The Last Word
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Comedy
Created by an all-female cast and crew, The Last Word is a darkly funny film about saying goodbye to a difficult parent.
The Last Word
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Comedy
Green Light
This campaign raised $13,036 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
131 supporters | followers
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Created by an all-female cast and crew, The Last Word is a darkly funny film about saying goodbye to a difficult parent.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
When our main character, Tess, visits her mother in hospice, it's her last chance. She's finally built the courage to say the unsaid, and she has a long list of grievances (think CVS receipt for a pack of gum). But this goodbye does not go as planned.
The Last Word explores a complicated mother-daughter relationship heightened by the specter of death in films like Terms of Endearment with the absurd comedic moments reminiscent of Arrested Development.
If you've ever had trouble picking out a greeting card for your parents, this film is for you.
TESS, played by Diana Dinerman, is the daughter of a covert narcissist. Tess has been so weighted down by the baggage of her family dysfunction that when she finally speaks her mind, it comes out sideways. Diana Dinerman is a writer and comedian. Her one-woman show, DETOUR, was invited to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She's been called "One to Watch" by TribeLA magazine and featured in the British Comedy Guide, the List UK, and in that cheese commercial!
MONA, played by Karen Tarleton, is an avoidant narcissist with great timing. She finds creative ways to get out of the most awkward situations. Karen Tarleton's creative life encompasses film, television, theater, commercials, voiceover, and singing, in the U.S. and Great Britain. Credits include Trojan Women, Smothered-2, I Think You Should Leave, and For All Mankind. She is a voiceover artist for narration, commercials, interactive media and video games.
NURSE CARLA, played by Carla Vila, is an experienced hospice professional. She has the steady presence and death expertise to guide loved ones through the pain of letting go. She's seen it all—until she meets Tess. Carla Vila is an El Salvadorian actress who has guest starred in numerous television shows, including True Detective, The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Jane the Virgin, Atypical, and Animal Kingdom. Most recently she played a lead role in the short ‘Worthy’ which was featured as part of the Latino Inclusion Fellowship at LALIFF.
NURSE SHAWNA, played by Keishawna Baker, is an accommodating hospice nurse who believes that death is a promotion. She does what she can to help, even if her methods are unconventional. Keishawna Baker is a native of Detroit. She grew up performing at church and has been in several commercials, student films, and the film, American Comedy.
Cate Fogarty (Director) is passionate about bringing darkly comedic, female-centered stories to life. In 2021, Cate was chosen as the lead fellow in BlackMagic Collective's inaugural First Frame Initiative and then invited back as a lead fellow in their Directing Actor's Lab in 2022. She has worked on several award-winning shorts that have premiered at film festivals like the Dallas International Film Festival and Dances With Films. Her latest short film Slut, is premiering at the L.A. Women in Film Festival this summer.
Sophie Gemelas (Director of Photography) is a narrative-focused cinematographer. Studying under Chloé Zhao, her cinematic style is rooted in realism and naturalism. She's been a cinematographer on music videos, narrative shorts, musicals, and documentaries. Her work has been seen at the LA Shorts Fest, BendFilm Fest, and DeadCenter Film Fest. In 2022, she was selected by the Panavision New Filmmaker Program through her collaboration with up-and-coming unsighted director, Taylor Leigh Aguilar. Filming in Pueblo, the story was thematically centered around a rural community nestled in the natural Colorado landscapes.
We're raising $12,000 through a dedicated audience on Seed & Spark to cover our creative and production costs. We've taken our experience from low-budget shorts and assembled a team of passionate, talented collaborators to bring this project to life.
Independent films are fueled by passion and community.
Please Follow & Share!
Contributing to our campaign gets us one step closer to making this film.
The Last Word is in pre-production and shoots the last week of June in Los Angeles.
In 2022, women comprised 24% of directors, writers, producers, editors, and cinematographers working on the top 250 grossing films.
