Help Bring my First Film to Life!

Six years ago on a cross-country flight, I wrote my first film. I hadn’t planned to, but the flight had no Wifi or entertainment, so what was I to do? It was based on an idea I'd had percolating ever since an adult Spanish student I was tutoring made a delightfully peculiar request for our sessions. To my great surprise, by the time I landed on the opposite coast, a complete draft sat on the tray table before me. It was a short, but fully realized story - it had an arc, two vivid characters I loved, and a turn from laughter to grief that took me by surprise even as I was writing it.

I was so stunned by the ease with which this script had poured out of me that I was afraid to do anything with it.

(The first draft of The Spanish Lesson)

So there it stayed, on the page, for years, during which time I produced multiple films with fantastic creative collaborators and got a film school's worth of on-the-job training. But it was always other people's work I was producing, working as the logistics-master to support the creative visions of these other wonderful artists.

Then, last fall, I produced and acted in a particularly inspiring short film that demonstrated just how successful a first-time writer/director could be. Something clicked, and I realized no one would give me permission to make my own work but me. So I decided right there, in a cornfield in Ohio, that I was finally going to put on the director hat and bring my six year-old screenplay to life.

(On the set of Why Those Crops Grow Taller)

Now, after many months of editing (thank you to my dear writer friends who lent me their time and wisdom) it's finally happening! I've teamed up with a killer production company (the one from the Ohio cornfield!), we've brought on a phenomenal cinematographer and production designer, cast my top choice actors, and are scheduled to start filming this August!

"But wait, Simone, this sweet, inspiring story is on a GoFundMe page, so that must mean--"

Yes. Alas, movies cost money and we do not live in a country that funds the arts. My original plan was to fully self-finance this film from my savings, but I've come to realize that even with my budget-savviness from years of indie producing, the amount I can fund on my own isn’t enough to do this right. If I want to pay my passionate cast and crew even close to what they're worth, feed them all well, and capture their talent with lenses and lights that will do them justice, I am going to need additional support.

So I am humbly turning to you all to help bring my first film to life. I promise, any amount that you can contribute to my $10,000 goal will make a difference.

I recognize that times are tough and there is so much need in the world right now. If you do not have the means to donate at this time, please consider sharing it with others you know who can contribute! Whether it’s a direct donation or spreading the word, I would be eternally grateful for your support!

With all my love and gratitude,

Simone Stadler

Writer and Director of The Spanish Lesson

Read on to learn more about the film itself!

—

SYNOPSIS

Marisol is already having a rough day (or week. or year.) when a tutoring session with an important client is interrupted by a strange man accusing her of salacious goings-on with his wife. What begins as a confrontation of pride and jealousy takes a sharp turn when Marisol learns the real reason he has tracked her down, leading to an unexpected communion of loss, language, and Spanish homework.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

The Spanish Lesson is a comedic drama that deals with the absurdity of grief, the humiliation and stress of existing in New York, and the unexpected ways combatants can become comrades in this city of little privacy.

I have always been drawn to stories that make you laugh while also making you cry. I don’t believe anything in life is 100% comedy or 100% tragedy and our ability to find humor in grief is what makes us uniquely human.

The writers and directors that have most inspired me in this style are Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) and Joey Solloway (Transparent). They are masters at priming an audience with gut-splitting laughter, stealthily opening up our hearts and minds to then receive the unexpected pain and complexity of the characters’ stories.

This is the one-two punch I seek to emulate, and I find myself lucky enough to have joined forces with a creative team whose immense talents and experience will lift this film off the page and bring The Spanish Lesson to life.

CREATIVE TEAM

Cinematographer - Katherine Castro

Katherine Castro is a New York City and Boston-based Cinematographer. After studying architecture and photography while living in the Dominican Republic, Katherine returned to Boston in 2008, where she began her career working in film and TV as a Local 600 Camera Assistant. Applying her design and photography background and the invaluable lessons she has acquired over the years working in production, Katherine brings a unique style and viewpoint to her cinematography. She was selected for the inaugural AFI Cinematography Intensive for Women in Los Angeles in 2018.

Katherine has worked in many countries, including Spain, South Africa, and Peru. Her work spans narrative, music video & documentary. Her projects have recently been screened in film festivals such as Coney Island Film Fest, Woods Hole Film Festival & Asian American International Film Festival in NYC.

Production and Wardrobe Designer - Colin Henning

Colin Henning is a filmmaker and actor from North Carolina and based in NYC. He most recently worked as the Production & Costume Designer for Next Door Picture’s period thriller, Why Those Crops Grow Taller. He often designs for the films of C.H. Squared, the joint film endeavor created by him and his partner in all things, Chad Hylton. Their latest projects are the short film “Penelope!” and upcoming feature Appalachian Dog. He believes in the power of design to say and reveal what the characters cannot.

Simone Stadler - Writer & Director

Simone Stadler is a New York based filmmaker and actor originally from Portland, OR. While she first moved to NYC to pursue acting, her artistic career has expanded over the last decade to include producing, writing, and, now, with her debut film The Spanish Lesson, directing. She has produced the short films No Words and Why Those Crops Grow Taller, the mockumentary webseries This Is B.S., and the feature film When We Grow Up, which was shot with an entirely female crew.

As a polyglot and world traveler who lived in Argentina and Switzerland before settling in NYC, Simone also works as a language tutor in Spanish, French and German. Her passion for learning and teaching languages heavily influenced her writing of The Spanish Lesson.

CAST

Rebecca Jimenez - Marisol

Rebecca Jimenez is an actor and writer based in New York City. Off-Broadway: Comedy of Errors: Mobile Unit, Our Dear Dead Drug Lord. NY Theater: Superstitions, The Sketchy Eastern European Show. She has also developed work with: New York Theatre Workshop, Roundabout Theater Company, Page73, Playwrights Horizons, Ojai, and others. BFA: SUNY Purchase.

Joe Barros - Daniel

Joe is an actor currently based in Los Angeles after many years in NYC. He has a decade of experience in film, tv, theatre, improv, and commercials. Select TV credits include: The Endgame, Bull, Blue Bloods, Happy and many others. Select commercials: Sling TV, Verizon. He is a fitness aficionado, a science fiction nerd, an avid gamer, and a world traveler.