MICHELLE
by Anik Bernstein
Anik Bernstein
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MICHELLE
by Anik Bernstein
Anik Bernstein
Follow
A dark coming of age short film, MICHELLE tells the story of a teenage girl trying to find her way. She rejects her mother's childlike image of her, only to be thrust into an adult world she is not prepared for.
A dark coming of age short film, MICHELLE tells the story of a teenage girl trying to find her way. She rejects her mother's childlike image of her, only to be thrust into an adult world she is not prepared for.
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Story
Inclusion Statement
Anik Bernstein is a female director who prioritizes making her set accessible to people of all genders, sexualities, and ethnicities. The crew includes several students of color, and many important crew positions are filled by women, such as her producers, assistant director, and art director.About The Project
Michelle is a sixteen year old girl who likes pushing limits. She wants to be treated like an adult but feels trapped and insecure in her home life.
Mary, her mother sees the world in bright colors. She is caring and energetic, but her fascination with the child Michelle once was makes her unaware of her current pain.
When Michelle is pushed to the breaking point by her mother, she runs away from home, only to be thrust into an adult world she realizes she is not quite ready for.
Skam, Julie Andem Fat Girl, Catherine Breillat
This film revolves around observation. Michelle acts out against her mom because she does not feel seen for the person she is. The cinematography will try to emulate this feeling of watching and being watched through wide landscapes and character point of views. Mirrors serve as a strong visual motif to access Michelle's subjectivity, self-reflection, and judgement.
Suzanne, Katell Quillévéré Tomboy, Celine Sciamma
Production design will also play a large role in the visuals of the film. Color will help to contrast Mary and Michelle, in both locationst and costumes. By playing with primary colors- Blue, Red, and Yellow- we hope to bring to light the child-like nature of Mary and the vision she projects of her daughter.
Skam, Julie Andem The Souvenir, Joanna Hogg
Shooting a film in 16mm can be quite expensive. Although we are lucky enough to have secured funding for the the film stock, and post-production processing, we still need a lot of support. In order to realize MICHELLE, we need to:
Create Michelle and Mary's world inside their house! Production design will involve props, furniture, and other material to dress the set.
Dress Michelle and Mary. The characters have extremely different tastes, and fight over what is appropriate or not to wear. Costumes are very important to creating the world of the film!
Find a colorful house to bring to life the world of the movie. Locations will play huge part of the visuals.
Secure funds for sound mixing in post production. We want to make this movie sound as good as possible!
Feed and transport our dedicated cast and crew who are working unpaid.
THANK YOU!!!
Anik Bernstein- Director Ari Adler- Producer
ambernstein@wesleyan.edu aadler@wesleyan.edu
Gabe Brosius- Producer Sarah Lucente- Producer
gbrosius@wesleyan.edu slucente@wesleyan.edu
Join our team and help us tell this story! Please feel free to contact us with any thoughts or questions!
Incentives
$5
THANK You Credit
Your name will be featured in the credits section of the film!
$15
DOWNLOAD the Movie
Make your home into a theater! Receive an HD download of the movie. As well as a thank you credit.
$25
SHOUT Out
To show our thanks, we'll give you (and your handle) a shout out our instagram page! As well as an HD download of the movie and special thank you in the credits!
$50
Personalized Thank YOU
You will receive a personalized thank you note from Anik Bernstein, the director. As well as a special thank you in the credits and an HD download of the film.
$100
Your PIECE of the Movie
You'll get an actual strip of 16mm film from our shoot! As well as a special thank you in the credits, an HD download of the film and a personalized thank you.
$250
Signed SCRIPT
Receive a copy of the final script, signed by the director and cast! As well as a special thank you in the credits, an HD download of the film and a personalized thank you.
$500
MOMMY Dearest
Recieve a personalized mother's day card to celebrate the person who brought you into this world! As well as a special thank you in the credits, an HD download of the film and a personalized thank you.
$750
Become a PRODUCER
Get credited as an EXECUTIVE PRODUCER for the film! As well as a special thank you in the credits, an HD download of the film and a personalized thank you.
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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 Credit
Your name will be featured in the credits section of the film!
$15
DOWNLOAD the Movie
Make your home into a theater! Receive an HD download of the movie. As well as a thank you credit.
$25
SHOUT Out
To show our thanks, we'll give you (and your handle) a shout out our instagram page! As well as an HD download of the movie and special thank you in the credits!
$50
Personalized Thank YOU
You will receive a personalized thank you note from Anik Bernstein, the director. As well as a special thank you in the credits and an HD download of the film.
$100
Your PIECE of the Movie
You'll get an actual strip of 16mm film from our shoot! As well as a special thank you in the credits, an HD download of the film and a personalized thank you.
