We are fundraising for the feature film Senior Skip Day - written and directed by Griffin Burns, set to shoot Summer 2026.

LOGLINE

When an overachieving athlete is convinced to skip school by a carefree classmate, the two form a budding connection as they spend the day wandering around Boston.

INTRODUCTION

This film is a response to the increasingly fast-paced and technology driven world we live in, where genuine human connection seems harder and harder to find. It asks the questions: What would happen if two teenagers put their phones down? How much can you learn about someone in just one day?

Senior Skip Day is defined by its naturalistic dialogue and intense romantic chemistry, which combine to create a constant intimacy for both the characters and the viewers. Our goal is to engage and immerse viewers in an emotional conversational experience that forces them to become present with the film as the characters do with each other.

Senior Skip Day echoes the playful and witty tone of Before Sunrise and When Harry Met Sally. These films unfurl slowly, allowing their characters to discover each other one conversation at a time. It also features an outspoken female protagonist who we see navigating family dynamics, young love, and leaving home, similarly to Lady Bird.

Why Senior Skip Day?

As a writer/director, Griffin Burns always wanted to tell a high-school love story because movies are made for universal and complicated experiences, and there's nothing more universal and complicated than being young and in love. This film seeks to authentically portray how teenagers talk and feel, as well as their struggles with mental health and self-love, and ultimately revitalize the teen romance genre. Senior Skip Day is grounded and accessible in its girl-meets-boy premise, but is a personal, original, and heartfelt story that only Boston filmmaker Griffin Burns can tell. At its core, Senior Skip Day is a love story about human connection. With everything going on in this country, and in the world, now more than ever we need stories based in love and connection. As aspiring filmmakers, we are making this project not only to create an original piece of art, but one that we can use to jumpstart our careers. Supporting this project means supporting independent film, independent filmmakers, and stories that matter.

Where We Are Now

We are a few months into our fundraising campaign - raising over $16,000 via Seed & Spark! We’ve already begun assembling our crew! Griffin, Ruby (Producer), and Celeste (DP) have been collaborating on film projects since meeting at Oberlin their senior year of college. For the rest of our crew, we are excited to source locally in Boston. We also brought on Boston’s very own Slate Casting to help us find and cast the talented Madelyn Zimbalist (Gracie) and André Lazarus (Miles)!

OVERVIEW

The film opens with our main character, Gracie, on her morning run, showcasing her work-ethic and the city of Boston. Afterwards, she takes the train to school like any other day, but when she runs into Miles, everything changes. Having never had a full conversation before, the two classmates hit it off instantly, but when Gracie reveals that she is opting out of the grade-wide senior skip day to go to class, Miles is flabbergasted. After some initial pushback from Gracie, and some persistence from Miles, he convinces her to join him. Their chemistry develops as they head to the occasion, poking fun at each other, but when they arrive, so do the cops, thwarting their plan.

With no alternative to senior skip day, complete opposites Gracie and Miles agree to spend the day together, spontaneously wandering around Boston and unknowingly getting to know each other in ways no one else has before. Anxious but driven Gracie grapples with her indecision about her future, which is deeply tied to her past. Miles pushes her to put herself first, for once, which she begins to do more and more as the day progresses. Together they grow and evolve, as their relationship moves from two strangers to something far more intimate.

LOCATION

Boston plays a key role in the film, not only serving as the backdrop for Miles and Gracie’s adventures, but also in shaping their conversations. Boston is a proud but unpretentious city where people are known for being blunt, and Miles and Gracie embody this culture through their direct communication and passionate opinions.

CHARACTERS

Gracie is smart, independent, and industrious, seemingly put together. She's going to college to run cross-country, the only problem is she doesn’t know where. With an impending decision to make, she is torn between staying in Boston to continue supporting her dad, or leaving to forge her own path across the country. While she struggles under the surface with anxiety and people-pleasing, socially she is unfiltered and unashamed.

Miles is Gracie's foil. He’s an introspective and philosophical stoner who is an aspiring chef. While he’s not going to college and seemingly not put together, he knows what he wants to do with his life and is emotionally mature. Throughout the film he pushes Gracie to take risks, have fun, and prioritize herself.

TEAM

Griffin Burns is a writer/director from Boston, currently based in LA. He recently completed a short film, Sweaters, Letters, et Cetera, and was selected as one of eight fellows for the 2024 Oberlin Screenwriters Intensive to develop his feature script, Senior Skip Day. His work specializes in character-driven drama with a focus on naturalistic dialogue.

Ruby Zatz is a Los Angeles based producer and director. She has produced a number of short films and features, including Don’t Mind Me which received the Audience Award as well as Best Local SoCal Feature Award at the Poppy Jasper Film Festival. Her upcoming short film Good Girl! is the debut film project from The Fruitslice Magazine: A Queer Quarterly.

Celeste deBardelaben is a cinematographer and photographer based in Los Angeles. In 2024 she was selected to join Netflix's EWI PERG fellowship, granting her the opportunity to work full time at BECiNE, a Los Angeles camera rental house. She continues to freelance as a Camera Assistant and DP for film and TV. Her resume includes feature films, narrative shorts, documentary features, as well as music videos and commercials.

Madelyn Zimbalist ("GRACIE") is a student at Brandeis University (‘28) currently studying Chemical Biology and Theatre. While thrilled to be working on Senior Skip Day, she’s typically on stage with previous roles such as Elinor (Sense and Sensibility), The Witch (Into the Woods), and Ocean (Ride the Cyclone). In free time, Maddie is a part of Brandeis’ Sketch Comedy Club: Boris’ Kitchen, frequents a paintbrush, and loves to assist in her brothers’ music. She wants to thank her friends, family, professors and directors for always pushing and believing in her.

André Lazarus ("MILES") is an actor, musician, and performer based in Boston and originally from Miami Beach. A student at Emerson College, he brings a rock ’n’ roll spirit to everything he does, blending acting, live music, and comedy into high energy performances on both screen and stage. When he’s not acting, André fronts a blues rock band and performs around the city. He is also an avid triathlete, who’s always trying to push himself in all aspects of life.

Where We're Headed

Our next step is getting our core team out to Boston to location scout, camera test, and get in-person rehearsals with our actors. Then, we plan to shoot Summer 2026 and be done editing in early 2027. We will host screenings and have the film available online, but our goal for this project is to find its audience at festivals. With lots of experience submitting to various film festivals, our team is committed to finding the right festival and audience for Senior Skip Day. As a coming of age romance that captures the modern language, this film is targeted at Gen-Z, while still being accessible to audiences of all ages through its universal themes.

With such a small cast, and shot almost exclusively in exteriors, this film was intentionally written to be produced on a micro-budget. Your pledge will go far in making sure crew members and paid and fed, that we have access to the best equipment, and that we can hire a team to bring justice to this film in post production. Independent filmmaking takes a village, and we hope you’ll be a part of ours! Every dollar counts! If we end up raising more money than our goal, it will go towards further compensating our production crew, or hiring additional post-production crew. Please follow us on Instagram @seniorskipdayfilm to stay updated on the film and help spread the word!