This female character has been growing in me for the past few years - a result of motherhood, relationship and life in general. I am writing scenes but not a typical script. I want the film to organically grow out of itself so we are going to shoot it over time. This process grew out of shooting my documentary film and I really love it. As I get to know myself more as an artist, I am finding my style and my voice in a super clear way with this project. Cat Deakins is going to shoot it for me and I am going to act in it - yes, I've got some chops!
Theme: Desperation
Movies that are inspiration - please send me your suggestions!
• La Strada - Felini
• Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore - Scorsese
• Walkabout
• The Chalk Garden
• Wanda - by Barbara Loden
• Antonioni Films
• Simon Killer
• Streetcar Named Desire
• Climates (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
• The Good Girl (Miguel Artera)
• Amour (Haneke)
• 14th Arrondissement (Short Film, Alexander Payne)
• Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Ackerman)
• Hannah and Her Sisters / Interiors (Woody Allen)
• The Last Farm (Short Film, Runar Runarsson)
• Punch Drunk Love
• Woman Under the Influence
• Wildlife
• Wasp
Music that is inspiring
Gillian Welch – “Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor”
Lord Huron – “End’s of the Earth”
Lord Huron – “Time to Run”
Lord Huron – “Brother”
Joseph Arthur – “You’ve Been Loved”
Patty Griffin – “Sweet Lorraine”
The Beatles – “Let it Be”
Filmmaker Faith Strongheart turns the lens on herself and her family to create a feature documentary that explores the traumatic effects of growing up as a child during the hippie movement, a time filled with abuse and neglect despite the cultural ethos of love and freedom. The Special Syndrome explores what went wrong in the often viewed through “rose colored glasses” hippie movement and specifically the negative and sometimes tragic effects on the children of hippies. Through intimate interviews with family members, the director explores the circumstances around her nearly-fatal burn as a 7-month old infant. The film unearths deep familial discord that has split the family apart – due to generational trauma, abuse and addiction. Ultimately, her journey explores how she became permanently disabled at seven months old and how, in mid-life, she is finally coming to terms with her tragic familial past to honestly accept herself as a person living with a disability. In an attempt to cast away this tragedy, the filmmaker dives wholeheartedly into her own parenting with an entirely new paradigm in order to raise a healthy family and create stable, healthy relationships. As she submerges herself in the making of this very personal film, Faith must dig into her own life with raw honesty, admitting how her own addictive and abusive patterns have shaped her life and relationships and she must come to terms with the familial legacy that she continues to carry.
CREW
Director/Producer | Faith Strongheart
Executive Producer | Kristy Marie Guevara-Flanagan
Producer | Alisyn Ghivizzani
Camera | Cat Deakins, Candice Nachman, Milena Pastreich, Teodora Totoiu
Editors | Cecilia Albertini, Esther Shubinksi
Sample Reel for a 90 minute + feature documentary.
15 min approx. | Color | HD | 16:9 | United States
Harley is an expectant mom, clueless about modern motherhood. During trendy Mommy & Me classes, she retreats into visions of dance and fantasy to escape the absurdity. But once baby comes, fear and fantasy collide as postpartum anxiety twists real life into nightmarish moments.
CAST
HARLEY | Heather Tyler
SANDY | Kristi Clainos
AKIKO | Jane Hae Kim
RISA | Jennie Fahn
JAY | D’Lo
WARREN | KJ Middlebrooks
MATAO | Miguel Cohen
REX | Rex Tyler Samsel
FREYA | Royale Ke’Vonni Turner
CREW
Writer | Producer | Heather Tyler
Director | Faith Strongheart
Cinematographer | Cat Deakins
Editor | Zeborah Tidwell
Production Designer | Matt Samsel
FILM FESTIVALS & AWARDS
Four Corners Film Festival | Winner - Women in Film
13 minutes | Color | HD | 16:9 | United States
Havana, 1970’s. A tough, money-driven man who sells exit visas illegally is forced to reexamine his life choices when his secret male lover comes looking for an exit visa for himself.