$250
Signed SCRIPT
Receive a copy of the final script, signed by the director and cast! As well as a special thank you in the credits, an HD download of the film and a personalized thank you.
$500
MOMMY Dearest
Recieve a personalized mother's day card to celebrate the person who brought you into this world! As well as a special thank you in the credits, an HD download of the film and a personalized thank you.
$750
Become a PRODUCER
Get credited as an EXECUTIVE PRODUCER for the film! As well as a special thank you in the credits, an HD download of the film and a personalized thank you.
- Updates
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Current Team
About This Team
Anik Bernstein
Writer/Director/Editor
My name is Anik Bernstein and I am a senior film and chemistry double major at Wesleyan University. I grew up in Paris, where I learnd to love movies. I have worked on ten theses in my time at wes, and I am overjoyed to finally be making my own short film!!
Ariel Adler
Producer
My name is Ariel Adler. I’m a senior film studies major and economics minor. I am overjoyed to be co-producing Anik’s short film alongside Sarah Lucente and Gabe Brosius! I love producing and aspire to do so professionally. I can’t wait to see Anik’s story come to life, and I am so grateful and excited to be part of the team working to do just that!
Sarah Lucente
Producer
My name is Sarah Lucente. I'm a junior double majoring in Film Studies and English, and I'm so excited to be working on this project! I've developed a passion for producing, and I've been lucky enough to work with predominantly female filmmakers on campus.
Gabriel Brosius
Producer
My name is Gabe Brosius. I am a senior double majoring in Theater and Neuroscience & Behavior, and I am thrilled to make my producing debut on Anik's brilliant thesis! I have been involved with this project from the beginning and I am so excited to help bring it to fruition. As shown, I will carry an umbrella at all times and be prepared for any situation that may arise.
Sherwin Yu
Production Designer
My name is Sherwin Yu and I am a junior Film Studies/Economics double major. I have worked on some theses before, but this is my first time doing production design which I am really looking forward to. I'm really excited to work on this project and to help Anik execute her vision!
Anna Yeo
Production Designer
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My name is Anna Yeo, and I'm a junior double majoring in Economics and Film Studies. My favorite economist is Janet Yellen and my favorite movie is Eloise at Christmastime. I'm super excited to be doing production design for MICHELLE and grateful to be working with so many talented people on Anik's thesis!
Daniel Osofsky
Director of Photography
Daniel Osofsky is a senior at Wesleyan pursuing a Film Studies major and Creative Writing certificate. Daniel has worked as a producer, director, director of photography, editor, set designer, gaffer, and production designer on student films and theater works. Daniel has also worked professionally, creating animations for NYC theater galas and as an Art Production Assistant on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Gabriel Ballard
Gaffer
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Gabriel Ballard is so excited to work as a gaffer on Anik's thesis! He is a Film Major with a Minor in Religious Studies, and has had the privilege of working on many film sets at Wes and back home in Los Angeles as a PA, Gaffer, Sound Recordist, and Assistant Director! While he's not helping out fellow filmmakers, Gabriel enjoys writing and performing music for his two mediocre on-campus bands (g.flores and CameraShy), designing light plots for Second Stage theater shows, and performing surrealist comedy.
Angelica Cucueco
Assistant Director
Angelica is a junior at Wesleyan University. She met Anik last school year on another film set where they hit it off immediately so when Anik asked her to be her assistant director she knew what she had to do. She looked at her calendar and deleted every event on the given shoot days and screamed, “heck ya!!!” Angelica thought about her prior film experiences and believed she was ready to take on this task. She had held lenses, made shoot schedules, drove cars, made silly social media posts, was nice to PAs and functioned on 2 hours of sleep. All for the love of film! The fall semester felt, smelled, tasted and sounded like thesis season and she was ready.
Lucie Plasse
Assistant Camera
Lucie is a French-American senior Film major at Wesleyan. An aspiring cinematographer, she started doing photography at the age of 13 at which point her main source of inspiration were high-end Vogue-like fashion shoots which she tried to imitate using her 10 year old brother Noah as her model. In her spare time, Lucie loves to travel, watch French stand-up comedy, obsess over Film Noir and German Expressionist aesthetics, staying up all night for existential conversations with her housemates, doing super fun photoshoots with her friends, as well as encouraging other women to consider doing work behind the camera!
Quinn Tucker
Gaffer
Quinn is a senior film major at Wesleyan University.
He is interested in creative production design and experimental narratives. Quinn loves color design, camp, and having fun on set. He couldn’t be more excited about gaffing and stylizing the film to create Anik's vision!
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