Woman of the House

Los Angeles, California | Film Feature

Comedy, Drama

Michelle Salcedo

1 Campaigns | California, United States

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This campaign raised $13,169 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.

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YA novelist, Christine Chandler, surprises her group of friends at her anniversary party: she's filing for divorce and sleeping with the much younger lifeguard. But when her husband goes missing, her friends start to worry and begin to question their loyalty to her and each other.

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About The Project

  • The Story
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  • The Team
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Mission Statement

“Woman of the House” is a female-centric dramedy, written and directed by a woman. 50% of the population is female yet women direct less than 10% of movies. Representation matters. When women write and direct, their important stories are told. Through the female gaze women’s sexuality is celebrated.

The Story

 

"Woman of the House" is about the pressures and expectations society puts on women and how impossible it is to be everything to everyone all the time. It challenges notions of gender roles and poses the question: What happens when you flip the script on the familiar trope of a protagonist experiencing a mid-life crisis?

Will Christine Chandler be allowed to enjoy her mid life crisis despite her judgmental friends or does the universe have other plans?

"Woman of the House" is inspired by my personal experience spending summers at the idyllic seasonal town: Watch Hill, RI, at a beach cottage that was frequented by Albert Einstein in the 1930's.

I took a page out of Robert Rodriguez’s “Rebel Without a Crew” and shot this film for less than $6,000 with a single crew member: Dan Kneece - my cinematographer from my other film, “Piel Canela”. My NY theater actor friends starred in it and everyone donated their time and efforts. My husband ran sound and edited it. And even my kids and my dog participated. It was a true labor of love - shot over 10 days, on location in Rhode Island at a beach house that’s been in our family for over 60 years. 

And by labor of love, I mean that my loved ones kindly provided the labor. Everyone volunteered their talent and hard work. My kids acted in it and worked behind the scenes.

Even my dog, Maddy, "acted" in it. 

The film has already been shot, we just need a little more money to finish it. Color correcting and sound mixing are pricey, especially when dealing with a feature-length film. Film festival submissions are costly and we want to be able to share this story with as many people as possible. We hope to premiere late Summer/Fall. We just need a little help from you to get to the finish line. All the cast and crew have worked so hard already to bring this film to life. We were lucky enough to have the C200 Canon Camera donated by Canon Burbank and Lights provided by BB&S Lighting https://www.bbslighting.com/

The couples in the film are actual couples in real life. Jason and Keith have been married for 7 years and Kourtney and Matthieu for 8 years. Matthieu's beautiful music scores the film. https://matthieueveillard.bandcamp.com/

We are lucky to call so many talented folks our dear friends!

Legendary cinematograher Dan Kneece, steadicam operator on Tarantino's "Jackie Brown" David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" and "Mulholland Drive" and dozens of other features is a dear friend and agreed to be my "one man crew". He's amazing to work with and a walking "Master Class" on filmmaking and an incredible human.

Representation matters. Women make up over 1/2 the population yet only get to direct less than 10% of movies. Latinos are eighteen percent of the U.S. population, yet are grossly underrepresented in media both in front of and behind the camera. As a woman and a Latina filmmaker, I've experienced unconscious bias both in my career and personal life. I face this challenge by storytelling so that my unique voice is heard. I see film as a powerful medium capable of achieving social change. 

One of the advantages of having such a tiny crew, is that we left a small carbon footprint. Protecting the beautiful environment of coastal beach towns, where this film takes place, is super important to me. We all stayed at our house, walked to our locations, and I cooked the meals at home. At the end of the day, I was the "woman of the house". And it was my pleasure to host my friends and create together. I can't wait to share this film with all of you!

 

Wishlist

Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.

Color Correct

Costs $4,000

Film is a visual medium and beautiful cinematography, by Dan Kneece transports the viewer.

Sound mixing and sound editing

Costs $4,000

If an actor gives his best performance, but no one can hear him, did he really make a sound?

Digital Cimema Package

Costs $1,200

Fancy name for what you deliver to the movie theater so the projector can show your film.

Film Festival Submissions

Costs $2,000

We want to bring this film to a theater near you but festival submissions are pricey!

SFX

Costs $500

Stay tuned for the Universal twist.

Sound Design

Costs $300

The sound scape can establish a tone and create a mood enhancing the experience for the viewer.

Cash Pledge

Costs $0

About This Team

This film wouldn't be possible without the incredible generosity of the cast. I met most of the cast over 20 years ago. Jason Schuler and I met in NY at Miramax Films. We were working at the studio but actively pursuing our own passion projects on the side. I met Kourtney, Christine, and Keith through Jason. They were all incredibly talented NY theater actors on the off-off broadway circuit. We spent many summers together at my husband's family beach house and talked about shooting a film there someday. This film is the culmination of that dream and idea. It's a passion project and everyone involved donated thier time and efforts. I'm so proud of the result. 

 

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