The Green Room is a student thesis film that explores the bridge from childhood magic to making magic for those who still believe. Our goal is to highlight family and the people in our lives who make life magical. Additionally, we will be making our film sustainably in an effort to demonstrate the importance of green practices in film! This film is the culmination of four years of hard work and dedication at Temple University, which we all hope can live long after we graduate.

The Green Room is a coming-of-age film about a whimsical family of seven moving to their grandparents' house that is currently in pre-production. When eldest Maggie finds herself alone with her thoughts one night, she starts staring into her glowing Grandparents’ bedroom door, which causes her mind to travel into theories of her grandparents being magic. When telling her siblings, Drew, Henry, Graham, and Polly, they are skeptical at first, but then come to notice the same thing; however, Maggie realizes she sees more than they do.

As the oldest of six, when I reflect on what my parents did for my siblings and me as kids, it’s become apparent we were shielded from a lot of the tough stuff. Growing up, my mom could mask difficult financial holiday seasons from us by filling the house with paper chains and snowflakes, handmade paper-mache Halloween costumes, and hiding our Easter baskets.

When I was ten years old, my parents had us move in with our grandparents from Virginia to Pennsylvania as we awaited our new house to be finished. My siblings and I were more than thrilled to live with our grandparents, who used to live far away. While we were all sleeping in one bedroom together, my Mom was pregnant as ever, and our belongings were in storage, I never thought an ounce about it as difficult until high school.

To me, it was a special time where we played board games every night, watched a zillion movies with Grampa, and played house in the backyard until midnight. When looking back on this time more recently, these memories seemed ever-present.

While magic was the theme of my childhood, growing up, I’ve realized that it wasn’t the time that was magical, but the people. No matter how squished living at their house was, it made me realize that spreading the magic of frugality keeps life chugging.

Through making The Green Room, I hope to show that magic is real to those who believe and to those who make it for others.

Through pre-production, production, and post-production, we could use all the help we could get!

1. Donations made through GoFundMe will go towards a multitude of things, including housing our crew, food, props, set design, actors, and more.

2. If you are unable to donate, we would still love your support in other ways, such as donating 2000s children's clothes for the cast's wardrobe. helping with transportation, cooking, or food donations! If any of these areas seem like something you can help with, or if you have any other contributions, we would love to hear from you!

3. Share our fundraiser and help us grow The Green Room family!

Madeline Manning is a Director from Palmyra, Pennsylvania, studying Film and Media Arts with a concentration in Directing at Temple University. Aside from directing, she has a passion for art direction, which helps provide the framework for her cohesive style. She enjoys telling coming-of-age stories inspired by real-life experiences, with a hint of magical realism. In the future Madeline aspires to expand her knowledge in all areas of filmmaking and grow as a storyteller. Her dream is to move to New York City and direct larger-scale productions.

Isabella María is a Producer born in Malacatán, Guatemala, and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, studying Film and Media Arts with a concentration in Producing at Temple University. She has worked on a variety of films, most notably producing the award-winning documentary, Where The Water Goes, which has screened at film festivals nationally. Isabella strives for perfection in her film work and pours her heart into the projects she works on. In the future, she hopes to continue growing in the film industry through creative producing and unit production management.

Kieran Kline is a Director of Photography from Glenside, Pennsylvania, currently studying Film and Media Arts with a concentration in Cinematography in his senior year at Temple University. He has a keen eye for not only attention to detail, but for lighting as well, which is seen in his award-winning film he was the DP for, Within Our Reflections. He plans to climb the ladder to eventually become a professional Director of Photography for narrative work with his love for the camera. Kieran is currently on the quest to find his space in the film industry.

Autumn Moser is an Editor from Reading, Pennsylvania, currently studying Film and Media Arts with a concentration in Post-Production at Temple University. She has worked on a variety of short films and class projects, focusing on storytelling through editing. Outside of film, Autumn runs a small business called Autumn’s Stitches, where she creates and sells handmade crochet plushies. After graduation, she hopes to continue working in film and media as a video editor.

For more updates on our film's production, please follow @thegreenroomfilm on Instagram! Thank you, and we cannot wait for you all to go on this adventure with us!