(We are shooting the proof of concept in August and will upgrade the images!)
Noelia (working title)
Genre: Drama
Written and directed by Dawn Jones Redstone
Producer by Tara Johnson-Medinger and Ashley Mellinger
Director of photography: Sean Conley
Starring newcomer Ana del Rocío
Logline
Just as her tinnitus begins to flare up, a bold, single mother of two sets out to make it to a last-minute job interview and follow her dreams of a career in politics.
Short Synopsis
What if Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had been a single mom? Would she have been elected to congress or would she have been held back by a system set against single, women of color? This was the original premise of the fictional feature film, Noelia, inspired by collaborator and star Ana del Rocío’s experiences.
Noelia is a whip-smart community organizer and Latinx, single mom who secretly struggles to get by. She pretends to be able to do it all, but her stress-induced tinnitus is constantly ringing in her ear; She can’t find adequate childcare and her boss won't cut her a break. Despite her ambition to run for office someday, she constantly has to choose her family over her career. When her boss tells her she’s losing her job, she’s serendipitously invited to interview for a position with a newly-elected politician, but there's one catch: it's the next day. Just as her tinnitus grows stronger and she begins to sense that something bigger is at play, she must set out to find care for her kids so she can make it to the last-minute interview and fulfill her dreams.
Progress to Date
We have secured a grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council to shoot the proof of concept. Originally scheduled for May, we are finally shooting in August. Outside the Frame, a local nonprofit, is providing fiscal sponsorship. We are prepping for fundraising in early 2021, COVID-allowing.
Team
Dawn Jones Redstone, Writer/Director
Dawn is an award-winning queer, Latinx writer/director whose short films (like Sista in the Brotherhood) have screened around the globe. Her work features women of color and explores themes of resistance, feminism and the internal machinations that help us transform into the people we want to become. She’s the recipient of MRG Foundation’s Lilla Jewel Artist Award and was named a Woman of Vision by Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce. She’s been awarded four grants from the Regional Arts and Culture Council in Oregon and in 2017, she was selected to shadow director Debra Granik on the set of Leave No Trace through the 5to50 program. As owner of Hearts+Sparks, she believes in using her hiring decisions to lift people up and help create a filmmaking community that better reflects our world. Learn more here.
Tara Johnson-Medinger, Producer
Tara Johnson-Medinger is an American film director, producer and champion of gender equality in the entertainment industry. Co-producer of the award-winning, music documentary The Winding Stream and feature film City Baby, her feature film directorial debut My Summer as a Goth will be released theatrically in 2020. An advocate for women in film, Johnson-Medinger honors groundbreaking female and non-binary filmmakers as Executive Director of the international Power of Women in Film Festival (POW Film Fest), while developing the next generation of media makers through the youth education forum she founded, POWGirls. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and two children.
Ashley Mellinger, Producer
Ashley Mellinger is a mixed-race actor and producer whose work amplifies marginalized voices and helps contribute to more equitable filmmaking. She co-founded Desert Island Studios to create greater access to film resources within the creative community. After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and acting professionally for a decade, Ashley began producing. She has since worked on a feature, five short films, four commercials, and countless music videos in the span of three years. In 2018, she acted in a film directed by Dawn Jones Redstone at Hearts+Sparks Productions. Their first project together was the award-winning short film Magnificent. Ashley’s first feature as a producer was a Spanish-language movie shot on 16mm film. It premiered at Portland International Film Festival in 2020.
Sean Conley, Director of Photography
Sean Conley is a freelance Director of Photography in Portland, Oregon. His work has screened in Europe, Korea and US. Sean's career as a cinematographer has encompassed narrative features, shorts, documentaries, commercials and music videos. He has worked with Netflix, A24, Nike, and Adidas. Sean loves collaborating with directors to visually tell meaningful stories. Sean taught Advanced Camera and Filmmaking Workshops at Portland Community Media for 3 years and has committed to being an ally for underrepresented voices in the industry. He is a member of the OMPA, the Freelancers Union and on the Board of the Couch Collective. http://seanconley.wordpress.com
Noelia (working title)
Genre: Drama
Written and directed by Dawn Jones Redstone
Producer by Tara Johnson-Medinger and Ashley Mellinger
Director of photography: Sean Conley
Starring newcomer Ana del Rocío
Logline
Just as her tinnitus begins to flare up, a bold, single mother of two sets out to make it to a last-minute job interview and follow her dreams of a career in politics.
