THE FEMALE SIDE EFFECT: A suspenseful short film.

STORY: The Female Side Effect

The Female Side Effect focuses on Elena Pizano, a smart and strong clinical trial analyst working for Crimera, a pharmaceutical company. After the death of a participant, she is tasked to find the cause with the help of an Artificial Intelligent system – but soon finds out her task is all a scheme to hide what’s really been happening.

This film is based on real experiences and data...or the lack of it. Until 1993, women weren’t allowed in clinical trials, meaning all medication was only being tested on men (Yes, including ones specifically targeted for women, like birth control).

The notion being, men and women are the same, it’s just that women have more hormonal fluctuations. And a woman is really just a smaller version of a man, so just studying men makes more sense…(Take a second to digest that) This was the foundation doctors stood on, ignoring half the worlds population.

By that time, hundreds of non-female tested drugs were already FDA-approved and we’re being prescribed to women—and to this day they still are. So we can say that much of modern medicine, is not made for women.

The Female Side Effect was filmed in 2 days at the stunning Windoor Realfly in Barcelona, Spain. The story was written and directed by Alex Garcia Mallarini, and had a 90% female led cast and crew. The Female Side Effect will be an 11 minute short film (with credits).

It all started when Alex’s partner had suffered side effects from contraceptive pills which led him to dive deeper into the subject. His mother also had experienced bad reactions to other medications. It was a difficult time and they felt the need to get this message out with the tools they had. The first step was getting as many women involved in the process, hearing their stories, experiences and making sure the script possessed the elements of what women were going through. There were many variations but finally landed in a script that had a hook, engaging but also getting the information across. The rest is history, and now we are looking to get this movie finished and out in the world!

With your help we will use the funds for:

Editing the movie / Sound design / Color and Special effects

We have the people already selected to do the work we just need the funds to get them started and start crafting this important story.

The film and digital rewards.

Special posters with cast. Another illustrated version is in the works too that will be included!

Main Rewards Breakdown

STAGE 1 TRIAL

Support the film! You will receive a digital download of the short film, "The Female Side Effect" prior to full public release. You will also receive a digital download of the film posters.

STAGE 2 TRIAL

Give a little extra support and you will also receive an exclusive look into how the film was made with Behind the Scenes still photography!

STAGE 3 TRIAL

In addition to all digital rewards, receive the original Screenplay PDF and see how this story began on paper!

DRUG APPROVED

For those who would like to give a bigger donation to the crew receive all the digital downloads and also get a personal video from the director thanking you for your amazing donation.

The Female Side Effect was made possible by a team of approximately 50 people (90% women) including, actresses and actors, producers, film crew, food service people, location managers, marketing, artists, and more.

THE CAST

Stacey Williams as Dr. Elena Pizano She/Her (Actress). Stacey began her career as a model but that path lead her into a new journey in acting where she truly find was her passion. She believes in social change and using art as a tool to help which is why this project interested her so much, “it was a challenging character with many layers but also portrayed a very strong message”. She has won best actress for a the role of Nicole in The Cake, and also worked on the feature film The Egypt Affair. Follow Stacey on Instagram

Oliver Ritchie as Charles Lacey He/Him (Actor). Oliver is a British Actor living and working between Barcelona and London. He’s held supporting roles in films such as The Kill Team, Paradise Hills and Rich Flu as well as National and international tv credits. He has a genuine passion for story telling, through film, tv, theatre and music. When asked why he joined this project, he replied: “As an actor we look for depth in characters, stories that impact you, and of course, to be able to work with good people. Sometimes all three come together and you get to be a part of something really worth while.” Follow Oliver on Instagram

Jordi Rocaspana as Antonio Cruz He/Him (Actor). 5 years ago and by chance Jordi restarted his artistic path with the same enthusiasm he had left off 35 years ago. During this time he has been training in various schools and working with independent projects, Including fifty short films, several video clips, a few feature films and 3 plays. When talking about this film “I was interested in working with its director Alexander García Mallarini but also thought the topic was very important. My character and his scene represented a challenge for me as an actor. and there is nothing I like more than challenges.” Follow Jordi on Instagram

Pampa Mek as Sofia Cruz She/Her (Actress). Pampa Mek is an artist, born in Buenos Aires. Her creative outlets include writing, design and theater. In Argentina, she graduated in Social Communication and founded Corazón de Raíz, a joint project of handmade basketry. After participating in a mask contest, she moved to Paris to learn the technique of Jacques Lecoq. He specialized in set design and movement and participated in object theater performances based on literary works. Later she moved to Barcelona and continued his training at Jessica Walker's Laboratory Experimental Theater. Follow Pampa on Instagram

THE CREW

Alex Garcia Mallarini He/Him (Director). Alex is an award-winning film director born in New York City but raised in Montevideo, Uruguay. Starting his career in art direction he found a passion for story telling and switched to film. With a mentality of learning-by-doing, he acknowledge the importance of constantly being a student of the craft. His latest work includes “Melody of a Sorrow Heart” (2022); “Fuera de Nuestro Control” (2021) and “A Travelers Guide to Happiness” (2021) which has received 15 festival nominations and an award for "Best Male Director" at the Atlantic Bridge Festival. His purpose is to disrupt and create a narrative that will make people think deep inside themselves and their paths, which is why he always leans on his saying “Create Beautiful Chaos.” Follow Alex on Instagram

Lara Vilanova She/Her (DOP/Colorist). Lara was born Barcelona and always had a keen eye for visuals. In 2008 she graduated from the School of Film and Audiovisual of Catalunya (ESCAC), thus beginning her career as a cinematographer in television and film. In 2017 she shows her work in Cannes Festival 2017 with “The beauty and the dogs”. In 2018 shows her work as cinematographer in Berlinale Panorama with “THIRTY SOULS” and won Best cinematography award in CINESPAÑA in Toulouse. She was nominated in FÈNIX AND CAMERIMAGE (Golden frog). Follow Lara on Instagram

Manuela Greene She/Her (Producer). Manu was born in Santiago de Chile and graduated there from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in 2014. After working with different channels in 2020 she moved to Barcelona to do her Master in Film Production and Distribution at EPAC. She has collaborated in various productions and tends to pick jobs with strong social causes. Follow Manu on Instagram

Ania Chwaliszewska She/Her (Art Director). Ania is an art director, set designer and costume designer originally from Poland. She arrived in Barcelona 15 years ago and quickly became a part of the city's audiovisual world. She studied Set Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan and Art Therapy at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. With a career spanning over fifteen years, she has forged a career working in international and national productions shot in Spain, Poland, Greece and England. In Barcelona, s​​he has created a studio for pieces of costumes, props and sets for theatre, cinema and advertising. Follow Ania on Instagram

Carmela Silva She/Her (Stylist). Carmela is an art Director with training in Theater Design and specialization in Film and TV. She continued her training at the school in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba in the Visual Design workshop for Film Production. She has published a book "Models for cinema, old resources for new languages" winner of the Audiovisual Fund 2009, Chile. She currently resides in Spain since 2018, collaborating in theatre, cinema and is developing two feature films, as co-director and production designer.

Thank you for the love and support,

-Alex and crew

Risks and challenges

Principal filming has already been completed, so the risks are minimal. Our current funding goal gives us a small buffer in the event we have to spend more on post-production, so that we can finish the film no matter what. Pins, and prints are all regularly produced, sold, and shipped by Jenn Ravenna Tran and White Squirrel. Our team is well within our comfort zone.