Yet, Women account for 50% of moviegoers (MPA 2019).
On the top 100 grossing films of 2019, women represented:
10.7% of directors
19.4% of writers
24.3% of producers
70.4% of casting directors
We have assembled an all-female cast and crew. Written, directed, and produced by women, your contribution to The Last Word helps create more female-centered stories and increases parity in the film industry.
To make The Last Word, we must reach 80% of our funding goal. We can't do it without you! Check out our incentives page and choose a giving level right for you. (ALL contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.)
Sharing our campaign on your social media is as helpful as a donation. And doing BOTH goes a long way to help bring The Last Word to life!
Here is some sample text. Feel Free to copy and paste.
Can't wait to see the short film The Last Word, by writer/actor, @dldinerman and director, @catefogarty. Support them on @seedandspark: https://seedandspark.com/fund/the-last-word
The Last Word film looks hilarious and it has an all-female cast and crew. Join me in supporting female-led films on @seedandspark: https://seedandspark.com/fund/the-last-word
Thank you for being part of this campaign and joining us in the making of The Last Word.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Post-Production
Costs $3,500
Sound Mixing, Color Correction
Other Expenses
Costs $300
Insurance
Gear
Costs $2,500
Camera Rental, Lighting, Hard Drives
Meals
Costs $300
We provide meals for our cast and crew.
Cast & Crew
Costs $4,800
Our fabulous all-female cast and production crew.
Film Festival Submissions
Costs $600
We'll be submitting our film to festivals for m.aximum impact on our community
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Diana Dinerman (Writer/Actor) has been called “One to Watch” by TribeLA magazine. Her solo show, DETOUR: A Show About Changing Your Mind, was invited to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She's been featured in Broadway World, The British Comedy Guide and the List UK. She was selected for the Women in Film Mentorship program and was an Artist-in-Residence in the Reciprocity Asylum Jewish Arts program. With a Ph.D. in History from the University of Minnesota, she’s received multiple grants for her scholarship on Race and Performance, including the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities, the Humanities Council, and the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota. She’s held research fellowships at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and the University of Southern California. She can still do the splits, but only on the left side.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
When our main character, Tess, visits her mother in hospice, it's her last chance. She's finally built the courage to say the unsaid, and she has a long list of grievances (think CVS receipt for a pack of gum). But this goodbye does not go as planned.
The Last Word explores a complicated mother-daughter relationship heightened by the specter of death in films like Terms of Endearment with the absurd comedic moments reminiscent of Arrested Development.
If you've ever had trouble picking out a greeting card for your parents, this film is for you.
TESS, played by Diana Dinerman, is the daughter of a covert narcissist. Tess has been so weighted down by the baggage of her family dysfunction that when she finally speaks her mind, it comes out sideways. Diana Dinerman is a writer and comedian. Her one-woman show, DETOUR, was invited to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She's been called "One to Watch" by TribeLA magazine and featured in the British Comedy Guide, the List UK, and in that cheese commercial!
MONA, played by Karen Tarleton, is an avoidant narcissist with great timing. She finds creative ways to get out of the most awkward situations. Karen Tarleton's creative life encompasses film, television, theater, commercials, voiceover, and singing, in the U.S. and Great Britain. Credits include Trojan Women, Smothered-2, I Think You Should Leave, and For All Mankind. She is a voiceover artist for narration, commercials, interactive media and video games.
NURSE CARLA, played by Carla Vila, is an experienced hospice professional. She has the steady presence and death expertise to guide loved ones through the pain of letting go. She's seen it all—until she meets Tess. Carla Vila is an El Salvadorian actress who has guest starred in numerous television shows, including True Detective, The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Jane the Virgin, Atypical, and Animal Kingdom. Most recently she played a lead role in the short ‘Worthy’ which was featured as part of the Latino Inclusion Fellowship at LALIFF.
