hautes Terres, selected for the Monte Carlo TV Festival.
A recipient of the Craig Noel Award and Shiley Endowed Scholarship, Simba has also directed productions in Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, Paris, and Cameroon.
Eric Bergemann - Director
A graduate of USC Cinema’s MFA program, Eric is a writer, producer, andvdirector who’s fascinated by the intersection of cultures — he’s traveled to 40+ countries as a teacher, journalist, filmmaker, and backpacker. He’s worked as a producer and director for a variety of clients like Google,Chiat Day, Funny or Die, Corona and Optimum Nutrition doing everything from commercials to comedy to human interest stories. He’s written produced features for companies Reel One and Mar Vista Entertainment, and his films can be seen on platforms like Hulu and Lifetime. Most recently, Eric wrote and directed a horror/thriller feature film ‘The Things We Hide’ starring Lil Rel Howery (Get Out, Vacation Friends), Angela Sarafyan (Westward, Superman), and Manny Montana (Good Girls, Mayans M.C.). Currently in post production, the film is slated for completion by the end of 2026.
Shady Malak - Director of Photography
Shady Malak is an Egyptian-born cinematographer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles.
He began his filmmaking journey as a writer and director, but it was behind the camera that he found where he truly belonged. Through cinematography, he discovered a language beyond words—one built from light, shadow, movement, and emotion. He went on to earn a Master’s degree in Film & TV Production with a major in Cinematography from Loyola Marymount University, where he also worked in the camera department and later taught cinematography to both graduate and undergraduate students.
Over the years, Shady has worked across fiction, documentary, music videos, and commercial productions, shooting in locations including Egypt, Dubai, Somaliland, Chicago, Colombia, and Ecuador. His work has screened at numerous film festivals and venues, including the Chinese Theatres in Hollywood, and has received multiple awards, including recognition from PBS SoCal.
For Shady, cinematography is more than creating beautiful images. He sees the camera as a way of observing people and exploring identity, relationships, power, and the complexities of human experience. He is drawn to stories that feel honest, immersive, and emotionally alive, and enjoys finding visual ways to communicate what characters cannot always express through words.
When he is not behind the camera, Shady is usually somewhere exploring the world, meeting new people, or experiencing a place for the first time. For him, travel is another form of storytelling—an opportunity to observe, listen, and discover perspectives that find their way back into his work.
Nu Nguyen - Production Sound Mixer
I’m a production sound mixer and filmmaker with an MFA from UCLA in Directing/Producing. My work has earned an Emmy nomination for a FRONTLINE/PBS project, and I bring that storytelling sensibility to every set. I provide a full professional sound kit for clean, reliable audio, along with a collaborative approach, strong craft, and a great attitude. I’m committed to making production sound one less thing to worry about.
Jon Sprik - Lead Actor
You can currently catch Jon as Capulet in Romeo and Juliet and in the world premiere of Bernardo Cubria's The People of Pompeii, both at Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum and playing through early October. Recently on television, you can catch him as Sheriff Bill Johnson in The Wild West Chronicles and Lee Baldwin in Elkhorn. He has also appeared in Darren Star’s Younger and Lifetime’s three-part feature series As Luck Would Have It. Other notable experience includes work with The Road Theatre (company member), The Victory Theatre Center, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Titan Theatre, Door Shakespeare, and The Texas Shakespeare Festival. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Jon is a graduate of Hope College and holds an MFA from The University of Houston Professional Actor Training Program. California.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
SUBMISSION explores the fragility of memory, the erosion of trust, and the terror of not knowing what happened to your own body.
Natalie, a woman in her 30s, wakes up next to her husband—but something is off. Her body aches. There are unexplained signs of intrusion, confusion, and violations both subtle and visceral. As she struggles to make sense of what’s happening, Natalie begins to question her memory, her relationships, and her very sanity.
SUBMISSION is told entirely through Natalie’s perspective — visually, emotionally, and psychologically. Like in films such as Oxygen or Son of Saul, the camera never leaves her. We experience every moment of confusion, fear, and revelation as she does: in real time, in close quarters, and without reprieve.
This one-actor approach creates an unflinching intimacy. The audience is locked inside Natalie’s experience, forced to navigate her disorientation, mistrust, and physical vulnerability with no external relief. There is no “objective” reality offered — only Natalie’s evolving perception, making the story as much about internal unraveling as external threat.
