The Tenant
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Thriller
Alyssa, an obsessive mystery novel reader, must uncover the truth about Cara, her boyfriend's new running partner. Donating will help us portray our Latinx characters in roles unshackled by stereotypes. Rather, they will be developed as multidimensional protagonists you can relate to.
The Tenant
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Thriller
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $12,035 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
181 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
Alyssa, an obsessive mystery novel reader, must uncover the truth about Cara, her boyfriend's new running partner. Donating will help us portray our Latinx characters in roles unshackled by stereotypes. Rather, they will be developed as multidimensional protagonists you can relate to.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
After a creeping suspicion that her boyfriend is cheating on her, Alyssa investigates the matter and formulates a plan to regain control.
This thriller explores the way that inner-dialogue shapes our self image and influences our behavior. Alyssa, our central character, is an obsessive mystery novel reader, but life becomes difficult when she starts to suspect her boyfriend’s affections are waning. When her boyfriend starts spending time with his new running partner who also lives in the building, Alyssa must uncover the truth about the nature of his relationship with this new woman.
Still Alyssa is no Nancy Drew; her problems are heavy, adult, and full of heat. So when Alyssa catches him cheating, it’s time to take matters into her own hands. Channeling her favorite mystery novel character, Alyssa confronts her boyfriend’s betrayal. The rest of the film follows Alyssa as she tries to determine the best way to handle the fall-out. Will she leave him? Will she confront the other woman? Or will she fall so deep into the rabbit hole, that she may never be able to resurface? This short is a phantasmagorical exploration of anxiety, self-deprecation, and the toll of intimate relationships.
Growing up, I always loved immersing myself in stories and suspending my belief within the world of film. At the time, I didn't realize it was a way for me to escape my harsh upbringing and the reality of growing up as a first generation American. Looking back now, that was my escape that has turned into my light and passion.
My quick wit and love a of a good mental puzzle fed into my love for mystery. Inspired by the brilliant work of Christopher Nolan, I found my artistic niche within the psychological thriller space. Naturally, I couldn't wait for the moment when I'd be able to make my own psychological thrillers.
The Tenant isn't just a basic story about a woman finding out that her boyfriend is cheating on her - it goes much deeper than that. This film explores the depths of our humanity: our flaws, our weaknesses and the decisions we make when pain pushes us to our limits.
I'm excited to explore the depths of the characters while working with my actors, especially our main character Alyssa, who's experience and perspective will feed into all of our deepest fears and insecurities.This film has a dark, gritty tone and psychologically-driven sound design that conveys sadness, deceit and feelings of threat interwoven with bouts of fun, carefree moments which ultimately highlight Alyssa's pain while showcasing a wonderfully talented Latina actress as our lead.
My vision for this film will rely heavily on our location and production design, particular lighting to assist in the dual tonality of the darkness and lightness within us. As well as creative sound design and music to convey the theme and tone of this multi-layered, three-dimensional story. This film needs to be done right to properly execute to the degree this story deserves.
I don't want to make a video. I want to make an extraordinary film. One that has talented, diverse women involved that can get paid to help me bring this to life the way I envision this film. And with your help, I know we can get there. From the depths of my heart, thank you for reading this and choosing to contribute to this project.
- Pam Matew | Director/Producer
What happens when you get three strong Latina women producers in a room? They create and forge a blazin' path to not only bring attention to our Latine community, but to cast them in the lead roles of our films and that's exactly what we're doing with The Tenant. All leads will be Latine and we are so excited to give them this opportunity to shine within our film! This is an extremely important opportunity, especially when you consider that our most recent film, Perfectly Disturbed has not only been selected for several film festivals, but has provided our lead Latina actress to garner multiple Best Actress awards!
WE ARE INTENT ON CREATING OPPORTUNITIES AND AVENUES FOR THE LATINE COMMUNITY TO SHINE!
We are also proud to share that this project will be hiring a woman-forward crew! From the camera department, to G&E, to hair and makeup, to production design, art dept, props, sound, PA's - you name it, we're hiring women. We will search high and low to fill these positions with women that deserve to gain the experience, knowledge and FUN of working with a woman-forward crew - a rarity that we are determined to make commonplace in the film industry!
