Overturned - A Short Film By Meredith Vivian

OVERVIEW:

Meredith Vivian is a Los Angeles based filmmaker from Buffalo, New York. Meredith enjoys writing and directing films that challenge societal norms and fight to make the world a safer, more inclusive space.

Overturned is set in the near future and serves as a cautionary tale for where we could be headed following the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade. Overturned explores themes of female friendship, bodily autonomy, morality, and violence, amongst others.

Making a film is extremely expensive. Production costs include the actors and crew, camera, location and sound rentals, lighting, editing, music, sound mixing, color grading, hair, makeup, SFX, transportation, and insurance... just to name a few. In order to bring this timely, urgent, and unique film to life, I'm asking for your help in raising $18,000.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT:

Between dance classes, piano recitals, summer camp at Buffalo’s Theatre of Youth, writing my own short stories, middle school theatre, high school theatre, all the way to a college degree in... yep, you’ve guessed it, theatre, the arts have always been absolutely everything to me.

Over the past six years in Los Angeles, I’ve surrounded myself with countless inspiring creators. I’ve become consistent collaborators with the INCREDIBLE Meghan Maddigan, Shannon Little, and Raissa Reis. Together, we’ve completed numerous projects including the web series Where Are They Now, which placed in the Best of Shorts Competition at Sydney Web Fest, the short film Where It Happened, which premiered at the Provincetown International Film Festival in 2022, and the short film Ask Me Already, which was featured at the 2023 Pinewood Film Studios Lift Off Sessions.

Overturned is well underway in pre-production. We will be shooting this December under the SAG-AFTRA Micro Budget Agreement. We've officially locked in our entire cast and crew and are location scouting as we speak.

Absolutely any and all contribution helps immensely. Sharing this post helps immensely. Sending positive vibes helps immensely!

Thank you to all of my magnificent friends, family, and colleagues for your endless support throughout the years. There are no words to explain what you mean to me.

Now, let's bring Overturned to life!

MEET THE CREATIVE TEAM:

NICHOLE RUIZ, DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Nichole Ruiz is a director of photography based in Los Angeles, CA. Born and raised in the Philippines, Nichole graduated from The University of the Philippines Diliman with a degree in Public Administration. After working on set for the first time in 2016, she decided to take up filmmaking and studied at the New York Film Academy - Los Angeles where she got her certificate in Filmmaking, where she was able to direct her short film YOU. Since getting introduced to the industry in 2016, Nichole has worked on feature films, short films, music videos and web-series in key roles such as cinematographer, camera operator, 1st Assistant Camera and gaffer. Nichole’s most recent works are; Where It Happened, a short film directed by Raissa Reis which has been winning awards in the festival circuit, and For The Love of Dogs a comedy web-series directed by Jess Rona featuring, Jake Johnson and Taylor Schilling. Nichole is extremely passionate about how the visual medium and responsible storytelling can impact society.

RAISSA REIS, PRODUCER

Raissa Reis is a first-generation Brazilian-American writer/director dedicated to telling women-led and openly queer stories. Her perspective allows her to create genre bending work with underrepresented characters at the helm. When she's not creating art of her own, she is supporting other emerging filmmakers through her work at WIF (Women In Film).

SHANNON LITTLE, PRODUCER

Shannon Little is an award-winning producer and director, having films competing in over 20+ festivals worldwide. She works with brands, production companies, charities, and filmmakers to connect their specific visions to modern storytelling. She currently developed, pitched, and is in production for a Girls Inc. sponsored docuseries that uses women who are at the height of their careers to inspire the generations below them.

MEGHAN MADDIGAN, PRODUCER

Meghan Maddigan is an independent film and event producer based in Los Angeles. In recent years, Meghan has produced web series (Where Are They Now?), short films (Family Ties), album release parties, and a local screening series (Soup Screenings) for up and coming independent filmmakers. Meghan enjoys creating professional and social spaces that engender authentic connections between intellectuals across industries that can hopefully lead to innovative new work.