SUBMISSION takes its inspiration from the Dominique Pelicot story - the tale of profound spousal betrayal that broke hearts across the world and launched a reckoning over toxic male abuse.
Society has made us increasingly strangers to one another. And when we stop recognizing ourselves in someone else's experience, empathy begins to disappear. We often ask how acts of violence can continue to exist, but we ask far less often what it feels like to live through them.
Submission exists to humanize one of the most vulnerable and least portrayed moments of victimization: the period before certainty. Before there are answers. Before there is proof. Before someone even has the words to describe what is happening to them. We often see stories of survivors after they understand their experience and decide what to do next. This film invites audiences to stay with someone who doesn't know yet.
The film's perspective is intentionally intimate. The camera never leaves Natalie. The audience is never given more information than she has. We are trapped inside her uncertainty, sharing her growing anxiety as she struggles to understand what her own body is trying to tell her.
Our hope is that audiences leave with greater compassion for those navigating the invisible and deeply isolating early stages of trauma. Rather than offering easy answers, Submission seeks to begin conversations rooted in empathy. The film was never intended to be a statement for one group against another. It is an invitation for everyone to engage in a difficult but necessary conversation about trust, memory, and the human cost of uncertainty.
By supporting Submission, you are helping bring to the screen a deeply human story about an experience that is rarely seen, yet profoundly deserves to be understood.
We want to give a HUGE thank you to our incredible fiscal sponsor, From The Heart Productions. This fundraising effort would not be as easy without them. We are eternally grateful for their support and generosity in this process.
With the help of From The Heart Productions, this donation will also be tax-deductible. You'll receive instructions when the campaign ends! It can even be supported by your company’s matching donation program, since From the Heart Productions is a 501c3 Non-Profit organization. Double check with your company before donating to see if you can take advantage of this type of program.
$25,000 will allow us to make SUBMISSION. But every dollar raised beyond that minimum brings us closer to the film we truly envision.
Our three funding levels show how additional support would allow us to strengthen the production, expand our creative possibilities, and ultimately bring the fullest version of SUBMISSION to the screen.
$25,000 — Minimum Production Budget: The film can be made professionally with a strong core crew, two-day shoot, professional sound, post, VFX, festival strategy and contingency.
$30,000 — Target Budget: The additional $5K allows us to add an additional production day, resulting in a three day shoot. More time allows us to elevate the execution: more complicated and cinematic shot composition, the ability to craft time-consuming lighting setups, and increased takes to dial in and experiment with performance.
$35,000 — Full Vision: The additional $5K beyond the $30K target isn't simply spent on "more" of everything. It allows for meaningful creative upgrades: a dedicated rehearsal/pre-production day, a significantly upgraded camera/lens package, and an original score. We'd give the actors and creative team dedicated preparation time, give the DP substantially more freedom with the visual language, and create an original musical identity for the film. We’ll have a better camera and lighting, stronger postproduction, more VFX, a stronger festival/marketing campaign, an upgraded location, fairer key crew compensation, dedicated continuity support, and more financial breathing room.
- Crowdfunding: September - October 2026
- Filming: December 2026
- Post-production 1st - 2nd Quarter 2027
- Festival Submissions: 3rd - 4th Quarter 2027
- Film Festivals: 2028 and beyond!
Follow us on Instagram, @Submission.film for updates, behind-the-scenes looks, and future news about the project!
Thank you to everyone supporting SUBMISSION! You are family to us and it means the world to have your support.
Love,
The SUBMISSION Team
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Above the Line
Costs $4,150
This funding for our cast and creative team will allow them to dedicate the time and care necessary to tell this story.
PRODUCTION
Costs $15,480
This film will thrive with a standout crew, a standard industry camera, lenses, production equipment, and a stellar filming location.
POST PRODUCTION
Costs $5,000
These finishing touches are what transform raw footage into a polished, immersive story that audiences can truly connect with!
CONTINGENCY
Costs $370
Every film has unexpected expenses, this will help us be prepared for anything that comes our way.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
From upper left to write: Nu Nguyen, Shady Malak, Jon Sprik, Claire Simba & Eric Bergemann