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Logline

A woman in the midst of an anxiety attack is confronted with questions about her own existence by two characters, who happen to be voices in her head.

Synopsis

Adapted from the play Now and Never by Natalie Nicole Dressel, this is a story about life right now in which we explode the idea of a past, present and a future coming together at once in the mind of one woman. What happens during the course of this story is a battle between what happened, what might happen, and what’s happening right now.

Harriet (she/her) is a struggling actress in her 40’s. She wasn’t always struggling, with work and opportunities flowing in, and then lockdown. Artistically stuck, afraid for her future, Now and Never starts on Harriet, in the of middle of an anxiety attack. But not just a regular out of work actor anxiety attack, this is a full-on heart palpitating, eye-twitching existential meltdown. Memba (they/them), a dry Indian intellectual, and Willabee (she/her), an optimistic Instagram influencer appear on either side of her in the mirror. The catch is that they are versions of herself that are separate entities.

Through a series of trials and tribulations with these other parts of herself, Harriet realizes that she cannot be anywhere else but where she is. She struggles, fights, cajoles, jokes and awakens to win a her place in her own life.

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Meet the Filmmakers

Kymberly Harris — Director

Kymberly Harris is a Director/Writer and founder of Firsthand Films. She wrote and directed the award-winning shorts Rose’s Turn, that was at Cannes, and FAITH, winner of Best Short NYCIFF. Her feature film I Heard Sarah is beginning it’s festival run, 2021, and was honored with the Robert Rodriguez Best Indie Auteur Filmmaker of the Year Award.

She’s directed and written several plays in NYC and LA (Rogue Machine, Theatre for the New City, PRT, Cherry Lane, la mamma, Harold Clurman Theatre).

Kymberly’s Interested in stories that personally deal with how we’re formed by our families and by society, and how that effects our ability to connect to each other. Regardless of the scope or genre of the world of the story, her work is going to examine this thread of human relationship and consider the specific psychology of each character. Themes of interest: family dysfunction, the art and industry of acting, addiction and codependency, female empowerment, socio-political, gender.

Instructor Lee Strasberg Film and Theatre Institute, Acting Coach to select private clients, Member: AEA, SAG, Dramatists Guild, Women in Film, AWD, Free the Work

MA: ISU in Theatre, MFA: Actors Studio at the New School, Acting and Playwriting.

Kavi Ladnier — Producer

Kavi Ladnier is a seasoned actor, writer, producer who has over 26 years of experience working in theatre, film & television. Born in India and raised in the US since she was a baby, Kavi was inspired to act at 5, by the little Indian girl at the end of The Jungle Book, and inspired to produce because she saw so few people that looked like her on the screen. Expanding the narrative about woman in all of their womanity, is part of her mission.

Kavi co-produced & starred in the feature Boris and the Bomb, currently on Tubi/Prime/IMDB TV and is Associate Producer on a feature currently in post (working title Low Budget Ethnic Movie) in which she also stars with Constance Wu. She has produced children’s theatre, a PSA for the US Census and a campaign video for Thevi Cosmetics. Kavi is currently shooting a recurring role on an upcoming new series for HBO Max, and preparing to pitch her tv pilot Hindju co-written w seasoned writer/producer Chris Wylde. Now and Never marks the first production under her production company Art Heart Love Productions. www.kaviladnier.com

Rohi Mirza Pandya — Producer

Rohi Mirza Pandya is an award-winning Creative Producer in film, television, and theater, Co-founder of both SRC Partners, a cultural production firm and Box Office Guru Media, Inc., a multicultural marketing agency and has been in the entertainment industry for twenty years. She strongly believes that representation and empowerment matter—in all aspects of production. Her Pakistani-Filipina background has influenced her perspective on the world and is reflected not only in her produced works, but also in her joy in seeing wide, accurate representation on the stage and screen.

Select Film/TV credits include: award-winning short film Modern Day Arranged Marriage (NBC ShortCuts audience award; “Just for Laughs” festival; LOGO/MTV distribution); Fillum Star: The Peter Patel Story (narrative feature – India release); and Hiding Divya (limited North American release) and the award-winning TV series Finding My America.

She is particularly proud of her volunteer work championing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the New York City public school system and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Brooklyn Children’s Theater, helping to shape their Equity, Inclusion and Belonging initiatives.

She received her MBA in Marketing from the University of Colorado and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Certification from Cornell University.

Anita Hodges – Producer

A creative and entrepreneurial polymath, Anita Hodges specializes in creating and strategizing content that focuses on the intersection of social issues and creative culture. She earned her BA from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication where she focused on Intersectional Representation in Media, and also received minors in both Cinema-Television and Fine Arts Painting.

With a background in both features and television development, Anita has worked at Paramount Pictures (MTV Films/Nickelodeon Movies), Temple Hill Entertainment under New Line Cinema and Mandate Pictures. During her time at CAA, she was part of the team that packaged Glee and Modern Family for FOX and ABC. She has also
served as a consultant in Business and Legal, Co-Productions and Acquisitions for Lionsgate.

Anita is the founder of The Genuine Article, a creative and management consultancy which serves the rising creative class of female entrepreneurs in Los Angeles with inclusively hired teams. The consultancy also serves to advise and connect early stage BIWOC, LGBTQ+ and disabled founders with resources, relationship building and funding. Anita is also the Managing Partner of The Soham Group, a Los Angeles based commercial and residential real estate development company which is slated to open its first writer-artist retreat in coastal New England in the Autumn of 2021.

Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.