Our director Pam is very passionate about teaching, coaching and imparting her knowledge and experience to other women that are trying to learn about the art of directing. Pam would have loved to have a mentor that would take her under their wings, so she is determined to provide that opportunity to other young women. While this may be a short film, there are many women in the field that are eager to learn how to direct or simply be on set to learn how it all works and comes together in real time. Pam will be bringing on 1-3 female directing mentees for this shoot and will be available to answer any of their questions on the process of directing and have them right by her side as they watch the action unfold.
We're not playing about bringing others up with us. This is not just for us - it's for every dreamer out there that wants to sit at the table - because us Latinos like to eat - duh.
In order to realize our vision, we need a total budget of $15,000. Your support will go towards paying cast and crew, location rental fees, film equipment and production rentals, production design, catering expenses, insurance, and more.
As safety for our cast and crew is our number one priority, we will be following the most up-to-date Covid-19 rules and regulations provided by SAG, so part of our budget for production supplies will go toward providing PPE items on set.
 (6 × 5 in) (6 × 4 in) (4 × 5 in) (4 × 4 in).png)
We also understand that a monetary contribution is not necessarily the best package for everyone. We are more than happy to accept contributions in the form of goods and services. Below is a list of items we are looking for in terms of physical donation:
1. Filming Location (Apartment anyone?)
2. Catering and Crafty Donations (We know some of y'all can cook!)
3. G&E equipment
4. Production Assistants that are open to donating their time to learn
5. Post-Production Services (sound mix, colorgrading, etc.)
Contribute to Our Campaign:
If you are of Latine descent, you know we are usually limited to seeing ourselves on international spanish-language networks airing in the states, or as one-dimensional characters in American entertainment. If you’re not of Latine descent, you know there’s a running bias of who we are that has been constructed by entertainment curators throughout time.
There’s a whole community of American born Latinos hoping to be validated simply as citizens of the world and indulgers of life. We are creating short films that do not rely on Latine culture to establish world or character, but that entertain and engage while brown faces are on screen and behind the camera.
Creating opportunities and access to our project is crucial to us. It is our approach to providing aspiring Latine filmmakers insight or experience, in an inviting and teaching set.
Your contribution is the best way to help us get this film off the ground and onto screens where the next generation of Latinos can see what's possible for them while simultaneously being entertained.
Share our campaign and follow us on Seed and Spark and on Instagram!
@TheTenant_Short
Director/Producer Pam @latinadirector
Writer Jaime @jaimebreewriter
Producer Desi @iwokeuplikedez
Producer Crystal @crystalamie
You can also drop us a line at [email protected]
If you'd like to share on Instagram, copy and paste the below! (Psst, we wrote it for you!)
- Help filmmakers @latinadirector, @iwokeuplikedez and @crystalamie bring @thetenant_short to life, a thriller exploring the underlying thoughts and feelings that shape our self-image and influence our behavior. This film also has Latine leads and female crew! Head over to @seedandspark to make a pledge! https://seedandspark.com/fund/the-tenant-short
Thank you so much for joining us! And remember, anything you can contribute will put us one step closer to bringing The Tenant to life.
It's 100% free to follow our campaign and stay up-to-date on the latest The Tenant news. It helps us build our audience to get more followers, supporters and pledges!
Don't forget to tag us: @thetenant_short
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Strong Women on Set
Costs $7,425
To pay the amazing women who make up our cast and crew for their hard work and dedication!
Equipment & Rentals
Costs $1,400
We need equipment to ensure the quality of our film and make sure we nail our vision!
Production Design
Costs $750
Part of what makes a film great is what's seen on camera and our production design is a big player.
Catering & Crafty
Costs $2,400
Let's just say we all like to eat our feelings on a long work day -duh, Latinos like to eat!
Share this update!
About This Team
Pamela Matew: Director/Producer
Bio: Pam, aka Pambition, is a first generation American born to her Colombian mother & Romania father. She was born in Queens, NY, raised in San Antonio, and moved out to Los Angeles at 18 to pursue her dreams. She graduated from CSULA with her BA in Television, Film & Media studies and has been on the path of filmmaking since. She has worked on several indie feature films working her way up from PA to 1st AD. She has directed, produced, and edited 10 short films in addition to multiple music videos.