MEET THE ACTORS:

LILY HARRIS

Lily Harris is an LA-based actor, collaborator, and animal-lover. As a seasoned stage actor with an MFA from American Conservatory Theater, Lily values the craft and magic of performance and is eager to continue exploring the on-camera world. Recent film/television credits include Chicago Med and the upcoming A24 film Love Lies Bleeding. Currently, Lily is developing a new play with Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Beth Henley, as well as co-producing and starring in the short film Off the Horse, which takes a tragicomic look at addiction and denial in rural America. Lily also co-directed the short film Salty, which won Best U.S. short at the 2022 Seattle Film Festival.

CHRISTIE GRIFFIN

Known for her ability to portray characters with a deep emotional well, Christie Griffin brings her grounded vulnerability to her character in “OVERTURNED”. A graduate from the University of Southern California's acting program, she now has the privilege of continuing her training at Stan Kirsch Studios in Hollywood. As a founding member of the sketch comedy group ‘Elephant Department’, she’s honed her comedic writing technique through their self produced shows, and filmed content. While her feature film "The Hive" is set to release later this year, Christie remains true to her roots, having recently returned to her homeland, the UK, to continue her artistic journey.

SYDNEY WALKER

Sydney Rose Walker (she/her) is a Capricorn sun and Scorpio moon so you know she is all up in her feelings! She is a Los Angeles based actor who loves randomly getting tattoos to remember a beautiful moment. You can find her in a variety of commercial/print ads but she has hair in some of them so you may miss her. She has a show airing at the end of the year and you can know all about her on-going feelings by following her @sydneyrosewalker

ELIZABETH ALAN

Elizabeth Alan has been compared to the likes of Rachel Weisz, Juliette Lewis, and Jane Alexander with her ability to portray roles that show the broken yet beautiful layers of the human condition. Able to play nuanced characters with intricate levels of feeling, Elizabeth can be seen in 'Community Theatre Christmas' (Amazon Streaming), 'Worst Date/Best Date', as well as the award-winning short 'My Left Arm', while her recent work as a member of the Actors Co-op in Hollywood includes Becca in 'Rabbit Hole'. Elizabeth is no stranger to producing her own content and has trained at the Antaeus Academy, The Carolyne Barry Creative, and, most recently, remotely with RADA, in the UK. When not acting she can be found making life-changing banana bread or playing with her pet Pacific Parrotlet, Eloise Parker.

JIM NIEB

Jim was born in Ohio and raised in the Washington, D.C. area. He's worked steadily since 1991 as an actor, comedian, impersonator and variety performer. Over the years he's done just about everything from films and television to Shakespeare in the park to eating fire at renaissance festivals. Jim has been either teaching or performing improvisation since high school and was a long time member of the comedy improvisation group ComedySportz in Washington, DC. Through his varied background Jim has become a very versatile actor. In 2004 Jim began living and working out of L.A. Since arriving in Los Angeles in 2004 he has had a chance to work with some of the biggest names in the industry including Clint Eastwood, Pete Farrelly, and JJ Abrams. He's also made several appearances on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show doing a variety of sketches and was one of the main actors for their very popular "How Long" segments. He was also part of the audience prank for the 2017 Oscar Show playing the Hollywood tour guide. Jim has trained as The Groundlings as well as the well respected Playhouse West Theatre and School in North Hollywood, which was founded by Robert Carnegie and co-founded by Jeff Goldblum. In 2009 he joined the teaching staff and, in addition to teaching the Meisner technique classes, founded the original Playhouse West Comedy Program (Later changed to The Zoo Comedy) which began with a focus on comedy improvisation. In the summer of 2017 Jim made a move to begin teaching on camera acting at the Margie Haber Studio in West Hollywood, CA. And in the spring of 2019 he added improv to the studio there.