The Story
After a night at the frats and a hookup gone awry, awkward 21 year old Comet works up the nerve to buy Plan B. However, when she encounters gossipy classmates and her own sense of shame in the pharmacy aisle, she is forced to flee empty-handed. Now anxiously awaiting her period, Comet must spend a week as an all-girls summer camp counselor. Here she meets 11 year old Sasha, and the two discover they have more to learn from each other than they thought.
Strawberry Week aims to shake up the typical coming-of-age period story, exploring the ways in which body shame never leaves us, only changes as we grow.
Why This Story?
From Writer/Director Savannah Miller:
Strawberry Week was inspired by my own childhood memories of an all-girls sleep away camp, a place whose mission was to "foster self worth, confidence, and challenge every girl to become one of our future leaders of tomorrow.” My summers at this camp have shaped me in ways I don't know how to describe. At camp, I wasn't a girl, I was a person. I could be whoever I wanted to be, dress however I wanted to dress. My counselors taught me that womanhood can look all kinds of ways - there's no one shape, size, or color. Femininity takes on many forms, and it was at camp where I learned the true meaning of sisterhood.
Strawberry Week draws from these lessons, specifically exploring the shame women carry around menstruation. Where does this shame come from? Does it ever go away? How does one deal with it in various stages of life, and how can it become more tolerable for the next generation? With bodily autonomy under increasing threat in the United States, it is essential that we continue to center conversations around young girls and their futures. Strawberry Week is a story of periods, puberty, and contraception. It’s a story of emotional and physical health. It’s a story of solidarity between women of all ages.
The Impact
While we hope to raise $11,000 for this project, we know it's a big ask. Here's what that budget will go towards:
• $6,650 to pay our hardworking all-female-identifying cast and crew
• $4,000 for equipment, food, and location expenses
• $350 for film festival submission funds
Who Are We?
Savannah Miller (Co-Writer/Director)
Savannah Miller is a writer/director born and raised in Los Angeles, California. A recent graduate of Emerson College, Strawberry Week will be her directorial debut postgrad. At Emerson College, she wrote multiple projects, including 87 Myrtle St (BYOB), So Happy, Spritney, and Twenty. Since graduating, she has worked as a PA on many projects, including SNL, Eleanor the Great, Shattered Ice, and Pokerface. Strawberry Week is her most personal project yet, and she can't wait to work alongside all the talented women attached to the project. She's inspired by her own life experiences, and is passionate about telling women's stories.
Hannah Meyers (Co-Writer)
Hannah Meyers is an LA-born writer currently based in NYC. She attended Emerson College, where she served as an editor-in-chief of Stork Literary Magazine. She received her degree in Creative Writing and Art History with specific focus on short fiction. She loves stories about time, intimacy, and fated experiences. Strawberry Week is her first film project.
Coral Ortiz (Director of Photography)
Coral Ortiz is a Puerto Rican filmmaker who was born and raised in New Haven, CT, and graduated from Yale University. Shortly after graduating, she was accepted into the Heroes Workshop cinematography program at Jaigantic Studios, where critically acclaimed cinematographer Keith Smith began to mentor her and brought her on several projects as an assistant. She’s produced several short films and recently Associate Produced a feature film entitled Midas. Since then, she’s made a short film, The Happiest and Saddest I’ve Ever Been, which has won awards at the Orlando Film Festival, Georgia Shorts Film Festival, and Blackbird Film Festival. She utilizes her love for activism and storytelling to share personal stories about the communities she’s a part of.
Western Star Entertainment Group (Our producers)
Co-Founded by Mia Lastrella and Joelle Westwood, Western Star is an indie film production company based in the Tri-State area. Recent credits: Inclusive Space (starring Jake T. Austin and Jocelyn Hudon), The Second Oldest Man Alive (starring Gerry Bamman), and So Help Me God (2024 Best Producers from New York Women in Film & Television). They are focused on producing socially-relevant and compelling narratives for domestic and international markets.
