The Actress: A Short Thesis Film by Umi Ito
Middletown, Connecticut | Film Short
Drama, Experimental
A lonely young woman casts a mysterious struggling actress to act in her amateur movie. Over the course of several days, a passionate and troubled relationship develops as ghosts from their past come haunting them. Help crowdfund a student thesis film!
The Actress: A Short Thesis Film by Umi Ito
Middletown, Connecticut | Film Short
Drama, Experimental
Green Light
This campaign raised $2,150 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
28 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
A lonely young woman casts a mysterious struggling actress to act in her amateur movie. Over the course of several days, a passionate and troubled relationship develops as ghosts from their past come haunting them. Help crowdfund a student thesis film!
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Hi, my name is Umi Ito the director and writer for The Actress!
As part of my film studies program at Wesleyan University, I have been given the unique opportunity to write and direct a 12-min short. I decided to make a story about stories and the people who create them.
Bonjour, je m'appelle Umi, étudiant en cinéma à Wesleyan University. Je vous présente mon film The Actress don't vous pourrez voir les détails sur la vidéo d'introduction (n'oubliez pas de mettre les sous-titres en francais). L'histoire du film tourne autour de Audrey et Ellie, deux femmes qui tournent un film avec très peu de moyens.
Le tournage du film étant complété, ces fonds sont nécesssaire pour le processus de post-production, c'est-à-dire montage, mise en couleur, bruitage, soumission à des festivals, etc... Vous pouvez entrer le montant avec lequel vous pouvez participer en cliquant sur le bouton "make a pledge". Nous comptons sur votre soutient pour terminer cette belle entreprise!
The Story
Audrey is living through an existential crisis. Her house will soon be sold, she's young, unemployed, lonely, and has nothing to show for herself. But she wants to make a film. She takes refuge in her story but doesn't have the confidence, skills, or knowledge she wish she had to make the story come to life.
One day, Ellie auditions for her film, they get to know and befriend each other. However, the promise of Audrey's film coming to life grows smaller every day with every lie.
.jpg)
Ghostly Memories
My goal with this film is to show how troubled minds are brought together by stories and characters.
What inspired me was the melancholic feeling that rushed over me whenever I found an item owned by a distant, long-gone relative. Knowing that a piece of them lives through that object is comforting. Growing up, our family had to frequently move out from house to house, country to country, continent to continent. Every time we moved, a piece of our life was left behind, objects, clothes, and friends never to be seen again. Their memory subsists through pictures and footage that, when re-discovered, pinches the heart and screams "Come back!" to a time that no longer exists.
Audrey is surrounded by remanents of the past that is soon to be gone. The house she lives in (and that she soon will leave) bears marks of the past, between the old-fashioned design, the TV, her grandmother's dress, and a VHS camera. The latter is used by Aidrey to shoot her film and portions of VHS footage underline the tension between imagination and memory.
She holds on to those relics and breathes new life in them, becoming a repeating motif. Like ghosts, once dead, now alive.
The Fantasy of a Lonely Soul
Another major theme in the film is loneliness and the struggle to open up. Ellie and Audrey aim to find meaning in their lives. Audrey through the making of her film and Ellie by becoming someone else. They rely on a fictive story to project their frustrations.
.jpg)
.jpg)
The Film Set
The set is an idealized version of Audrey's house and is where she shoots most of her film. It is designed to look like a living room from the 50s to represent a better, more romantic version of her house. It represents the space that brings hope to Ellie and Audrey's future at the risk of trapping them in a well of illusions.
.jpg)
The Crew
Meet our Amazing Crew! More in the "Team" section.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Support The Actress!
This is a very personal story that although small in scale, relies heavily on production design. Your help is needed to help cover the expenses of building a film set, providing catering and transportation for a crew of 20+ dedicated students, as well as the lengthy and costly post-production process.
Our film has completed pre-production, all the footage is in the box! However, all the funds came from out of pocket, and with post-production needing to be done next, we are asking for your pledge to cover these expenses.
Below is a description of how the fund gathered will be redistributed for the post-production process.
- Festival Submissions: 30%
- Color-Grading: 25%
- Sound-Mixing: 25%
- Score: 20%
Follow our journey on Instagram and Facebook:
Instagram: @theactress_movie
Facebook: @theactressmovie
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Sound Design
Costs $600
Requires advanced and precise manipulation of audio tracks for optimal audio immersion.
