WHEN LAST SEEN
New York City, New York | Film Short
Mystery, Shorts Program
WHEN LAST SEEN, reimagines the Greek myth of the kidnapped Persephone to bear witness to the multitudes who go missing every year. Dictating her own Missing Persons Report from an underground root cellar, our contemporary Persephone finds she is not alone.
WHEN LAST SEEN
New York City, New York | Film Short
Mystery, Shorts Program
1 Campaigns | New York, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $12,620 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
83 supporters | followers
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WHEN LAST SEEN, reimagines the Greek myth of the kidnapped Persephone to bear witness to the multitudes who go missing every year. Dictating her own Missing Persons Report from an underground root cellar, our contemporary Persephone finds she is not alone.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
I often use found text in my writing--a lifesaving manual, a discarded grocery list, travel papers--and, in this case, a Missing Persons Report. I use found text to illuminate the otherwise ignored; the overlooked; the discarded--what society dismisses as unimportant. In the case of WHEN LAST SEEN, the found text collides with a desire to re-invigorate an ancient myth.
Of all the Greek myths: of mazes and transformations, of lightning bolts and monsters, the story of Persephone, kidnapped as she worked in a field, has long been an obsession. Perhaps, it is because my own immigrant mother was kidnapped and forced into marriage.
As I thought about contemporizing the myth several years ago, I became aware of the magnitude of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIWG2S). My investigations lead me to the document used to signal the crime to authorities--a Missing Persons Report with its language of "when last seen". It was here, in the "fill-in-the blanks" text, I found the epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in Canada, the United States, Latin America, indeed the world. Across all countries, whether the violence is against transgender youth in the U.S., or immigrants, or as femicide in Mexico, one uniting factor is the failure of the state to protect those they are sworn to protect. The Missing are not sought after by authorities and the Missing Persons Report itself is discarded. This movie is a short response to a massive horror that deserves multitiple feature documentaries and constant attention.
Dante Gabrielle Rossetti's Proserpine.
In the original myth, Hades imprisons Persephone in the underground. In our movie the underground becomes a root cellar. 
Casting went quickly as I found our Persephone, Ashnah Strongheart, a Lin-Manuel Miranda Family Fellow from the National Theater Institute (NTI), as well as our Demeter, the multi-hyphenated artist, Rachel Jett.
After casting the leads, my focus centered on the "extras", a designation I immediately changed to the "crucials"--as they would stand-in for the Missing. They came from the local community and from far afield: adored former students from NYU (writers in their own right) and NTI; a network of activists from southeastern Connecticut; and my own daughter who with her partner drove 10 hours from Canada to take part in the filming.
The crucials may have been, for the most part, non-actors, but they understood who goes Missing; the Missing who are not reported; the Missing who are dismissed as unimportant. They collaborate to infuse the film with their passion and power.
Finally, I assembled a team that in itself would address the gender disparity of Hollywood--with women, non-binary persons, and LGBTQ artists making up 95 per cent of the team in front of and behind the camera. The politics of the film would be embedded in the dna of its creators.
We are in the final stretch now. We have one last scene to pick-up although we discovered that renting a cornfield anywhere near New York is more expensive than we thought. Crowdfunding support will help pay transportation for our drummers. Once that scene is complete and we have a film score and an editor, we hope to have funds above and beyond our goal to retroactively pay the artists who deferred payment. With additional funds we can increase the payments to a composer and editor, as well as to our social media campaign to get the word out. Spreading the news of WHEN LAST SEEN will help us place it in festivals and build a campaign to get it noticed. Moving forward, we will follow the state's Covid regulations, as we did in our summer film shoot.
We will post updates as to the movie's progress here and on social media as we screen in festivals across the country.
All is dependent on YOU, our supporters. You are the "crucials". With boundless thanks...
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Editor/Colorist
Costs $4,000
To create the look we want; add the mystery we need.
Cornfield Location and Drum Corps
Costs $3,000
Renting a final location and hiring a drum corps. Paying artists who deferred their fees.
Soundtrack: Composer and Music Editor
Costs $3,000
To hire a composer and music editor to create the soundtrack.
