Interiors
by Ruby Fludzinski

Ruby Fludzinski
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Interiors
by Ruby Fludzinski
Ruby Fludzinski
Follow
A drama short-film, "Interiors" reinterprets the true story of what happened when a white-passing mixed-race family in 1950s South Carolina was identified as black. The film explores the relationship between two sisters in the family-- one white passing and the other not.
A drama short-film, "Interiors" reinterprets the true story of what happened when a white-passing mixed-race family in 1950s South Carolina was identified as black. The film explores the relationship between two sisters in the family-- one white passing and the other not.
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Story
Mission Statement
Our film shows the nuances of mixed-race perspectives and identities. Our film seeks to reveal the timeless danger in ascribing racial identities to people based on perceived social, cultural and phenotypical cues. We are committed to sharing mixed-race experiences that are hardly ever on screen.About The Project
"Interiors" is inspired by two historical truths.
THE STORY
Our story follows Mildred and Kathleen, sisters in a mixed-race family that has recently moved to Charleston, South Carolina under the assumption that they can successfully pass as white. On Mildred's first day of school, her classmates scrutinize her based on her slightly darker skin. Kathleen, white-passing, does not defend her sister and supports her white classmates as they bully Mildred. The Sheriff in the town gets word of this rumor from the schoolyard, and takes a visit with a photographer and armed deputy to the Pierce home to "check their race." When they arrive, Kathleen successfully hides Mildred from their eyes. After the sheriff violently inspects Kathleen he concludes the family must be white. They all understand that from here on out, Mildred must be kept a secret. Kathleen can go to school while Mildred is stuck alone at home. At the end of the short, Kathleen feels guilty about her opportunity and blames herself for Mildred's entrappment and skips school to take Mildred outside. At the end, Kathleen and Mildred are seen and we feel the danger that will persist in Mildred's life-- through how she is percieved.
(My twin sister and I pictured above)
THE CONTEXT
This is a true story, inspired by the case of Allen Platt et al. v. The Board of Public Instruction of Lake County, Florida. In the fall of 1954, Allen Platt moved his family to a white town in order to make a better life for them. Rumors from school about their tan skin reached the sheriff of Lake County, who was an avowed white supremacist who decided to take armed deputies and play the Platt family a visit. Upon arriving, the sheriff had the terrified children line up to have their photographs taken. Pointing to one of the male children the sheriff said, "You know, he favors a nigger."Squinting at one of the female siblings he said, "I don't like the shape of that one's nose." On the absis of this "evidence," the sheriff concluded that the Platts were African American and advised them to stay out of school until he could investigate the matter further. They were encouraged to move out of the town.
When the town got word of their story, several white lawyers volunteered to defend his case and filed a suit in circuit court asking for a declatory judgment fixing the rights of the Platt children to attend a white school. The case dragged on for several months. Witnesses were heard, depositions taken, evidence pro and con was amassed, and experts were consulted. There was plenty of "evidence" to support the Platts' claims that they were not black:
Finally, on October 8, 1955--one year after the children had been expelled from school---the court handed down its decision declaring that the Platts were legally white. Local residents nevertheless staunchly defended their belief that the Platts were African American. The night the decision was released, a white mob set their home on fire. The sheriff declared to the local Lions' Club, "In my book they're still mulattoes," and received a standing ovation.
In addition to the Allen Platt story, "Interiors" is inspired by my own family legacy, centered around an unknown pocket of African-American history: Gouldtown, the “oldest Negro community in America.” Gouldtown was founded in 1670 by four interracial families, and every marriage in the town thereafter would be interracial or interfamily. For over three-hundred years, a community of light-skinned black Americans existed in New Jersey.
Mildred and Kathleen, and their parents, Jeremiah and Hannah Pierce are inspired by people in my family, and members of Gouldtown.
My genealogical research has been coupled with theory surrounding mixed-race experiences. The experience of race in America has not confronted mixed race identities in a way that allows all mixed black and white people--regardless of their phenotypical appearance---to accept the fullness of their ancestry. If race is not biological, what is our measure of racial identity? How do we define blackness? Who has the right to set those definitions? Who has the right to claim blackness in this contemporary setting?
Furthermore, my immediate family is mixed black-and-white. My twin sister and I have very different appearances, which has pushed me to question my own racial identity. The Allen Platt story, Gouldtown ancestors of mine, and my own experience in a similar situation as Mildred have all informed this project.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
Incentives
$5
Thank you!
A personal and public thank you from the INTERIORS team!
$10
Special Thanks!
We will list you in the credits of the film.
$25
DOWNLOAD the Movie!
You'll recieve an HD download of the film upon its completion in Fall 2018! You'll also get a special thanks in the credits and a personal thank you note from Ruby.
