Tap Out
Austin, Texas | Film Short
Drama, Action
Jane, a jiu jitsu athlete, is assaulted by a teammate and close friend, Matt, during an away tournament.In the aftermath, Jane seeks support from her jiu jitsu coach, John, and from her teammate and best friend, Eve. Both fail to support and believe her and so she decides to seek justice on her own.
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Jane, a jiu jitsu athlete, is assaulted by a teammate and close friend, Matt, during an away tournament.In the aftermath, Jane seeks support from her jiu jitsu coach, John, and from her teammate and best friend, Eve. Both fail to support and believe her and so she decides to seek justice on her own.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Sooo, a few years back I went through a sexual assault by a teammate creep. Gross of him! Anywho, this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down. Seriously, it did. I fell out of love with jiu-jitsu, stopped competing, and stopped training regularly. I was really lost and I felt a lot of shame for many years. It sucked!
Then one day, I imagined all that I would do if there were no repercussions. I'd beat him to a bloody pulp with baseball bat.
But, alas, even in TapOut, that's unrealistic. So I compromised and wrote something grounded, and that's how Tap Out came to be.
Jane, a jiu-jitsu athlete is raped by a teammate, she turns to her coach for support, and he doesn't believe her. She then turns to a teammate and friend, who victim blames and also, doesn't believe her. These events cause Jane to snap.
Anyway, turns out sexual assault is prevalent in the jiu-jitsu community, so is the cover up. Which is what happened to me irl, and, like I said, happens to more people than it should. It might even be happening in your gym, but hopefully, it isn't.
We're making this film to help raise awareness, to persuade people to speak out against these crimes, and to celebrate women standing up for themselves.
TapOut explores the effects of grief, trauma, and isolation. It explores the psychological impact of trauma - grief, isolation, loss, and the quiet moments that precede a breaking point. It is deeply personal.
We're currently about to start production, and it's expensive. Our very real goal is $15,000. That's to cover the costs of equipment rentals, insurance, location rentals, production design, stunt coordinator, craft services, distribution, film festival runs, transportation, legal fees, paying our cast and crew livable wages, and post-production costs like color correction, editing, sound design, and music score.
However, seed&spark only let's you keep the money if you crowdfund 80% or more of your total. Therefore, we're asking for the bare minimum (3,000) to get this movie made, that's for a stunt coordinator, location, equipment rental, and craft services.
"Pray to catch the bus then run as fast as you can." - Julia Cameron
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Stunt Coordinator
Costs $1,000
There's a fight scene with a baseball bat involved.
Locations
Costs $1,500
To rent out a gym and other spaces needed to film
Craft Services
Costs $500
If we don't exceed our goal, we can't pay our cast and crew. Therefore, we have to at least keep everyone well-fed!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Co-Director, Co-Producer: Alexis Cabrera is a Mexican-American Director from Dallas, TX. As both a second-generation immigrant and a trans femme individual, she uses the tools of film and media production to tell engaging and impactful stories for those who have gone voiceless, exposing truths that society has yet to see.
Writer / Co-Director: Jeniffer Miranda spent 8 years training Brazilian jiu-jitsu - a discipline that shaped her understanding of resilience, control, and vulnerability. She began her creative career as an actress on independent short film sets, where her interest in narrative and visual language took root. This film marks her debut as both writer and director. Her creative focus lies in exploring the emotional complexity of marginalized voices, with the long-term goal of developing original series for a major production company.
Co-Producer: Austin-raised and London-trained, Jules Shelby is a multidisciplinary creative whose journey spans theater, dance, and film. After growing up in the local theater scene, Jules moved to London to study acting and world theatre, immersing herself in diverse storytelling traditions that broadened her perspective on how experiences can be shared. Her exploration of aerial dance, particularly pole, introduced a visceral, physical dimension to her narrative approach. Upon returning home to Texas, Jules transitioned from stage to screen, drawn to film's expansive capacity to convey the ineffable. Having contributed to various facets of production—from costume assistant to director of photography—this project marks her debut as a producer, where she continues to explore the depths of human experience through visual storytelling.
Co-Producer: Audrey Goff grew up in Dallas, Texas and moved to Austin where she recently graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in Radio, Television, and Film. She brings experience from producing both narrative and documentary short films, approaching projects with a creative and logistical perspective. She is passionate about supporting women in film and telling women’s stories, so she’s super excited to be working on Tap Out!
