She Keeps Me Young

A story of what happens when a high school girl unwittingly challenges the friendship of two grown women.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Project status: Engagement
Director/Co-Writer: Doron Max Hagay
Producers: Graham Mason, Nicole Crespo, Neil Champagne
Cinematographer: Joshua Hill
Production Designer: Gordon Landenberger
 

Email: doronmaxhagay@gmail.com
 
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Logline

She Keeps Me Young is a dark comedy that explores what happens when a high school girl unwittingly challenges the friendship of two grown women.

Synopsis

She Keeps Me Young centers on MICHELLE, a woman adrift and floating through life after the mysterious disappearance of her husband. Michelle spends most of her time with her overbearing best friend KELLY, who encourages her to date cute guys, take hip hop class, and follow her advice to achieve a “happy” life. When Michelle is offered a great promotion at the high-end Verizon store where she works, Michelle finds herself at a crossroads. The promotion causes her to start questioning who she really is and what she really wants to do with her life. One night at hip-hop class, Michelle and Kelly meet an artistic and vibrant high-schooler named BRIDGET. When Bridget enlists Michelle to model for a school photography project, an unlikely friendship develops between the grown woman and teenager.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Doron Max Hagay – Director/Co-Writer
Doron Max Hagay is a comedy director based in Brooklyn. His credits include directing short films on Saturday Night Live for two seasons and co-writing and directing a digital series called Kate Berlant Teaches for Comedy Central. Some of the A-list talent that Doron worked with at SNL include Will Ferrell, Harry Styles, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Jennifer Lopez, Lizzo, Eddie Murphy, RuPaul, and Daniel Craig, just to name a few. His short film Company premiered at the New Orleans Film Festival in 2018, played numerous festivals, and is available online as a Vimeo Staff Pick. Vape, a short film which he wrote, directed and edited, premiered on Short of the Week and was awarded a Panavision Cinematography prize. In total, his work as a director has been awarded ten Vimeo Staff Picks, including a Best of the Month distinction for Women Are Mean, a sketch starring John Reynolds. Most recently, he directed Joel Kim Booster: Psychosexual for Netflix, which was nominated for a Critics Choice Award, and Matt Rogers: Have You Heard of Christmas? for Showtime.

Graham Mason – Producer
Graham Mason is a filmmaker and producer based in Brooklyn who directed and produced Inspector Ike,a comedy feature that was released by Factory 25 in 2022 and is currently streaming on MUBI. Graham has also created numerous short films, short form series, and music videos that have aired on Adult Swim, Comedy Central, IFC, FX, MTV, and been featured on many arts & culture websites. In 2020 Graham founded International Pigeon Production, a production company that specializes in unique and artful comedy. He recently produced the feature films Good One, directed by India Donaldson, which premiered in competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, and Dad & Step Dad, directed by Tynan DeLong, which will be released by NoBudge in Spring 2024

Nicole Crespo – Producer
Nicole Crespo is a queer Latinx creative and line producer originally from Miami and based in LosAngeles. She is a 2023 Project Involve fellow and was a 2022 NALIP Producers Pipeline Fellow in collaboration with STARZ. She produced on two seasons of the Disney Launchpad Program and was awarded the 2023 Participant Media Grant with Film Independent. Having worked her way up from production assistant to production supervisor, she is familiar with all aspects of filmmaking, and has production supervised on films with Luc Besson, Louis Letterier and other world-class directors.

Neil Champagne – Producer
Neil Champagne has over a decade of producing experience in both long form TV and short form content. Most recently, Neil EP’d the 2024 Sundance breakout Good One, which will be released theatrically this August. Working as Head of Development and a
creative executive for the production company tinygiant, Neil has been in charge of over two dozen commercials for clients such as Netflix, Target, Hyundai, Sprite and Don Julio. Prior to coming to tinygiant Neil co-founded A Lasting Dose, which produced TIFF platform winner Rice Boy Sleeps. Previously, Neil worked and produced alongside veteran EP Robert C. Cooper on the series Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency for BBC America and co-produced the mini-series Unspeakable for CBC/Sundance Channel.

Joshua Hill – Cinematographer
Joshua Hill got his start in production in the world of stunts, where he honed his skills capturing dynamic action sequences.This eventually led to working with filmmaker Steven Spielberg for the openings hot of West Side Story as well as shooting
for Green Book, True Detective, and Watchmen among many more award-winning films and TV shows. Josh also has a robust commercial practice and has filmed spots for brands like Bose, Amazon, Citibank, Ogioandmore. Josh filmed the The Civil Dead starring Whitmer Thomas,which won the Audience Award for 2022 Best Narrative Feature at Slamdance and was acquired by Utopia.His thoughtful planning and image-making always serve the essence of the narrative to enhance the emotional impact of the story to bring stories to life on the screen.

Gordon Landenberger – Production Designer
Gordon Landenberger is a multi-disciplinary artist and designer based in New York City. Recent production design credits include Theda Hammel’s debut feature Stress Positions (Neon Films, Sundance 2024), John Early: Now More Than Ever (HBO), and My Trip to Spain (Sundance 2022). His work as a set designer for theater and dance has been seen at such venues as La Mama, New York Live Arts, and BAM. His paintings and illustrations have been featured as the key art for many hit shows and films including Jacqueline Novak: Get On Your Knees and Rachel, starring Kate Berlant.

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Contact

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