CAST
ANTONIO | Ifeanyi Dike, Jr.
JIAN | Shaofei Chen
SHENLI | Shenli Zhao
CAMILO | Ulato Sam
BACKGROUND ACTORS | José Luis Valenzuela & J.Ed Araiza
CREW
Writer | Barbara Soares
Director | Faith Strongheart
Producer | William Barker
Cinematographer | Lambert Grand
Editor | Zeborah Tidwell
Production Designer | Madie Hays
Costume Designer | Virginia Kway Vandenberg
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival | Official Selection
Female Voices Rock Film Festival | Official Selection
Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival | Semi-Finalist
Red Rock Film Festival — Utah | Official Selection
St. Louis International Film Festival | Official Selection
Poster Design by Giulia Fassina
15 minutes | Color | HD | 4:3 | United States
When nine-year old Justice sets off on a journey out of the mountains, she is forced to grow up fast and learn to trust the one person she can rely on: herself.
CAST
JUSTICE | Brooke Fontana
EAGLE | Kale Clauson
GORDO | Alejandro Patino
IRMA | Alma Martinez
RONNIE | Adan Rocha
GOAT HERDER | Jerry Fuentes
LATILLA PEELER | Michael Combs
CREW
Writer/Director | Faith Strongheart
Producer | Merlin Camozzi
Cinematographer | Paul Cannon
Editors | Brynach Day & Zeborah Tidwell
Production Designer | Rick Perry
Costume Designer | Brianna Quick
Casting Director | Emily Schweber
Composer | Darius Holbert
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
Carmarthen Bay Film Festival | Official Selection
Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival | Semi-Finalist
Red Rock Film Festival — Utah | Official Selection
Poster Image by Lorey Sebastian
Poster Design by Giulia Fassina
9 1/2 minutes | Color | HD | 177:1 widescreen | United States
The story of Je Suis (i am) is about a woman trying to balance work and family but coming up short on both ends. Disappointing everyone around her with her inability to meet mounting expectations, a working mother with an out-of-work husband, struggles to find balance. Je Suis (i am) explores the myth that women can “have it all”.
CAST
ANN | Heather L. Tyler
ADAM | Jim Fuetterer
MITCHELL | Mitchell Majors
JOE | Josef Willem Laimböck
SARAH | Sherill Turner
SAM | Barry Lowin
CHARLIE | Susan Hanfield
MAN | Clinton Childress
CREW
Writer/Director | Faith Strongheart
Producer | Michelle Brattson Majors
Cinematographer | Leigh Underwood
Editor | Robert Wilson
Production Designer | Eva Andry
Sound Designer | Ronald Eng
FILM FESTIVALS & AWARDS
Aegean Film Festival | Official Selection (Athens)
Alameda International Film Festival | Official Selection (CA)
Auckland International Film Festival | Official Selection (New Zealand)
Blackbird Film Festival | Official Selection (NY)
Bridges International Film Festival | Best Short Film in the International Competition (Corinthia, Greece)
Calcutta International Cult Film Festival | Official Selection (India)
California Film Awards | Award Winner
California Women's Film Festival (Winter) | Official Selection
Cannes Court Métrage Short Film Corner | Official Selection
Cinequest Film & VR Festival | Official Selection
Canada International Film Festival | Award Winner
Cyprus International Film Festival | Official Selection
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival | 1st Runner Up, Narrative Short
Hamilton Film Festival | Finalist, Best Screenplay (Ontario, Canada)
Iowa Independent Film Festival | Critic’s Choice Award
Highland Park Independent Film Festival | Official Selection (LA, CA)
20th Kansas International Film Festival | Official Selection
Louisville's International Festival of Film | Official Selection
Macon Film Festival | Official Selection (Georgia)
Miami Independent Film Festival | Official Finalist
The Melbourne Independent Filmmakers Festival | Official Selection (Australia)
Meraki Film Festival | Semi-Finalist (Berlin)
70th Montecatini International Short Film Festival | Official Selection (Italy)
Orlando Film Festival | Official Selection
Red Rock Film Festival | Official Selection (Utah)
Sacramento Film and Music Festival | Official Selection
Sioux City International Film Festival | Official Selection (Iowa)
SOHO International Film Festival | Official Selection (NYC)
Sose International Film Festival | Official Selection (Armenia)
TiSFF, Thess International & Intimate | Semi-Finalist (Greece)
Trinity Detroit International Film Festival | Official Selection
Twin Rivers Media Festival | Official Selection
Utah Film Festival and Awards | Semi-Finalist
Woods Hole Film Festival | Official Selection
All Images by Alex Lombardi
Poster Design by Giulia Fassina
3 minutes | Color | HD | 177:1 widescreen | United States
A strained phone call between a mother and daughter.
