Help Support My Thesis Film: The Bridal Night

About Me

My name is Briana Atkins. I am a writer, director, producer, and actress based in NY. I'm currently completing my Masters studying Advancing Storytelling of the Black Diaspora. I focus on global Black cinema across languages and cultures and learn about representation and how to amplify the cinema that exists in these regions.

This semester to complete my degree, I am working on my thesis film, The Bridal Night, which I wrote and will be directing and producing.

The Project

The Bridal Night is about a young bride, Tanya, who must confront her worries about marriage when her traditional and superstitious family presents her with a lamp passed down for generations to brides at their bachelorette party. Each bride must etch the initials of her and her beloved into the lamp to ensure a long-lasting and abundant marriage, but when the stress of strict rituals and her guests' strong opinions get to her, Tanya's fears take hold of the night.

Throughout the entire film, there is no presence of a man or mention of men's names. The closest the audience comes to a male presence is the mention of the word "fiancé" or references to a "him". The film will comprise an entire cast of Black women. Each woman represents an ideal/theme attached to marriage: money, religion, children, passion, independence, and longevity. These themes are told through monologues and vignettes performed by each character that mimic the flow and structure of musicals (but without song).

Mission Statement

The Bridal Night seeks to expose the essence of our relationships and our connections to tradition and how both shape our identities; sometimes in ways we don’t know, until we’ve told our stories out loud. The film will star an all-Black cast of female-identifying/presenting actors in a story that doesn’t rely on negative portrayals but instead focuses on the characters’ inner conflicts and interpersonal relationships to drive the narrative. I feel my film will add something to a larger conversation about how darker-skinned Black women, and Black women in general, are portrayed on screen.

Budget

Because my program is interdisciplinary and I am not a student in the film department, I have to raise all the funds needed for my film on my own. All funds raised will be used as follows:

Crew salaries (including post-production) - $15,300

Location rental- $2,400

Wardrobe and Makeup costs- $2,300

Set design/Set Dressing/Construction- $600

Legal Fees- $1,000

Insurance- $1,000

Transportation- $1,400

Publicity- $2,000

Risks and Challenges

My main challenge with this film is the tight timeline needed to complete everything. Because this film has to be submitted as my thesis for my Masters program I have to complete it by April 9th, which means filming in early March so I have enough time for post-production. Because of this, I have to raise funds while working on pre-production. Because I have more immediate expenses such as location, insurance, legal fees, and above-the-line salaries: I'm currently using both Kickstarter and GoFundMe to raise my budget. GoFundMe which is set at $15,000 will cover my immediate expenses and this Kickstarter will pay for the remaining budget (below-the-line salaries, post-production, and craft services).

Please donate and share and help a young Black female filmmaker bring this important story to life!