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Logline

Rayelle Martin, a commercial cleaning woman in Gary, Indiana, stumbles into a new job cleaning the homes of several rich, suburban families. While working, she tells one small lie that spins out of control.

Synopsis

RAYELLE MARTIN (Kirby) works as a commercial cleaner in Gary, Indiana. She’s mischievous, playful, and skilled at adapting to her surroundings. One day while at work, Ray is approached by Dr. Neeraj Patel, a therapist who hires her to work as his housekeeper. Who’s going to say no to extra money? Not Ray.

Dr. Patel then presents her with another offer she can’t refuse: a second job cleaning his mistress’s home. At first Ray is just an observer, but then, after growing tired of being a witness, she impulsively tells one small lie: that she can speak to the dead. As Ray attempts to gain ownership over her own identity, she finds herself in an odd new position of power.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Anu Valia – Director
Anu Valia is a writer/director whose roots are in India and Indiana. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Anu’s award-winning short films have screened around the world. Her short film, Lucia, Before and After was awarded the Short Film Jury Award for US Fiction at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Anu’s TV directing credits include She-Hulk, The Afterparty, And Just Like That, Shrill, Love Life, Never Have I Ever, AP Bio, At Home With Amy Sedaris, First Wives Club, Awkwafina is Nora From Queens, and The Other Two. She directed the pilot for Apple TV’s Big Door Prize created by Emmy-winning writer David West Read (Schitt’s Creek).

Her debut feature, We Strangers, was supported by Cinereach, Sundance Institute, Women in Film, Tribeca Institute, IFP, and Hamptons Screenwriters Lab.

Charlotte Hornsby – Cinematographer
Charlotte Hornsby is an award-winning cinematographer whose work has garnered attention at festivals such as SXSW, BAM Cinemafest, BFI London Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival where the short Lucia Before and After she shot for director Anu Valia and the short Hair Wolf she shot for director Mariama Diallo won The Short Film Jury Award for U.S. Fiction in 2017 and 2018. American Cinematographer featured Master, the film she shot for Amazon Studios, in their Sundance Standouts for the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and the film also earned her recognition by BAFTA who named her a 2023 BAFTA Breakthrough.

Kirby – Actor (Ray Martin)
Kirby is an actress from London who is best known for her memorable roles in Killing Eve, The Good Place, Why Women Kill, Veronica Mars, and Netflix’s Sandman. She shared a 2019 SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for Barry, created by Alec Berg and Bill Hader.

In 2021, Kirby was seen in the Disney feature Cruella, opposite Emma Stone and Emma Thompson, and starred in the STX Films comedy Queenpins, a two-hander with Kristen Bell and Kirby in co-leading roles.

Sarah Goldberg – Actor (Tracy Patel
Sarah Goldberg is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Sally Reed in the HBO dark comedy series Barry which earned her a nomination for the primetime emmy award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series.

She also originated the dual role of BETSY/LINDSEY In the Royal Court’s production of Clyborne Park, for which she was nominated for a 2011 Olivier Award, and later performed it on Broadway.

Tina Lifford – Actor (Willie Martin)
Tina Lifford is an American actress, playwright, and author. She is most recently known for her award-winning role as Aunt Vi in the critically acclaimed TV show Queen Sugar, executive-produced by Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay. Lifford was nominated for 2 NAACP Image Awards for the role. Her book The Little Book of Big Lies was named Best Personal Development by Forbes in 2021.

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Contact

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