Color Grading
Costs $600
Color participates in the storytelling and is essential to keep continuity between scenes.
Festival Submissions
Costs $500
Making a film is hard and we want people to see the movie our crew worked hard to make.
Score
Costs $300
The soundtrack will be consisting of electronic ambient sound and minimalist piano compositions.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Umi Ito (Writer, Director): A French-Japanese senior film and computer science major at Wesleyan University in love with film in all its form. My favorite pastimes are playing piano and rummaging through old stuff in the basement, imagining what kind of story every old object I found has to tell.
Alexander Ferragamo (Producer): A third-year film and philosophy major at Wesleyan. When he's not busy producing three theses, Alex organizes friendly dinners and amazes everyone with his unrivaled ragout and knowledge in wine.
Divya Rajachandran (Assistant-Director): A senior Government major and Film Minor from El Paso TX, Divya kept this production on track while also writing her own thesis. Her dedication to the project has been invaluable and she made constantly kept the production running smoothly.
Ishan Modi (Director of Photography): Ishan is a junior Film major from Singapore with multiple projects under his belt, some of which have been entered many festivals. Umi and Ishan also share a deep passion for Bionicles.
Jayne Chen (Production Designer): A sophomore student from Beijing, China. Jayne had the difficult task of building an art deco-inspired set from scratch as well as remodeling Audrey's house.
Meg Sullivan (Audrey): A junior psychology major from Boston, MA. She brought Audrey's character to life with nuance. Meg is also a talented culinary artist and is part of the New Teen Force improv group.
Milly Hopkins (Ellie): A freshman at Wesleyan from Los Angeles, CA who played the part of Ellie. On campus, she's involved with theater productions and is also an accomplished photographer.
Full Crew List:
Director: Umi Ito
Director of Photography: Ishan Modi
Assistant Director: Divya Rajachandran
Producer: Alex Ferragamo
Assistant Producer: Eliza Solomon
Gaffer: Hanson Hairihan
Grip: Larissa Xu
Sound Mixer: Chris Bryan
Boom Operator: Alexei Brusiloff
Assistant Camera 1: Marcel Thompson
Assistant Camera 2: Julien Guelton
Assistant Camera 3: Joaquina Guevara
Casting Director: Diya Kuwelker
Script Supervisor: Cecilia Dondorful-Amos
Production Designer: Jayne Chen
Production Assistant: Pamela Shattock
Production Assistant: Stella Ramsey
Production Assistant: Zoe McCracken
Production Assistant: Jolie Zheng
Makeup: Layla Krantz
Costume Design: Caelan Campbell
On-set Photographer: Neeky Yassari
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Hi, my name is Umi Ito the director and writer for The Actress!
As part of my film studies program at Wesleyan University, I have been given the unique opportunity to write and direct a 12-min short. I decided to make a story about stories and the people who create them.
Bonjour, je m'appelle Umi, étudiant en cinéma à Wesleyan University. Je vous présente mon film The Actress don't vous pourrez voir les détails sur la vidéo d'introduction (n'oubliez pas de mettre les sous-titres en francais). L'histoire du film tourne autour de Audrey et Ellie, deux femmes qui tournent un film avec très peu de moyens.
Le tournage du film étant complété, ces fonds sont nécesssaire pour le processus de post-production, c'est-à-dire montage, mise en couleur, bruitage, soumission à des festivals, etc... Vous pouvez entrer le montant avec lequel vous pouvez participer en cliquant sur le bouton "make a pledge". Nous comptons sur votre soutient pour terminer cette belle entreprise!
The Story
Audrey is living through an existential crisis. Her house will soon be sold, she's young, unemployed, lonely, and has nothing to show for herself. But she wants to make a film. She takes refuge in her story but doesn't have the confidence, skills, or knowledge she wish she had to make the story come to life.
One day, Ellie auditions for her film, they get to know and befriend each other. However, the promise of Audrey's film coming to life grows smaller every day with every lie.
Ghostly Memories
My goal with this film is to show how troubled minds are brought together by stories and characters.
What inspired me was the melancholic feeling that rushed over me whenever I found an item owned by a distant, long-gone relative. Knowing that a piece of them lives through that object is comforting. Growing up, our family had to frequently move out from house to house, country to country, continent to continent. Every time we moved, a piece of our life was left behind, objects, clothes, and friends never to be seen again. Their memory subsists through pictures and footage that, when re-discovered, pinches the heart and screams "Come back!" to a time that no longer exists.