Pam’s aspiration and goal as a director, is to be the next female Latinx Christopher Nolan x Jordan Peele. Her favorite genre is psychological thriller and her top two favorite films are Inception and Get Out. Ultimately, the artistic "mind fuck" is what consumes most of her creative brain. Directing is the ultimate passion for Pam and she will always work to keep creating and mastering her craft for a lifetime to come.
Jaime Bree: Writer
Bio: Jaime started her career as a primary school teacher. Her love of writing grew during her time at Cambridge University, where she studied a B.Ed in Drama. She achieved first class grades in directing and writing and hasn’t looked back since. After taking some time out with family life, she started writing playscripts again but soon realized, because of her love of all things film, that she was destined to become a screenwriter. Jaime has formally been writing screenplays for three years, has won a number of challenges within her local writing group, has extended a 7 page winning biopic based on the life of Bonnie and Clyde into a 23 page short which was then submitted to the Austin Film Festival as her winner’s prize. She is currently working on an urban sci-fi mini-series. Jaime is looking forward to her first short screenplay, The Tenant, a psychological thriller, to go into production soon.
Crystal Mojica: Producer
Bio: Crystal was born and raised in southeast Los Angeles. She graduated from the University of Southern California and is currently an Associate Producer at an AV agency named Rogue Planet. She’s inspired by the visionary Guillermo del Toro and by a true multi-hyphenate artist, Eugenio Derbez. She hopes to become a creative film producer to develop stories that pertain to LA culture, coming of age stories, social injustices, and fantasy/mythology. This is her second independent project, and she hopes to continue to build on her expertise.
Fun Fact: Crystal hopes to make a comedy one day about the horrors experienced by short people at concerts.
Desiree Ewing: Producer
Bio: Desiree Ewing is a bisexual, Latinx screenwriter and producer with a deep passion for telling stories about identity and the intersection of media and social justice activism. She has developed her writing skills throughout college and at her various industry jobs, including the pieces that she has written and produced for SYFY Wire at NBC Universal and her work in television development at Goodbye Pictures where she develops and pitches unscripted series. You will soon be able to listen to her scripted horror podcast about three queer teens who get mixed up in demonic witchcraft and have to work together to save their small town from total destruction. She dreams of helping to create groundbreaking content that challenges America's perception of identity and pushes our limited views of the self through television during the new golden age.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
After a creeping suspicion that her boyfriend is cheating on her, Alyssa investigates the matter and formulates a plan to regain control.
This thriller explores the way that inner-dialogue shapes our self image and influences our behavior. Alyssa, our central character, is an obsessive mystery novel reader, but life becomes difficult when she starts to suspect her boyfriend’s affections are waning. When her boyfriend starts spending time with his new running partner who also lives in the building, Alyssa must uncover the truth about the nature of his relationship with this new woman.
Still Alyssa is no Nancy Drew; her problems are heavy, adult, and full of heat. So when Alyssa catches him cheating, it’s time to take matters into her own hands. Channeling her favorite mystery novel character, Alyssa confronts her boyfriend’s betrayal. The rest of the film follows Alyssa as she tries to determine the best way to handle the fall-out. Will she leave him? Will she confront the other woman? Or will she fall so deep into the rabbit hole, that she may never be able to resurface? This short is a phantasmagorical exploration of anxiety, self-deprecation, and the toll of intimate relationships.
Growing up, I always loved immersing myself in stories and suspending my belief within the world of film. At the time, I didn't realize it was a way for me to escape my harsh upbringing and the reality of growing up as a first generation American. Looking back now, that was my escape that has turned into my light and passion.
My quick wit and love a of a good mental puzzle fed into my love for mystery. Inspired by the brilliant work of Christopher Nolan, I found my artistic niche within the psychological thriller space. Naturally, I couldn't wait for the moment when I'd be able to make my own psychological thrillers.
The Tenant isn't just a basic story about a woman finding out that her boyfriend is cheating on her - it goes much deeper than that. This film explores the depths of our humanity: our flaws, our weaknesses and the decisions we make when pain pushes us to our limits.
