Jessica Orcsik

“What happens when you’re expecting a child, but you’re still a child yourself?” From the creator: My name is Ramona Nina, I am a 19 year old Actress based in Los Angeles, CA, and Baby marks my screenwriting debut. I grew up in a Home-Daycare run by my Mother and have since worked at a Childcare Center in my hometown as a Teacher’s Assistant. I have seen the ins and outs of caregiving, and have known so many women who work these jobs to pay their bills and get their own children childcare. Being a woman in the modern world is extremely challenging, and often terrifying. I live in a country where Abortion rights are constantly being challenged, and in the midst of this I felt an urge to write Baby. Our Story Baby is a gritty coming of age drama about the importance of choice. Set inside a mother-daughter-owned in-home daycare in Wilsonville, Alabama, the film follows 16-year-old Carrie, who discovers she is pregnant. To keep her secret and her youth, Carrie must drive 8 hours out of state to the closest abortion clinic that will accept minors without a parent’s consent. Caught between autonomy and childhood, the female-centered film explores Carrie’s relationship with her mother, which becomes the emotional spine of the story: complex, imperfect, and a tale as old as time. Baby is a love letter to Women, to the care givers out there who give more than they take, and to every girl who has had to grow up to fast. I hope this movie speaks to you like it does to me. Where your support will go Your contribution will help us make Baby: paying our cast and crew, securing locations in Alabama, and covering the equipment, travel, production, editing, sound, and finishing work needed to tell Carrie’s story with care. Our hope is for the film to have a life beyond its festival run. Once it is complete, we plan to seek opportunities for community screenings and conversations with educators and organizations working in reproductive health and youth support. We would love to explore events with local Planned Parenthood education teams and other community partners, where the film could open a discussion about choice, caregiving, and the barriers young people face when seeking healthcare. Any such events would depend on partners’ interest and available resources. If fundraising allows, support will also help us prepare festival submissions, accessible screening materials, and a discussion guide developed with appropriate input. We’ll share updates as the production and release plans take shape. Complete Pitch Film Deck Follow Us @baby_shortfilm @diversitypicturesent Sign up Baby Short Film Mailing List

Hi, we’re Cooper and Ciara. As members of the AAFTA Young Actors Ensemble, we’re passionate about storytelling that gives young people the opportunity to explore meaningful ideas, take creative risks, and tell stories that reflect the world around us. That passion led us to co-create Counterpoint, a coming-of-age short film about identity, friendship, music, and the pressure young people feel to have their entire futures figured out. Our film follows Chloe and Milo, two teenagers who appear to come from completely different worlds. Chloe is confident, popular, and expected to follow the path her family has planned for her. Milo is known as the smart kid—quiet, observant, and often overlooked. Although neither truly knows the other, one unexpected conversation reveals that they are both struggling with the same question: Who gets to decide who you are? For Chloe, music becomes the first place where she can admit what she truly wants. After an argument with her mother leaves her feeling unheard and disconnected from her own future, Milo becomes the first person to listen without judging her or trying to change her. Although they would never normally move in the same social circles, music creates an opportunity for them to connect honestly. Through that connection, Chloe begins to understand that she does not need permission from a school, her family, or anyone else to call herself a singer. She can sing now. Milo, meanwhile, is given the chance to be seen as more than his grades, intelligence, or academic future. We wanted to tell this story because music is a universal language. It allows people from different backgrounds and experiences to connect, even when they believe they have nothing in common. At its heart, Counterpoint is about how similar we all are beneath the labels placed upon us. We are all navigating uncertainty. We are all carrying expectations. We are all trying to understand what the future might hold while taking life one wave at a time. For many young adults, the pressure to choose the right school, career, identity, and future can feel overwhelming. Counterpoint reflects that struggle while offering a hopeful reminder: we are more than one thing, our futures do not have to follow a single predetermined path, and sometimes the person we least expect may be the one who understands us most. We are incredibly proud of this short film and the message behind it. Now, we need your help to make it happen. Thanks to Diversity Pictures, AAFTA and Ryde Entertainment, we have an incredible crew... but we still need support with Equipment Crafty Location Music Post-production Festival submissions Every donation, no matter the size, brings us closer to production. Sharing the campaign with friends, family, and fellow supporters of young artists also makes an enormous difference. By supporting Counterpoint, you are not only helping us make a film, your supporting our ensemble. You are supporting emerging young storytellers, independent filmmaking, and a story that encourages people to look beyond appearances and truly see one another. We have included our full film deck below. Film Deck Thank you for believing in us, in young artists, and in the power of storytelling. We cannot wait to share Counterpoint with you. Cooper and Ciara The Counterpoint Team