Poster and Festival Fees
Costs $2,000
To cover the cost of applying to film festivals.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
All began with our Creative Producer, Samantha Farinella, who encouraged me to direct my own short movie as we sat in my Brooklyn kitchen over several years and often over a nice goat cheese. After Samantha moved to Honolulu, we began Zooming on a regular basis so the spark that she lit would stay lit. During our two-day shoot in New London, Connecticut, she flew in to join us contributing as a sensational AC and continuing to encourage the team with her aesthetic and bonding power.
Samantha introduced me to:
Tatiana Stolpovskaya, who would become our DP. At our first meeting, I knew I had discovered a kindred soul, and a deep thinking artist. She knew what the film needed in its reveal and she understood the dance the camera was to make. Indebted to her genius, and privileged to work with her.
Tatiana introduced me to:
Amelia Palmer, who took good care of our sound recordings and was a pleasure to have on set capturing the voices of our two leads: Ashnah Strongheart as Persephone and Rachel Jett as Demeter.
Both these actors are multi-hyphenated, creating their own written work, both were students of mine at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Theater Institute where I taught playwriting. Ashnah impressed me not only with her acting, but also her writing as a Lin-Manuel Miranda Family Fellow. Rachel Jett went on to become the artistic director of the National Theater Institute where she leads the theater school with her generous, vital leadership. Rachel played Anna in my first film, STAG, opposite Sarah Steele, a film which was also set in New London/Groton: Submarine Capital of the World.
There's both a New London thread to our Crew Story as well as an NYU thread where I met Nadja Antic, who recently graduated from the design program there. She brought her keen eye, unerring aesthetic and stamina to our set, and filled countless mason jars with preserves and stuffed many shelves with translucent jams and jellys.
The glue that kept us all together was Marella Martin Koch. Throughout pre-production she supplied the crew with all the necessary ingredients, and added her own creativity and questions to move us all forward. She was with us throughout and a crew member who knitted us all together. Thankful for her insights and dedication and the time she took away from her own writing/directing (opera and music-theater and film) to be part of our crew.
Another NYU alum who was invaluable was Thalia Ranjbar who assisted Marella and as second AD provided countless help to the smooth operation on set. Thalia (also a wonderful music-theater writer/director) adds choreography to her resume and created the ensemble's powerful body percussion. Here she is arriving in New London for the first time.
It was an special delight to work with my pal from the City, Jim Osman, who is a renowned sculptor and Professor Emeritus from Parsons School of Design where he taught for 22 years. Jim pitched in his considerable know-how to help us contruct the set and provide unfaltering good will.
Much gratitude goes out to the New London community who generously gave of their time and expertise, and their root cellars! Thank you Barbara O'Neill and Brian McGrath for the use of their beautiful home! And for the introduction to our go-to production assistant, Jordan Godburn, who kept all the plates spinning and who is now working on her own film career.
Big thanks to my high school pal, Kathryn Ryan Patterson who helped dress the set with jars and tins, burlap and baskets and offered lodging to our crew. Thank you to Kat Murphy, an artist from New London who among other things, baked us a birthday cake to light with an abundance of candles. Ken Prestininzi opened his beautiful home in Groton and provided morning sustenance with wise words and abundant pantry.
And always, special thanks to Ned Hammond who provided anything we needed whether location scouting or protecting cameras from the rain or sharing with us his kind and effervescent spririt.
Donna Vendetto, a much-beloved New London personality, put the call out and introduced me to the town's respected leaders, Gloria Dover and Tommy Majors who in turn introduced me to community members of color who were willing and anxious to take part. I appreciate their advice and encouragement, along with friend and fellow filmmaker, Kolton Harris.
My son, Joe was indispensible on and off camera.
We would have no movie without the collection of activists and former students who joined forces to stand in for the Missing. Driving up from Maryland. Driving in from New York. My own daughter and her partner drove 10 hours from Canada to be with us.
They all brought their fierceness to the root cellar--along with a joyful comraderie.
