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Logline

A young woman’s visit to an immersive play takes a dark turn when she is coerced into a depraved performance.

Synopsis

Lined up under the neon lights of a local theater, a crowd waits to see Break-Down, an immersive production shrouded in secrecy and known only through cultish word of mouth popularity. Among those waiting is a young woman whose name we’ll never know. She’s come to see the play alone, eager to be chosen to participate. Her wish comes true when one of the lead actors appears in the audience and leads her back stage. There, she’s transformed into a lead in her own right, the central figure around whom the play will meticulously orbit, no matter what she does, or so she’s told. But as the night progresses the young woman realizes that there is something more insidious behind the play’s ability to anticipate and conform to her every move. She’s losing control, increasingly cornered into a depraved performance with life and death consequences. When Break-Down began, she was surrounded by a crowd of her peers. By the time it ends, she’ll be their prisoner.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Keegan Pedersen – Writer/Director
Born in San Francisco, Keegan graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2021 with degrees in English Literature and Italian Studies. After writing a feature length adaptation of Ignazio Silone’s novel Vino e Pane for his senior thesis, he was selected to the Torino Film Lab to develop the script and moved to Italy. In 2023, he returned to the United States and moved to Los Angeles to pursue writing and directing full time. In the year since, he has directed the proof of concept, Beachcombing (2023), and written for privately financed shorts, features, and pilots.

Pinar Binay – Producer
Pinar Binay, originally from a small town in Western Turkey, is a creative producer based in Los Angeles. 2023 Film Independent Project Involve fellow on producing track and a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts with triple minors in producing, business and art history, she produces various content ranging from short films to TV pilots. She previously worked for two producing managers at Entertainment 360 and acclaimed independent producers in New York City. She advocates for genre stories with a twist and diverse creators as a producer. Coming from an immigrant background, she aspires to find the most authentic stories in innovatively told histories.

Alex Felix – Producer/Cast
Alex Felix is an actor/producer from Northern California. After graduating from Duke University with degrees in Political Science and Theater, she began her career in Hollywood. Alex can be seen in recurring roles on Netflix’s hit show Never Have I Ever and Disney+/Hulu’s cult favorite Goosebumps. In addition to television, Alex can be seen in lead roles in independent films such as Save Me! and Back to Lyla. Her latest project, Last Days of the Lab, screened at Tribeca and TIFF. Alex is the daughter of immigrants and aims to create art and spaces that reflect her diverse upbringing.

Michelle Mao – Producer/Cast
Michelle Mao was born in Tennessee, and raised between the US, Hong Kong and Beijing. She fell in love with theater young and continued to foster her passion for acting within the theater scene of San Francisco while attending UC Berkeley. Michelle can be seen on Apple TV+’s Surfside Girls, Disney+ series Goosebumps and CW’s Kung Fu. Mao co-starred with Matt McGorry (How to Get Away With Murder) in Hannah Bang’s My Nights Glow Yellow, which screened at Tribeca and TIFF. She will next be seen in Bing Liu’s debut narrative feature film Preparation for the Next Life, and acting across Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie in A Big, Bold, Beautiful Journey from director Kogonada.

Graham Taylor – Producer
Originally from a small town in Vermont, Graham moved to Los Angeles to pursue creative producing after attaining a BFA in Film Production from Chapman and an MS in Creative Enterprises from Northwestern. In addition to production, he has experience working in both development and talent management. He is interested in local language and international projects with a heavy emphasis on genre content.

Matt Balcerek – Producer
Forbes 30 Under 30 lister, producer, director, and award-winning marketing professional. Matt produced a documentary, Cerro Gordo (2020), for Spectrum TV and also contributed to the development of Netflix’s horror movie, Night Teeth (2021), at Unique Features, and Netflix’s sitcom, One Day at a Time (2020), at Norman Lear’s Act III Productions. Recently, he is also the showrunner of two new unscripted TV formats scheduled for release in 2024.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.