Perigee

What happens when the consequences of selfish acts resurrect to haunt us?

Project type: Fiction Short
Project status: Production
Writer/Director: J. Matos
Cinematographer: Kansas Ballesteros
Producer: Ardavan Sepehr
Producer: Caitlyn C. Johnson
Producer: Walt Mzengi Corey
Line Producer: Nichole McMinn
 
Email: jm4937@nyu.edu
 
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Logline

Chris and his friends take a camping trip to witness the closest super-moon in the Earth’s history. The magic of the moment is stripped away when he learns that he’s now the third wheel in what was once a happy, polyamorous relationship. Spurned, Chris resolves to get things back to the way they were, but things take a dark turn when they don’t go his way.

Synopsis

Chris, Zoë, and Bryan take a trip into the woods on the night of the super moon. Chris’ understanding of their relationship is that they are not just friends, but friends with benefits at Zoë discretion. The woods seem to have an ominous vibe often as if they were being watched by the moon itself. As the night goes on Chris notices she’s been icing him all the while cuddling up to Bryan and he confronts them. They admit that they neglected to tell him that they are now exclusive. After a private argument Chris accidentally pushes Bryant into a creek and takes him for dead. Not knowing what to do he joins Zoë in searching for him, only to find Bryan back at the campsite unharmed, yet, something is different in him.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

J. Matos – Writer/Director
J. Matos is a Dominican-American writer, director, and cinematographer with professional experience as an AC. He’s worked on documentaries such as NYC Epicenter 9/11 – 2021 ½ and Da Saga of Colin Kaepernick. Now, an MFA Candidate at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, he is focusing on telling stories grounded by relatable characters who find themselves at the edge of reality as we know it.

Kansas Ballesteros – Cinematographer
Kansas Ballesteros is a Filipino American Film cinematographer. Her cinematography credits include Love Me Tenderizer, Two Worlds, and Unraveled. Kansas began her career as an IATSE Local 600 Camera Assistant where she worked on such television shows as Severance and Billions, as well as the films Armageddon Time and She Said. With a strong technical background, Kansas is passionate about telling visually stunning stories where everyday life meets the fantastical.

Ardavan Sepehr – Producer
Ardavan Sepehr is an Iranian-American filmmaker and producer currently enrolled within New York University’s dual degree MBA/MFA program. During his time here, he’s had the privilege of producing eleven short films, which have shown at the Los Angeles International Film Festival, Film Independent Forum, amongst others. Prior to his graduate studies, he worked in financial risk management as well as consulting for seven years. He decided to take his financial skillset to film because he saw a dearth of foreign-born artists within the American cinematic landscape and wanted to help expand the reach of their voice through producing. In addition to his current program, he also holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and minor in mathematics from New York University as well as a master’s degree in economics from Boston University.

Caitlyn C. Johnson – Producer
Caitlyn C. Johnson is an award-winning filmmaker from the South Side of Chicago and is currently based in Brooklyn, NY. Caitlyn’s storytelling examines the internal struggles, joys, and unique worlds that Black folks inhabit. In 2018 Caitlyn co-created, co-executive produced, and directed the acclaimed web-series Seeds, distributed by OTV, her first of two projects for that platform. Caitlyn is the co-recipient of the Bustle’s Emerging Female Filmmakers, Washington College Presidential Fellow 2021, and Metrograph Production Fellow 2022. Caitlyn is currently an MFA Candidate and thesis student at Tisch School of the Arts where she is a recipient of the Tisch Scholarship.

Walt Mzengi Corey – Producer
Walt Mzengi Corey is a Tanzanian-born writer, director, and cinematographer based between Dar es Salaam and New York City. He has worked on several award-winning films and has written and directed Gulf (2019) and Timêla (2019), which were selected at Black Star Film Festival, Monmouth, and the Zanzibar International Film Festival. In 2022, Walt was selected as one of six winning filmmakers in the “African Folktales, Reimagined” competition by Netflix and UNESCO, leading to the creation of Katope (2023). Currently, he is a Film MFA Candidate at NYU, where he continues to pursue the production of stories that explore the more delicate and often unspoken truths of humanity and society.

Nichole McMinn – Line Producer
Nichole McMinn is a New York based writer and director from Morristown, Tennessee and is currently an MFA candidate at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Before pursuing her MFA, she worked professionally as a prop master, art director, and designer in New York for over 6 years on many critically acclaimed and award winning feature films, the most recent being Raven Jackson’s All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, produced by A24 and Barry Jenkins’ Pastel. She has recently won NYU’s Black Family Award for her screenwriting.

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