Here are their names:
Antonia Edwards, Anastaisia Brady, Miranda Holliday, Danielle Deeble, Gloria Dover, Michele Bicking, Holly Richmond, Danielle Di Novelli-Lang, Sonya Grey, Jetty Rothan, Phoenix Rothan, Laura Padilla, Margaret Lancester, Journeya, Maya Sheppard, Ren Dara Santiago and Greta Watrous.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
I often use found text in my writing--a lifesaving manual, a discarded grocery list, travel papers--and, in this case, a Missing Persons Report. I use found text to illuminate the otherwise ignored; the overlooked; the discarded--what society dismisses as unimportant. In the case of WHEN LAST SEEN, the found text collides with a desire to re-invigorate an ancient myth.
Of all the Greek myths: of mazes and transformations, of lightning bolts and monsters, the story of Persephone, kidnapped as she worked in a field, has long been an obsession. Perhaps, it is because my own immigrant mother was kidnapped and forced into marriage.
As I thought about contemporizing the myth several years ago, I became aware of the magnitude of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIWG2S). My investigations lead me to the document used to signal the crime to authorities--a Missing Persons Report with its language of "when last seen". It was here, in the "fill-in-the blanks" text, I found the epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in Canada, the United States, Latin America, indeed the world. Across all countries, whether the violence is against transgender youth in the U.S., or immigrants, or as femicide in Mexico, one uniting factor is the failure of the state to protect those they are sworn to protect. The Missing are not sought after by authorities and the Missing Persons Report itself is discarded. This movie is a short response to a massive horror that deserves multitiple feature documentaries and constant attention.
Dante Gabrielle Rossetti's Proserpine.
In the original myth, Hades imprisons Persephone in the underground. In our movie the underground becomes a root cellar. Casting went quickly as I found our Persephone, Ashnah Strongheart, a Lin-Manuel Miranda Family Fellow from the National Theater Institute (NTI), as well as our Demeter, the multi-hyphenated artist, Rachel Jett.
After casting the leads, my focus centered on the "extras", a designation I immediately changed to the "crucials"--as they would stand-in for the Missing. They came from the local community and from far afield: adored former students from NYU (writers in their own right) and NTI; a network of activists from southeastern Connecticut; and my own daughter who with her partner drove 10 hours from Canada to take part in the filming.
The crucials may have been, for the most part, non-actors, but they understood who goes Missing; the Missing who are not reported; the Missing who are dismissed as unimportant. They collaborate to infuse the film with their passion and power.
Finally, I assembled a team that in itself would address the gender disparity of Hollywood--with women, non-binary persons, and LGBTQ artists making up 95 per cent of the team in front of and behind the camera. The politics of the film would be embedded in the dna of its creators.
We are in the final stretch now. We have one last scene to pick-up although we discovered that renting a cornfield anywhere near New York is more expensive than we thought. Crowdfunding support will help pay transportation for our drummers. Once that scene is complete and we have a film score and an editor, we hope to have funds above and beyond our goal to retroactively pay the artists who deferred payment. With additional funds we can increase the payments to a composer and editor, as well as to our social media campaign to get the word out. Spreading the news of WHEN LAST SEEN will help us place it in festivals and build a campaign to get it noticed. Moving forward, we will follow the state's Covid regulations, as we did in our summer film shoot.
We will post updates as to the movie's progress here and on social media as we screen in festivals across the country.
All is dependent on YOU, our supporters. You are the "crucials". With boundless thanks...
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Editor/Colorist
Costs $4,000
To create the look we want; add the mystery we need.
Cornfield Location and Drum Corps
Costs $3,000
Renting a final location and hiring a drum corps. Paying artists who deferred their fees.
Soundtrack: Composer and Music Editor
Costs $3,000
To hire a composer and music editor to create the soundtrack.
Poster and Festival Fees
Costs $2,000
To cover the cost of applying to film festivals.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
All began with our Creative Producer, Samantha Farinella, who encouraged me to direct my own short movie as we sat in my Brooklyn kitchen over several years and often over a nice goat cheese. After Samantha moved to Honolulu, we began Zooming on a regular basis so the spark that she lit would stay lit. During our two-day shoot in New London, Connecticut, she flew in to join us contributing as a sensational AC and continuing to encourage the team with her aesthetic and bonding power.