$50
Personalized Soundtrack
Our very talented sound designer will make you a personalized soundtrack!
$75
Research Packet
Get a binder filled with all of the mixed-race history research that has gone into this project! Primary sources from Gouldtown and the Allen Platt story included.
Claimed: 1 of 5
$100
Join us on Set!
You are invited to join our crew for a day of production. All travel and lodging expenses will be covered.
Claimed: 1 of 3
$500
Associate Producer
"Presented by [YOUR NAME]" in the credits! You'll also get a dinner in New York City with the writer-director Ruby. You'll also recieve a VIP ticket to the premiere of the film and an HD download of the movie.
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to pledge cash and loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an incentive directly.
$5
Thank you!
A personal and public thank you from the INTERIORS team!
$10
Special Thanks!
We will list you in the credits of the film.
$25
DOWNLOAD the Movie!
You'll recieve an HD download of the film upon its completion in Fall 2018! You'll also get a special thanks in the credits and a personal thank you note from Ruby.
$50
Personalized Soundtrack
Our very talented sound designer will make you a personalized soundtrack!
$75
Research Packet
Get a binder filled with all of the mixed-race history research that has gone into this project! Primary sources from Gouldtown and the Allen Platt story included.
Claimed: 1 of 5
$100
Join us on Set!
You are invited to join our crew for a day of production. All travel and lodging expenses will be covered.
Claimed: 1 of 3
$500
Associate Producer
"Presented by [YOUR NAME]" in the credits! You'll also get a dinner in New York City with the writer-director Ruby. You'll also recieve a VIP ticket to the premiere of the film and an HD download of the movie.
- Updates
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Current Team
About This Team
Ruby Fludzinski (Writer/Director) is a double Film Studies and African American Studies major at Wesleyan University. She has a strong interest in directing, writing and producing. In the past year, she has produced numerous short films while continuing to screenwrite daily. As a double major in Film Studies and African American Studies, the bulk of her creative work focuses on telling neglected stories at the heart of American history. She most recently worked on the production team for an ABC documentary series about the recent emboldenment of racially motivated hate throughout the country. Ruby is driven by the power of narrative storytelling to spark conversation about stories that rarely catch the spotlight.
Matt Kleppner (Producer/Director of Photography) is a graduate of Wesleyan University where he majored in Film Studies and American Studies. He has directed the photography on seven short films over the last two years, bringing to each his love of intimate, naturalistic cinematography. He recently wrote, directed, and edited his own Senior Thesis short film which was awarded honors and the NNK award for best screenplay for an undergraduate film by the Wesleyan film faculty. (mattkleppner.com)
Sofie Somoroff (Producer/Production Design) is a Film Studies and Theater graduate from Wesleyan University. With a strong interest in directing, production and costume design, Sofie loves how the tiniest detail of a frame is an opportunity for storytelling! Her experience includes directing student theater, costume designing for Wesleyan, the Williamstown Theater Festival and Ars Nova, and production designing short films. She was grateful to be named a New York State Woman of Distinction for her animated anti-bullying film, “Me,” which also screened at the New York Film Festival. With a background in oral histories and documentary filmmaking, Sofie is excited by history on film, and the power of movies as collective memory.
Benjamin Draghi (Producer/Sound Designer) is a French-American filmmaker and musical composer. A recent graduate from Wesleyan University with a double-diploma in Film and Music studies, Benjamin will oversee the sonic development of this project through sound recording and scoring.
King Ali Emeka (Producer) grew up in Oberlin, Ohio and is a student at Wesleyan University. His passions for film have recently led to the completion of his directorial debut, a coming of age short, ‘Blu Blak.’ He releases music performed, mixed, and mastered by himself weekly on platforms such as Soundcloud, receiving the attention of tens of thousands of listeners. In Addition, he directs and produces music videos as well as other forms of cinema. His interests alongside music and film are visual art curation, fashion, and skateboarding.
Afrah Boateng (Assistant Director) is a sophomore at Wesleyan from Newark, New Jersey. She is pursuing her bachelor's in Film Studies and Economics. In the fall, Afrah will be studying Film and Econ at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Campbell Silverstein (Assistant Camera) is a Psychology major and Film minor at Wesleyan University. He has interned at Pudding Boy Productions, as well as studied film at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where he produced several shorts of his own. He is very excited to work with this incredibly talented team.
Annie Ning (Production Design) is a Film and English double-major at Wesleyan University. She has worked on three short films this past year as a set decorator and assistant director, and is currently an editor on Intercut, Wesleyan’s first student-run film publication. She also loves theater, and designs as well as produces for Wesleyan's Second Stage, a student-run theater company.
Our team is evergrowing! Check back soon..
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