I'm excited to explore the depths of the characters while working with my actors, especially our main character Alyssa, who's experience and perspective will feed into all of our deepest fears and insecurities.This film has a dark, gritty tone and psychologically-driven sound design that conveys sadness, deceit and feelings of threat interwoven with bouts of fun, carefree moments which ultimately highlight Alyssa's pain while showcasing a wonderfully talented Latina actress as our lead.
My vision for this film will rely heavily on our location and production design, particular lighting to assist in the dual tonality of the darkness and lightness within us. As well as creative sound design and music to convey the theme and tone of this multi-layered, three-dimensional story. This film needs to be done right to properly execute to the degree this story deserves.
I don't want to make a video. I want to make an extraordinary film. One that has talented, diverse women involved that can get paid to help me bring this to life the way I envision this film. And with your help, I know we can get there. From the depths of my heart, thank you for reading this and choosing to contribute to this project.
- Pam Matew | Director/Producer
What happens when you get three strong Latina women producers in a room? They create and forge a blazin' path to not only bring attention to our Latine community, but to cast them in the lead roles of our films and that's exactly what we're doing with The Tenant. All leads will be Latine and we are so excited to give them this opportunity to shine within our film! This is an extremely important opportunity, especially when you consider that our most recent film, Perfectly Disturbed has not only been selected for several film festivals, but has provided our lead Latina actress to garner multiple Best Actress awards!
WE ARE INTENT ON CREATING OPPORTUNITIES AND AVENUES FOR THE LATINE COMMUNITY TO SHINE!
We are also proud to share that this project will be hiring a woman-forward crew! From the camera department, to G&E, to hair and makeup, to production design, art dept, props, sound, PA's - you name it, we're hiring women. We will search high and low to fill these positions with women that deserve to gain the experience, knowledge and FUN of working with a woman-forward crew - a rarity that we are determined to make commonplace in the film industry!
Our director Pam is very passionate about teaching, coaching and imparting her knowledge and experience to other women that are trying to learn about the art of directing. Pam would have loved to have a mentor that would take her under their wings, so she is determined to provide that opportunity to other young women. While this may be a short film, there are many women in the field that are eager to learn how to direct or simply be on set to learn how it all works and comes together in real time. Pam will be bringing on 1-3 female directing mentees for this shoot and will be available to answer any of their questions on the process of directing and have them right by her side as they watch the action unfold.
We're not playing about bringing others up with us. This is not just for us - it's for every dreamer out there that wants to sit at the table - because us Latinos like to eat - duh.
In order to realize our vision, we need a total budget of $15,000. Your support will go towards paying cast and crew, location rental fees, film equipment and production rentals, production design, catering expenses, insurance, and more.
As safety for our cast and crew is our number one priority, we will be following the most up-to-date Covid-19 rules and regulations provided by SAG, so part of our budget for production supplies will go toward providing PPE items on set.
We also understand that a monetary contribution is not necessarily the best package for everyone. We are more than happy to accept contributions in the form of goods and services. Below is a list of items we are looking for in terms of physical donation:
1. Filming Location (Apartment anyone?)
2. Catering and Crafty Donations (We know some of y'all can cook!)
3. G&E equipment
4. Production Assistants that are open to donating their time to learn
5. Post-Production Services (sound mix, colorgrading, etc.)
Contribute to Our Campaign:
If you are of Latine descent, you know we are usually limited to seeing ourselves on international spanish-language networks airing in the states, or as one-dimensional characters in American entertainment. If you’re not of Latine descent, you know there’s a running bias of who we are that has been constructed by entertainment curators throughout time.
There’s a whole community of American born Latinos hoping to be validated simply as citizens of the world and indulgers of life. We are creating short films that do not rely on Latine culture to establish world or character, but that entertain and engage while brown faces are on screen and behind the camera.
Creating opportunities and access to our project is crucial to us. It is our approach to providing aspiring Latine filmmakers insight or experience, in an inviting and teaching set.
Your contribution is the best way to help us get this film off the ground and onto screens where the next generation of Latinos can see what's possible for them while simultaneously being entertained.
Share our campaign and follow us on Seed and Spark and on Instagram!