Samantha introduced me to:
Tatiana Stolpovskaya, who would become our DP. At our first meeting, I knew I had discovered a kindred soul, and a deep thinking artist. She knew what the film needed in its reveal and she understood the dance the camera was to make. Indebted to her genius, and privileged to work with her.
Tatiana introduced me to:
Amelia Palmer, who took good care of our sound recordings and was a pleasure to have on set capturing the voices of our two leads: Ashnah Strongheart as Persephone and Rachel Jett as Demeter.
Both these actors are multi-hyphenated, creating their own written work, both were students of mine at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Theater Institute where I taught playwriting. Ashnah impressed me not only with her acting, but also her writing as a Lin-Manuel Miranda Family Fellow. Rachel Jett went on to become the artistic director of the National Theater Institute where she leads the theater school with her generous, vital leadership. Rachel played Anna in my first film, STAG, opposite Sarah Steele, a film which was also set in New London/Groton: Submarine Capital of the World.
There's both a New London thread to our Crew Story as well as an NYU thread where I met Nadja Antic, who recently graduated from the design program there. She brought her keen eye, unerring aesthetic and stamina to our set, and filled countless mason jars with preserves and stuffed many shelves with translucent jams and jellys.
The glue that kept us all together was Marella Martin Koch. Throughout pre-production she supplied the crew with all the necessary ingredients, and added her own creativity and questions to move us all forward. She was with us throughout and a crew member who knitted us all together. Thankful for her insights and dedication and the time she took away from her own writing/directing (opera and music-theater and film) to be part of our crew.
Another NYU alum who was invaluable was Thalia Ranjbar who assisted Marella and as second AD provided countless help to the smooth operation on set. Thalia (also a wonderful music-theater writer/director) adds choreography to her resume and created the ensemble's powerful body percussion. Here she is arriving in New London for the first time.
It was an special delight to work with my pal from the City, Jim Osman, who is a renowned sculptor and Professor Emeritus from Parsons School of Design where he taught for 22 years. Jim pitched in his considerable know-how to help us contruct the set and provide unfaltering good will.
Much gratitude goes out to the New London community who generously gave of their time and expertise, and their root cellars! Thank you Barbara O'Neill and Brian McGrath for the use of their beautiful home! And for the introduction to our go-to production assistant, Jordan Godburn, who kept all the plates spinning and who is now working on her own film career.
Big thanks to my high school pal, Kathryn Ryan Patterson who helped dress the set with jars and tins, burlap and baskets and offered lodging to our crew. Thank you to Kat Murphy, an artist from New London who among other things, baked us a birthday cake to light with an abundance of candles. Ken Prestininzi opened his beautiful home in Groton and provided morning sustenance with wise words and abundant pantry.
And always, special thanks to Ned Hammond who provided anything we needed whether location scouting or protecting cameras from the rain or sharing with us his kind and effervescent spririt.
Donna Vendetto, a much-beloved New London personality, put the call out and introduced me to the town's respected leaders, Gloria Dover and Tommy Majors who in turn introduced me to community members of color who were willing and anxious to take part. I appreciate their advice and encouragement, along with friend and fellow filmmaker, Kolton Harris.
My son, Joe was indispensible on and off camera.
We would have no movie without the collection of activists and former students who joined forces to stand in for the Missing. Driving up from Maryland. Driving in from New York. My own daughter and her partner drove 10 hours from Canada to be with us.
They all brought their fierceness to the root cellar--along with a joyful comraderie.
Here are their names:
Antonia Edwards, Anastaisia Brady, Miranda Holliday, Danielle Deeble, Gloria Dover, Michele Bicking, Holly Richmond, Danielle Di Novelli-Lang, Sonya Grey, Jetty Rothan, Phoenix Rothan, Laura Padilla, Margaret Lancester, Journeya, Maya Sheppard, Ren Dara Santiago and Greta Watrous.