Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program opens the door to nonprofit funding for independent filmmakers and media artists.

 

Logline

A mother makes a shocking discovery when she’s left to pack up her daughter’s house after a tragic car accident.

Synopsis

In the beginning, we wander through a house in the middle of being packed up. The voice over of our protagonist, Rhine, recites a poem that leads the audience through her relationship, their breakup, and her untimely death.

In the middle, we end our wandering journey at the last room — the office. We find a stoic, older woman sitting at a desk going through photos on a laptop. This is Gail, Rhine’s mother. It is here, in this space, that she learns that her daughter was in a relationship with a woman.

Finally, we find ourselves in an empty church. It’s the end of Rhine’s wake and Joss is crying, not rivers, but lakes. In walks Gail. She sits next to Joss who tries to pull it together. The two share a moment. In that moment Gail must decide to either embrace her daughter’s truth or bury not only her daughter but the fact that she was a lesbian.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Lagueria Davis — Writer/Director
Since graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 2007 with a BFA in media art, Lagueria Davis has established herself as an award-winning filmmaker known for being notoriously soft spoken with a loud voice for advocacy and activism. Her first feature film 1 in 3 completed in 2010, a social drama about domestic violence, has won several awards and continues to have screenings today. Davis co-wrote the feature film Maid of Dishonor, which was a 2016 Nicholls Fellowship quarter finalist in the 2015 WeScreenplay Competitions, along with being a semi-finalist in the 2016 WeScreenplay TV Competition for the pilot Remember Me. In 2013 This is Not a Love Story, a feature script, and in 2016 Light in Dark Places, a short script, placed in the Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition. Currently, Davis resides in Los Angeles where she works as a line producer and production manager. Davis is on the board of the Alliance of Women Directors and Cinefemme. In addition, she is an active member of Array, Film Fatales, and Women in Film.

Valeria Lopez — Producer
Valeria Lopez is a Los Angeles-based producer. Since 2010, she has spearheaded various successful independent features, TV series, commercials, shorts, and new media projects. Some of her recent credits include line producing Madeleine Olnek’s upcoming feature starring Molly Shannon as Emily Dickinson, production managing Kevin Spacey’s flagship short film series Jameson First Shot starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, and production managing the L.A. unit of National Geographic’s Map of Hell, a TV special collaboration with Danny Trejo. Her experience on shows both large and small exemplifies her ability to adjust well and apply her creative and logistical senses to filmmaking. Past highlights include producing a series pilot that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival for Time Warner’s new incubator program OneFifty, production coordinating My Father Die, a feature film written and directed by Sean Brosnan in Louisiana, as well as location managing a cable TV series written by comedic writers John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky. A world traveler, Lopez aspires to broaden cultural perspectives and experiences through film and media. She received her MFA from Tufts University/SMFA and her BA in political science from Yale University.

Steak House — Producer
Steakhaus Productions is an award-winning film and media production company bringing bold new visions to audiences across multiple platforms. Headed by producer Steak House, Steakhaus provides comprehensive development, production, post-production, festival and distribution strategies. Since 2000, Steakhaus has produced 20 films and countless media projects including TV series, web series, branded content, commercials and music videos. Our films are currently in distribution with NBC/Universal, Disney, Magnolia, Syfy, IFC, Showtime and many more. Prior to distribution, many of their films had prestigious festival debuts including, Sundance, Toronto, LAFF, Tribeca and SXSW.

Aymae Sulick  — Director of Photography
Aymae Sulick has served as director of photography for award-winning films, documentaries, television shows, and commercials. Her work has aired on networks such as PBS, CBS, TLC, A&E, Bravo, and ESPN, as well as numerous festivals. Aymae earned her MFA from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. She is happiest when creatively engaged in visual storytelling.

Rebekah Bell  — Production Designer
Rebekah Bell is a Midwest born production designer who has worked on such films as Mother and Child, starring Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, and Kerry Washington, Bringing Up Bobby, starring Milla Jovovich, Bill Pullman, and Marcia Cross, and The Assistants, starring Joe Mantegna, Jane Seymour, and Stacy Keach. After completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre at the University of Oklahoma, she went on to obtain credits in a film program headed by Gray Frederickson and Fritz Kiersch. She soon began working with Frederickson and Kiersch on Feature films in the art department and never looked back. In the past twelve years she has worked in Los Angeles and Oklahoma on over forty films and television programs. Whether working on a feature film or television series, Rebekah feels that her technical theatre background formed the foundation for her in-depth understanding of character development and script analysis that allows her to create the appropriate environments to propel each story forward.

Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.