Director of Photography: Leila Saidane is a cinematographer based in Austin and with a black belt in TaeKwonDo. Their professional documentary photo and video work informs her cinema verité style of narrative filmmaking. She’s focused on stories that uplift women, queer people and other Muslim/Arabs and people of color.
J
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Sooo, a few years back I went through a sexual assault by a teammate creep. Gross of him! Anywho, this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down. Seriously, it did. I fell out of love with jiu-jitsu, stopped competing, and stopped training regularly. I was really lost and I felt a lot of shame for many years. It sucked!
Then one day, I imagined all that I would do if there were no repercussions. I'd beat him to a bloody pulp with baseball bat.
But, alas, even in TapOut, that's unrealistic. So I compromised and wrote something grounded, and that's how Tap Out came to be.
Jane, a jiu-jitsu athlete is raped by a teammate, she turns to her coach for support, and he doesn't believe her. She then turns to a teammate and friend, who victim blames and also, doesn't believe her. These events cause Jane to snap.
Anyway, turns out sexual assault is prevalent in the jiu-jitsu community, so is the cover up. Which is what happened to me irl, and, like I said, happens to more people than it should. It might even be happening in your gym, but hopefully, it isn't.
We're making this film to help raise awareness, to persuade people to speak out against these crimes, and to celebrate women standing up for themselves.
TapOut explores the effects of grief, trauma, and isolation. It explores the psychological impact of trauma - grief, isolation, loss, and the quiet moments that precede a breaking point. It is deeply personal.
We're currently about to start production, and it's expensive. Our very real goal is $15,000. That's to cover the costs of equipment rentals, insurance, location rentals, production design, stunt coordinator, craft services, distribution, film festival runs, transportation, legal fees, paying our cast and crew livable wages, and post-production costs like color correction, editing, sound design, and music score.
However, seed&spark only let's you keep the money if you crowdfund 80% or more of your total. Therefore, we're asking for the bare minimum (3,000) to get this movie made, that's for a stunt coordinator, location, equipment rental, and craft services.
"Pray to catch the bus then run as fast as you can." - Julia Cameron
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Stunt Coordinator
Costs $1,000
There's a fight scene with a baseball bat involved.
Locations
Costs $1,500
To rent out a gym and other spaces needed to film
Craft Services
Costs $500
If we don't exceed our goal, we can't pay our cast and crew. Therefore, we have to at least keep everyone well-fed!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Co-Director, Co-Producer: Alexis Cabrera is a Mexican-American Director from Dallas, TX. As both a second-generation immigrant and a trans femme individual, she uses the tools of film and media production to tell engaging and impactful stories for those who have gone voiceless, exposing truths that society has yet to see.
Writer / Co-Director: Jeniffer Miranda spent 8 years training Brazilian jiu-jitsu - a discipline that shaped her understanding of resilience, control, and vulnerability. She began her creative career as an actress on independent short film sets, where her interest in narrative and visual language took root. This film marks her debut as both writer and director. Her creative focus lies in exploring the emotional complexity of marginalized voices, with the long-term goal of developing original series for a major production company.
Co-Producer: Austin-raised and London-trained, Jules Shelby is a multidisciplinary creative whose journey spans theater, dance, and film. After growing up in the local theater scene, Jules moved to London to study acting and world theatre, immersing herself in diverse storytelling traditions that broadened her perspective on how experiences can be shared. Her exploration of aerial dance, particularly pole, introduced a visceral, physical dimension to her narrative approach. Upon returning home to Texas, Jules transitioned from stage to screen, drawn to film's expansive capacity to convey the ineffable. Having contributed to various facets of production—from costume assistant to director of photography—this project marks her debut as a producer, where she continues to explore the depths of human experience through visual storytelling.
Co-Producer: Audrey Goff grew up in Dallas, Texas and moved to Austin where she recently graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in Radio, Television, and Film. She brings experience from producing both narrative and documentary short films, approaching projects with a creative and logistical perspective. She is passionate about supporting women in film and telling women’s stories, so she’s super excited to be working on Tap Out!
Director of Photography: Leila Saidane is a cinematographer based in Austin and with a black belt in TaeKwonDo. Their professional documentary photo and video work informs her cinema verité style of narrative filmmaking. She’s focused on stories that uplift women, queer people and other Muslim/Arabs and people of color.
J