NURSE SHAWNA, played by Keishawna Baker, is an accommodating hospice nurse who believes that death is a promotion. She does what she can to help, even if her methods are unconventional. Keishawna Baker is a native of Detroit. She grew up performing at church and has been in several commercials, student films, and the film, American Comedy.
Cate Fogarty (Director) is passionate about bringing darkly comedic, female-centered stories to life. In 2021, Cate was chosen as the lead fellow in BlackMagic Collective's inaugural First Frame Initiative and then invited back as a lead fellow in their Directing Actor's Lab in 2022. She has worked on several award-winning shorts that have premiered at film festivals like the Dallas International Film Festival and Dances With Films. Her latest short film Slut, is premiering at the L.A. Women in Film Festival this summer.
Sophie Gemelas (Director of Photography) is a narrative-focused cinematographer. Studying under Chloé Zhao, her cinematic style is rooted in realism and naturalism. She's been a cinematographer on music videos, narrative shorts, musicals, and documentaries. Her work has been seen at the LA Shorts Fest, BendFilm Fest, and DeadCenter Film Fest. In 2022, she was selected by the Panavision New Filmmaker Program through her collaboration with up-and-coming unsighted director, Taylor Leigh Aguilar. Filming in Pueblo, the story was thematically centered around a rural community nestled in the natural Colorado landscapes.
We're raising $12,000 through a dedicated audience on Seed & Spark to cover our creative and production costs. We've taken our experience from low-budget shorts and assembled a team of passionate, talented collaborators to bring this project to life.
Independent films are fueled by passion and community.
Please Follow & Share!
Contributing to our campaign gets us one step closer to making this film.
The Last Word is in pre-production and shoots the last week of June in Los Angeles.
In 2022, women comprised 24% of directors, writers, producers, editors, and cinematographers working on the top 250 grossing films.
Yet, Women account for 50% of moviegoers (MPA 2019).
On the top 100 grossing films of 2019, women represented:
10.7% of directors
19.4% of writers
24.3% of producers
70.4% of casting directors
We have assembled an all-female cast and crew. Written, directed, and produced by women, your contribution to The Last Word helps create more female-centered stories and increases parity in the film industry.
To make The Last Word, we must reach 80% of our funding goal. We can't do it without you! Check out our incentives page and choose a giving level right for you. (ALL contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.)
Sharing our campaign on your social media is as helpful as a donation. And doing BOTH goes a long way to help bring The Last Word to life!
Here is some sample text. Feel Free to copy and paste.
Can't wait to see the short film The Last Word, by writer/actor, @dldinerman and director, @catefogarty. Support them on @seedandspark: https://seedandspark.com/fund/the-last-word
The Last Word film looks hilarious and it has an all-female cast and crew. Join me in supporting female-led films on @seedandspark: https://seedandspark.com/fund/the-last-word
Thank you for being part of this campaign and joining us in the making of The Last Word.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Post-Production
Costs $3,500
Sound Mixing, Color Correction
Other Expenses
Costs $300
Insurance
Gear
Costs $2,500
Camera Rental, Lighting, Hard Drives
Meals
Costs $300
We provide meals for our cast and crew.
Cast & Crew
Costs $4,800
Our fabulous all-female cast and production crew.
Film Festival Submissions
Costs $600
We'll be submitting our film to festivals for m.aximum impact on our community
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Diana Dinerman (Writer/Actor) has been called “One to Watch” by TribeLA magazine. Her solo show, DETOUR: A Show About Changing Your Mind, was invited to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She's been featured in Broadway World, The British Comedy Guide and the List UK. She was selected for the Women in Film Mentorship program and was an Artist-in-Residence in the Reciprocity Asylum Jewish Arts program. With a Ph.D. in History from the University of Minnesota, she’s received multiple grants for her scholarship on Race and Performance, including the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities, the Humanities Council, and the Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota. She’s held research fellowships at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and the University of Southern California. She can still do the splits, but only on the left side.