Audrey is surrounded by remanents of the past that is soon to be gone. The house she lives in (and that she soon will leave) bears marks of the past, between the old-fashioned design, the TV, her grandmother's dress, and a VHS camera. The latter is used by Aidrey to shoot her film and portions of VHS footage underline the tension between imagination and memory.
She holds on to those relics and breathes new life in them, becoming a repeating motif. Like ghosts, once dead, now alive.
The Fantasy of a Lonely Soul
Another major theme in the film is loneliness and the struggle to open up. Ellie and Audrey aim to find meaning in their lives. Audrey through the making of her film and Ellie by becoming someone else. They rely on a fictive story to project their frustrations.
The Film Set
The set is an idealized version of Audrey's house and is where she shoots most of her film. It is designed to look like a living room from the 50s to represent a better, more romantic version of her house. It represents the space that brings hope to Ellie and Audrey's future at the risk of trapping them in a well of illusions.
The Crew
Meet our Amazing Crew! More in the "Team" section.
Support The Actress!
This is a very personal story that although small in scale, relies heavily on production design. Your help is needed to help cover the expenses of building a film set, providing catering and transportation for a crew of 20+ dedicated students, as well as the lengthy and costly post-production process.
Our film has completed pre-production, all the footage is in the box! However, all the funds came from out of pocket, and with post-production needing to be done next, we are asking for your pledge to cover these expenses.
Below is a description of how the fund gathered will be redistributed for the post-production process.
- Festival Submissions: 30%
- Color-Grading: 25%
- Sound-Mixing: 25%
- Score: 20%
Follow our journey on Instagram and Facebook:
Instagram: @theactress_movie
Facebook: @theactressmovie
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Sound Design
Costs $600
Requires advanced and precise manipulation of audio tracks for optimal audio immersion.
Color Grading
Costs $600
Color participates in the storytelling and is essential to keep continuity between scenes.
Festival Submissions
Costs $500
Making a film is hard and we want people to see the movie our crew worked hard to make.
Score
Costs $300
The soundtrack will be consisting of electronic ambient sound and minimalist piano compositions.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Umi Ito (Writer, Director): A French-Japanese senior film and computer science major at Wesleyan University in love with film in all its form. My favorite pastimes are playing piano and rummaging through old stuff in the basement, imagining what kind of story every old object I found has to tell.
Alexander Ferragamo (Producer): A third-year film and philosophy major at Wesleyan. When he's not busy producing three theses, Alex organizes friendly dinners and amazes everyone with his unrivaled ragout and knowledge in wine.
Divya Rajachandran (Assistant-Director): A senior Government major and Film Minor from El Paso TX, Divya kept this production on track while also writing her own thesis. Her dedication to the project has been invaluable and she made constantly kept the production running smoothly.
Ishan Modi (Director of Photography): Ishan is a junior Film major from Singapore with multiple projects under his belt, some of which have been entered many festivals. Umi and Ishan also share a deep passion for Bionicles.
Jayne Chen (Production Designer): A sophomore student from Beijing, China. Jayne had the difficult task of building an art deco-inspired set from scratch as well as remodeling Audrey's house.
Meg Sullivan (Audrey): A junior psychology major from Boston, MA. She brought Audrey's character to life with nuance. Meg is also a talented culinary artist and is part of the New Teen Force improv group.
Milly Hopkins (Ellie): A freshman at Wesleyan from Los Angeles, CA who played the part of Ellie. On campus, she's involved with theater productions and is also an accomplished photographer.
Full Crew List:
Director: Umi Ito
Director of Photography: Ishan Modi
Assistant Director: Divya Rajachandran
Producer: Alex Ferragamo
Assistant Producer: Eliza Solomon
Gaffer: Hanson Hairihan
Grip: Larissa Xu
Sound Mixer: Chris Bryan
Boom Operator: Alexei Brusiloff
Assistant Camera 1: Marcel Thompson
Assistant Camera 2: Julien Guelton
Assistant Camera 3: Joaquina Guevara
Casting Director: Diya Kuwelker
Script Supervisor: Cecilia Dondorful-Amos
Production Designer: Jayne Chen
Production Assistant: Pamela Shattock
Production Assistant: Stella Ramsey
Production Assistant: Zoe McCracken
Production Assistant: Jolie Zheng
Makeup: Layla Krantz
Costume Design: Caelan Campbell
On-set Photographer: Neeky Yassari