Short Synopsis
What if Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had been a single mom? Would she have been elected to congress or would she have been held back by a system set against single, women of color? This was the original premise of the fictional feature film, Noelia, inspired by collaborator and star Ana del Rocío’s experiences.
Noelia is a whip-smart community organizer and Latinx, single mom who secretly struggles to get by. She pretends to be able to do it all, but her stress-induced tinnitus is constantly ringing in her ear; She can’t find adequate childcare and her boss won't cut her a break. Despite her ambition to run for office someday, she constantly has to choose her family over her career. When her boss tells her she’s losing her job, she’s serendipitously invited to interview for a position with a newly-elected politician, but there's one catch: it's the next day. Just as her tinnitus grows stronger and she begins to sense that something bigger is at play, she must set out to find care for her kids so she can make it to the last-minute interview and fulfill her dreams.
Progress to Date
We have secured a grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council to shoot the proof of concept. Originally scheduled for May, we are finally shooting in August. Outside the Frame, a local nonprofit, is providing fiscal sponsorship. We are prepping for fundraising in early 2021, COVID-allowing.
Team
Dawn Jones Redstone, Writer/Director
Dawn is an award-winning queer, Latinx writer/director whose short films (like Sista in the Brotherhood) have screened around the globe. Her work features women of color and explores themes of resistance, feminism and the internal machinations that help us transform into the people we want to become. She’s the recipient of MRG Foundation’s Lilla Jewel Artist Award and was named a Woman of Vision by Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce. She’s been awarded four grants from the Regional Arts and Culture Council in Oregon and in 2017, she was selected to shadow director Debra Granik on the set of Leave No Trace through the 5to50 program. As owner of Hearts+Sparks, she believes in using her hiring decisions to lift people up and help create a filmmaking community that better reflects our world. Learn more here.
Tara Johnson-Medinger, Producer
Tara Johnson-Medinger is an American film director, producer and champion of gender equality in the entertainment industry. Co-producer of the award-winning, music documentary The Winding Stream and feature film City Baby, her feature film directorial debut My Summer as a Goth will be released theatrically in 2020. An advocate for women in film, Johnson-Medinger honors groundbreaking female and non-binary filmmakers as Executive Director of the international Power of Women in Film Festival (POW Film Fest), while developing the next generation of media makers through the youth education forum she founded, POWGirls. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and two children.
Ashley Mellinger, Producer
Ashley Mellinger is a mixed-race actor and producer whose work amplifies marginalized voices and helps contribute to more equitable filmmaking. She co-founded Desert Island Studios to create greater access to film resources within the creative community. After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and acting professionally for a decade, Ashley began producing. She has since worked on a feature, five short films, four commercials, and countless music videos in the span of three years. In 2018, she acted in a film directed by Dawn Jones Redstone at Hearts+Sparks Productions. Their first project together was the award-winning short film Magnificent. Ashley’s first feature as a producer was a Spanish-language movie shot on 16mm film. It premiered at Portland International Film Festival in 2020.
Sean Conley, Director of Photography
Sean Conley is a freelance Director of Photography in Portland, Oregon. His work has screened in Europe, Korea and US. Sean's career as a cinematographer has encompassed narrative features, shorts, documentaries, commercials and music videos. He has worked with Netflix, A24, Nike, and Adidas. Sean loves collaborating with directors to visually tell meaningful stories. Sean taught Advanced Camera and Filmmaking Workshops at Portland Community Media for 3 years and has committed to being an ally for underrepresented voices in the industry. He is a member of the OMPA, the Freelancers Union and on the Board of the Couch Collective. http://seanconley.wordpress.com
