Sparks fly when Samia meets Charlie…but their anxieties, who are somehow able to communicate with each other, aren’t sold on this coupling just yet.
Join us in bringing to life an enchanting Rom-Com, crafted by a dynamic team of filmmakers who think beyond the ordinary. We're pulling back the curtain and inviting you behind the scenes of our film, Chatter!
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Unemployed photojournalist Samia is in a bit of a rut. Like all of us, her inner monologue won’t fail to remind that she doesn’t feel so great about herself. To complicate matters, Samia is an Arab-American who grew up in France, which means that her inner chatter is split between her blue-eyed blonde American anxiety (Phoebe), her poised French logic (Victoire) and her compassionate North-African courage (Yumma).
When she meets Charlie, his straightforwardness and humor lights a genuine and immediate spark in her. Phoebe, however, isn’t as taken by Charlie. She’s even more shocked to discover that Charlie’s inner voices Thomas, Brody and Bayani, can hear and see her, Victoire and Yumma. As these two attractive, earnest and chatty millennials wander around Central Park, they flirt, joke, bicker and confess their way into a startling yet tender romantic realization.
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We filmed over 4 days in November, and now need the funding to be able to finish the film. Love doesn’t come cheap, but with your help we can make this project a reality!
We are offering some thrilling perks – and bragging rights – in exchange for help financing this movie! IMDB and film credits, a private screening with the cast and crew, signed scripts and custom made maps of dating spots in NYC just to name a few. Click on a donation level to your right to delve into the fun! So please take a look and join Team Chatter today.
Your donations will help us cover our post-production costs. This includes:
- editing
- color correction
- sound mixing
- sound design
- ADR
- graphics
- music composition
- musicians
- deliverables
- film festival submissions
- marketing materials
- indiegogo fees
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The idea of Chatter started with a simple question: "Okay, you speak multiple languages...but what language do you actually think in?" For Algerian, French Canadian, Spanish and American writer/director Jessica Sherif, the answer always is "all of them!!" And so this film was born, with the aim to open up conversations about our every day anxieties, while also bringing a must-needed diverse lens into our favorite genre - the romcom.
Although the entertainment industry has made some progress when it comes to the employment of women in film, we continue to be under-employed in all key behind-the-scenes roles in film. According to Celluloid Ceiling, in 2021, 94% of the top 250 films had 82% had ZERO women directors, 73% had ZERO women editors, and 72% had ZERO women writers. And those percentages get worse when we look at Middle Eastern North African (MENA) representation of women both in front and behind the camera. Per UCLA's 2022 Hollywood Diversity Report, there were ZERO MENA female film writers, and ZERO MENA female film directors in top Hollywood films released that year.
CHATTER has committed to diverse casting and to inclusivity both in front and behind the camera, which includes an all-female and/or BIPOC department head team (casting, director, writer, cinematographer, producer, editor, production designer and costume designer) and lead characters.
CHATTER is more than just a new twist on a love story. It is our chance to disrupt and advance our own visibility!
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Veracity Butcher is an American actor of Moroccan and Cajun descent. She began acting for both stage and screen during her youth in New York City, where she also trained in Opera (Mezzo-Soprano), Modern Dance, and Tap. She graduated from Middlebury College with high honors in Theatre and Arabic. Veracity has performed as lead singer for her band, VIOLETS, at venues across Manhattan and Brooklyn. Recent television and film credits include Barron's Cove; Bull; Law & Order: SVU; The Downpour; What Came After; Docket 32357; Alternatino COMEDY CENTRAL and the title role in the feature film Marjoun and The Flying Headscarf, available on Netflix.
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Michael Blas is a Filipino-American actor based in New York City. Latest credits include his work on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2020 & 2021) and FBI (2019). Michael was born and raised in New Jersey. He attended Rutgers University and later trained under Maggie Flanigan in a two-year actor conservatory. Michael has been living and working in New York since 2009.
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Emme Rylan is best known for her portrayals of Lulu Spencer on ABC’s General Hospital, Abby Newman on CBS’s The Young and the Restless and fan-favorite Lizzie Spaulding on CBS’s Guiding Light. Her other credits include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, $#*! My Dad Says and the teen cult movie Bring It On: All or Nothing.
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Ken Allen Neely’s recent TV credits include Blue Bloods (CBS), The Equalizer (CBS), The Gilded Age (HBO), The Deuce (HBO), Power Book (Starz) and Harlem (Universal Studios). He's been seen on stage regionally at The Fulton Theatre, John Engeman Theatre, Virginia Rep, Milwaukee Rep, The Arden and toured nationally developing new musicals in over 50 cities.