CAST
MARTHA | Christine McGraw
VOICE OF NICOLE | Cerris Moyer-Morgan
CREW
Writer/Director/Editor | Faith Strongheart
Cinematographer | Alisyn Ghivizzani
Gaffer | Tiffanie Hsu
Assistant Director | Annie Pace
Assistant Camera | Arkesh Ajay
Sound Mixer |Justin Richards
8 minutes | Color | HD | 1:77:1 Widescreen | USA
How do we learn to trust the ones we love?
CAST
REBECCA | Filio Biniarou
CARL | Jerimiah Burton
MARI | Ava Bogle
CREW
Writer/Director | Faith Strongheart
Cinematographer | Arkesh Ajay
Assistant Director | Jerell Rosales
Assistant Camera | Teodora Totoiu
Gaffer | Annie Pace
Sound Mixer | Alisyn Ghivizzani
All images by Alex Lombardi
25 1/2 minutes | Color | 16mm | 177:1 widescreen | United States
Linda has had a bad go. From the get go it's been a no go. But that was then. Now she has a choice. And the one she makes will change her life.
CAST
LINDA | Amber Sealey
JOSH | Dylan Kenin
MOM | Beth Valdez
DAD | Hank Rogerson
DOCTOR | Todd Anderson
UNITY CUSTOMER | Gabby West
WAITRESS | Estrella Romero
LINDA (AGE 1) | Vincente Valdez
LINDA (AGE 13) | Natasha Tatter
AVOCADO EATER | Free Small Bear
HIPPIE #1 | Free Small Bear
HIPPIE #2 | D.H. Strongheart
CHILD | Zia Luminia
CREW
Writer/Director | Faith Strongheart
Producer | Georgiana Lee
Cinematographer | Liza Bambenek
Editor | Faith Strongheart
Production Designer | Colin Zaug
Sound Designer | Hear Kitty Studios
Composer | CK Barlow
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
Santa Fe Independent Film Festival | Official Selection
18 minutes | Color | 16mm | 177:1 widescreen | United States
A short documentary about filmmaker and poet, Jonas Mekas.
8 minutes | B&W | 16mm | 4:3 | United States
An experimental short about loosing yourself in a relationship.
CAST
WOMAN | Amanda LeCharre
MAN | Xavier Depres
2 minutes | Color | 16mm | 4:3 | USA
An experimental sound design piece about ritual.
CAST
YOGA PRACTIONER | Lulu Strongheart
RITUAL LEADER | Nodia Brent
5 minutes | Color | Animation | 4:3 | USA
An experimental piece about how inventor Augustin Le Prince disappeared. As told from the perspective of his wife. In French.
3 1/2 minutes | Color | SD | 4:3 | USA
An experimental self portrait about tooth brushing.
14 1/2 minutes | Color | 8mm & SD | 4:3 | USA
An experimental piece about the rituals of womanhood.