@TheTenant_Short
Director/Producer Pam @latinadirector
Writer Jaime @jaimebreewriter
Producer Desi @iwokeuplikedez
Producer Crystal @crystalamie
You can also drop us a line at [email protected]
If you'd like to share on Instagram, copy and paste the below! (Psst, we wrote it for you!)
- Help filmmakers @latinadirector, @iwokeuplikedez and @crystalamie bring @thetenant_short to life, a thriller exploring the underlying thoughts and feelings that shape our self-image and influence our behavior. This film also has Latine leads and female crew! Head over to @seedandspark to make a pledge! https://seedandspark.com/fund/the-tenant-short
Thank you so much for joining us! And remember, anything you can contribute will put us one step closer to bringing The Tenant to life.
It's 100% free to follow our campaign and stay up-to-date on the latest The Tenant news. It helps us build our audience to get more followers, supporters and pledges!
Don't forget to tag us: @thetenant_short
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Strong Women on Set
Costs $7,425
To pay the amazing women who make up our cast and crew for their hard work and dedication!
Equipment & Rentals
Costs $1,400
We need equipment to ensure the quality of our film and make sure we nail our vision!
Production Design
Costs $750
Part of what makes a film great is what's seen on camera and our production design is a big player.
Catering & Crafty
Costs $2,400
Let's just say we all like to eat our feelings on a long work day -duh, Latinos like to eat!
Share this update!
About This Team
Pamela Matew: Director/Producer
Bio: Pam, aka Pambition, is a first generation American born to her Colombian mother & Romania father. She was born in Queens, NY, raised in San Antonio, and moved out to Los Angeles at 18 to pursue her dreams. She graduated from CSULA with her BA in Television, Film & Media studies and has been on the path of filmmaking since. She has worked on several indie feature films working her way up from PA to 1st AD. She has directed, produced, and edited 10 short films in addition to multiple music videos.
Pam’s aspiration and goal as a director, is to be the next female Latinx Christopher Nolan x Jordan Peele. Her favorite genre is psychological thriller and her top two favorite films are Inception and Get Out. Ultimately, the artistic "mind fuck" is what consumes most of her creative brain. Directing is the ultimate passion for Pam and she will always work to keep creating and mastering her craft for a lifetime to come.
Jaime Bree: Writer
Bio: Jaime started her career as a primary school teacher. Her love of writing grew during her time at Cambridge University, where she studied a B.Ed in Drama. She achieved first class grades in directing and writing and hasn’t looked back since. After taking some time out with family life, she started writing playscripts again but soon realized, because of her love of all things film, that she was destined to become a screenwriter. Jaime has formally been writing screenplays for three years, has won a number of challenges within her local writing group, has extended a 7 page winning biopic based on the life of Bonnie and Clyde into a 23 page short which was then submitted to the Austin Film Festival as her winner’s prize. She is currently working on an urban sci-fi mini-series. Jaime is looking forward to her first short screenplay, The Tenant, a psychological thriller, to go into production soon.
Crystal Mojica: Producer
Bio: Crystal was born and raised in southeast Los Angeles. She graduated from the University of Southern California and is currently an Associate Producer at an AV agency named Rogue Planet. She’s inspired by the visionary Guillermo del Toro and by a true multi-hyphenate artist, Eugenio Derbez. She hopes to become a creative film producer to develop stories that pertain to LA culture, coming of age stories, social injustices, and fantasy/mythology. This is her second independent project, and she hopes to continue to build on her expertise.
Fun Fact: Crystal hopes to make a comedy one day about the horrors experienced by short people at concerts.
Desiree Ewing: Producer
Bio: Desiree Ewing is a bisexual, Latinx screenwriter and producer with a deep passion for telling stories about identity and the intersection of media and social justice activism. She has developed her writing skills throughout college and at her various industry jobs, including the pieces that she has written and produced for SYFY Wire at NBC Universal and her work in television development at Goodbye Pictures where she develops and pitches unscripted series. You will soon be able to listen to her scripted horror podcast about three queer teens who get mixed up in demonic witchcraft and have to work together to save their small town from total destruction. She dreams of helping to create groundbreaking content that challenges America's perception of identity and pushes our limited views of the self through television during the new golden age.