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Elsa Mollien is a graduate of both the Conservatoire National de Paris and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA). Originally from France, Mollien is fluent in English, French and Italian. She has done numerous stage work in both Paris and London. Mollien's television debut was in the limited series, Jane Eyre, (with Ruth Wilson, dir. Susanna White). In other features and television, she has guest starred on FBI: International, (NBC) and had a recurring role on Bounty Hunters with Rosie Perez. She has had supporting and leading roles in London Has Fallen, (dir. Babak Najafi), Jupiter Ascending (dirs. Andy and Lana Wachowski), Voulait Tout Casser, (dir. Philippe Guillard), Poldark, (dir. Stephen Woolfenden), Crossing Lines for two seasons (dir. Andy Wilson, amongst others), X Company and Poirot both directed by John Strickland.
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Nadia Kazar was born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco. After getting cast in the French series The Bureau (Amazon) while in Morocco in 2014, she moved to the US to train in the Meisner technique in San Francisco and NYC. In 2022, Nadia worked on the Netflix feature Lonely Planet directed by the writer of Erin Brokovich and starring Laura Dern, on the TV series Ghosts Of Beirut, and on the independent movie Afghan Dreamers.
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Mark Andrew Garner is a performer based in New York City for over a decade. Favorite credits include Love is a Broadway Hit (2017), Guthrie Theater's Guys and Dolls (as a guy and a doll), and the Swing and Young Max understudy for the national tour of How the Grinch Stole Christmas at the Grand Ole Opry. He has trained at Cap21, Broadway Dance Center, and Matt Farnsworth Studios with Dan Thaler.
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Jay Covington is a Filipino-Canadian Actor/Model/Performer living in New York City. Born in Manila, Philippines and raised in Calgary, AB Canada. From a young age, Jay's interest for the arts and creativity was fueled by his passion for figure skating, dance and performing. As a competitive figure skater and dancer, he trained in various street and contemporary styles. His discipline, work ethic and consistency continued into his young adult life. After moving to the USA, he discovered his passion for TV/FILM and continues to pursue the craft of story-telling. His mission is to inspire young LGBT Asian men to know that they are beautiful and worthy!
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Writer/Director Jessica Sherif is an Algerian, French-Canadian and Spanish producer who channels her diverse background to tell engaging and impactful character-based stories around identity that resonate across different perspectives and cultures. On the documentary side, her recent work includes the documentary series Under Pressure (NETFLIX) and Right To Offend (STARZ & CBC Gem). On the narrative side, Jessica has directed and produced several short films that have screened at more than 35 festivals, and won prizes at Hollyshorts, Tallgrass, and more.
Cinematographer Alex Agnant prides himself on building a rapport with all of his subjects. His award winning work has been featured on SHOWTIME, HBO, FOX, the MLB NETWORK, ESPN and more. Based in the New York City area, he has a global reach having worked in Asia, Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
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Producer Jessica Carlson, a strategic storyteller and former Director of Business Development at SUGAR23, is focused on inclusive storytelling from all angles of filmmaking. She was formerly a Development Executive at Digital Riot Media. With an award-winning career as a SAG actor in tv shows on HBO, NBC, films in theaters with UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, and in film festivals at CANNES, Jessica gravitated towards fostering change behind the camera. Currently, while working full-time in the financial industry, she supports impact projects focused on uplifting diverse up-and-coming Gen Z filmmakers. She is focused on propelling diversity, equity, and inclusion in both filmmaking and the financial industry.
Executive Producer Catha Day-Carlson relishes exploring concepts that evoke emotion, thought and action. She served on the board of a film festival and has masters in business and in education. She experienced numerous TV and film sets while her daughter was a SAG actor. Documentary and narrative shorts that she produced have been selected to festivals and won awards and recognition. Additionally, she has backed videos for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts as well as other causes, and a comedy pilot.
Executive Producer Luke Carlson is a machine learning researcher who is passionate about the intersection of art and technology. He is an Executive Producer on multiple short impact films including the internationally award-winning film Davis Out of the Unknown and Everything Goes Dark. He is also producing video games and worked on the first ever ‘algorithm auction’ at the Cooper Hewitt museum.
Co-Producer Sampson Seraphim is a New York-based producer, investor, and business operator. Sampson currently works at The Walt Disney Company, where he focuses on content acquisition & strategy for DISNEY Streaming with an emphasis on sports content for ESPN. Before DISNEY, he worked at various consumer tech and media startups, launching the Comedy+ vertical at a live music startup. Sampson started his career as an investor at Jefferies Credit Partners and Park Square Capital.
Associate Producer Dan Moreno is a New York-based product designer who loves telling stories through a variety of media. He is currently working at Captions, designing creative tools for everyone. He’s previously worked at SNAP and META on products used by hundreds of millions of people. Dan is also an Executive Producer on the short film Everything Goes Dark, now screening at Academy Award-Qualifying film festivals. His favorite activity is watching films with his two-year-old puppy, Manchego.
Line Producer Chelsea Courtney is on a mission to elevate women filmmakers until they dominate the whole industry. She moved to New York in 2015 to pursue a career in theater and, through pure delusion that she can do anything, has continued to work in film ever since. She is a proud member of PANO and a co-leader of FilmShop’s Manhattan chapter. She says she’s working on her next feature, but she’s probably running in Central Park or being disappointed in the Miami Hurricanes.
