Help bring Grace’s capstone, “AN AWFUL THING”, to life!

SYNOPSIS

AN AWFUL THING is an 11-minute surreal short film inspired by the likes of Fleabag, Queer, and Under the Skin, that follows Sera, an impassioned young woman in her 20s attending an unorthodox anger management workshop. Sera wants nothing but to bury her past, and is overwhelmed by the experience, where the instructor has participants verbally and physically abuse life-sized dolls in a controlled environment to release their anger. When she tries to escape, she is instead sucked into a surreal void where she is forced to relive her biggest mistake—sleeping with a man in a relationship. Finally grappling with this transgression of her values, she must learn to forgive herself once and for all.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

As a young woman in her early 20s, I’ve been thinking a lot about how sexuality and sexual experiences in the femme body are often deeply imbued with shame and guilt due to societal and gender expectations. Furthermore, we often talk about forgiving others for their guilt and their shame, their mistakes and their wrongdoings, but we rarely ever talk about self-forgiveness in the same capacity. Some of us will never be able to face our inner demons even though we’re fighting them every waking moment, whether or not people can see that struggle or not, and I think it’s important for us to see how people can make mistakes and not be vilified for them. At the end of the day, we’re the ones bearing our own scars, moving with our own mistakes, living in our own bodies—and sometimes, the only person who can forgive us for our mistakes is ourselves. This film is one of the most personal and important works I’ve written, and I’m hoping that this story about self-forgiveness resonates with all of you, for whatever you feel shame and guilt about, regardless of how ugly it might be. After all, aren’t mistakes why they put rubbers on the ends of pencils?

BUDGET

Our budget covers equipment, food, transportation, production and costume design, stipends for cast and crew (which we are still working on!), and any unforeseen expenses. The true spirit of indie filmmaking is based in and around the community, and every single contribution, big or small, takes us a step closer to bringing this dream to life!

Grace Chen - Writer/Director

Grace Chen (she/her) is a senior Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholar at American University studying film, graphic design, and business & entertainment. As a Taiwanese-American writer/director and designer, she draws upon her background as a painter, musician, theatre actor and director, and bartender to bolster her storytelling. Her passion for weaving and uplifting diverse and surreal stories through representasian and artivism is evident through her film portfolio, along with her work with the Gotham Film and Media Institute as a Narrative Programming Fellow, the Gotham's EDU branch as a Film and Career Development Fellow, and as one of 50 students selected for the Telluride Film Festival Student Symposium. She has worked on 20+ film sets ranging from student shorts to music videos, corporate shoots to professional Netflix sets as a PA, grip, AD, scripty, and SFX MUA. In spring 2024, she wrote and directed a 16mm narrative short film, "Mamince" (Czech for "To My Mother"), at FAMU International in Prague.

Cameron Logan - Producer

Cameron Logan (he/him) is a driven filmmaker from Arlington, Virginia, with a passion for producing compelling stories on screen. A graduate of Howard University's Masters of Fine Arts in Film, he has developed a wide range of skills in all aspects of the film production process. Cameron began his film journey at a film production company in New Delhi, during his undergraduate education at the University of Virginia. After graduating with a Drama degree, he worked at several local DMV video production companies, from corporate marketing to lifestyle and pop culture. Once he began graduate school he transitioned into the film industry, working as a Production Assistant for Netflix, Apple TV, and HBO on various film projects. He is committed to creating meaningful stories that entertain and inspire audiences while making a positive impact on the world.

Thank you so much for your consideration and help! If you aren’t able to donate, please consider spreading the word by sharing the link to this campaign, or any of our social media posts! Follow us on Instagram to stay in the loop at an.awful.thing.film— you can reach out with any inquiries there, as well.

No raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or returns on investment are offered in exchange for any donations made to my GoFundMe