I am compelled to tell stories with complex, unpolished, fascinating women at their centers. I am also passionate about telling cross-cultural stories; I have produced/directed films in very different communities, from female artists in Dakar, Senegal to Mayan farmworkers in Guatemala. I am eager to inhabit the world of this story and bring authenticity to BRUT FORCE which is both a passion project and a deeply relevant, topical story, told in a cinematic way.

With our SAG-approved COVID-19 production safety plan in place, we will film BRUT FORCE in October 2020 in beautiful San Luis Obispo county wine country.

THE STYLE
My vision for BRUT FORCE is inspired by classic noir films. Every film class I’ve ever been in teaches noir movies like DOUBLE INDEMNITY, CHINATOWN, and just about any Hitchcock film. These are the movies that are remembered for being great so I’m putting my own spin on the genre but using these classics as inspiration.

THE ASK
We are very close to being fully funded thanks to our amazing investors. We are hoping to raise an additional $20,000 from generous donors like you, in order to ensure that we have enough money to cover cast, crew, locations, and equipment for our production.

Your donation is 100% tax deductible! We will send you a charitable donation receipt after we receive the donation.

As one of our cherished donors, you’ll truly be a part of the production! You’ll receive regular updates on the shoot as well as exclusive behind the scenes content once we’re in production.

Check out our Deadline exclusive press release here!

THE TEAM

             Eve Symington: WRITER/DIRECTOR   

Eve has been making short films since she discovered a video camera in her basement at the age of eleven. She holds a B.A. in Film Studies from Columbia University. Her twin passions for film and travel came together at New York University’s Tisch Asia film program in Singapore, where she earned her MFA. Her thesis short film TETHER shot on location in Guatemala has screened at many prestigious film festivals, including Palm Springs, Rhode Island, and Newport Beach.  Eve has worked for producer/director Robert Lorenz (AMERICAN SNIPER, MILLION DOLLAR BABY) and produced a short film for the acclaimed AFI Directing Workshop for Women. Her debut screenplay CALIFORNIANAS was named a 2017 Academy Nicholls Fellowship Semifinalist and her second script ORIENTATION was an Austin Screenplay Competition Finalist and selected for the 2019 Sundance Financing Intensive. BRUT FORCE (BlueCat Semifinalist, ScreenCraft Fund Finalist) will be the culmination of everything that 11-year-old girl was dreaming of while directing her first short film in the backyard.
        Lelia Symington: SLOANE SAWYER   

Lelia has been acting since she can remember, with early starring roles as the Major General in Gilbert and Sullivan’s “HMS Pinafore,” as Ms. Hannigan in “Annie,” and as Cinderella. She attended Cincinnati’s prestigious School for the Creative and Performing Arts before attending the Stella Adler studio at Tisch School of the Arts and graduating with a BA in History from NYU. Since moving to Los Angeles, Lelia has starred in many commercials, award-winning short films, and several independent feature films, including THE FIGHT WITHIN (released theatrically across the US; available on Netflix and iTunes), UNLAWFUL JUSTICE (Grand Prize at the Marina Del Ray Film Festival), and the newly released Lynyrd Skynyrd biopic, STREET SURVIVORS. Lelia is director Eve’s sister and earliest collaborator.

Tyler Posey: TICO REYES  

Tyler started acting as a child and had an early breakout role as Jennifer Lopez’s son in MAID IN MANHATTAN. He starred in MTV’s TEEN WOLF for 6 seasons, earning him widespread acclaim (including multiple Teen Choice Awards) and a huge fan following (5.6 million on Instagram). Most recently, Tyler starred in the Blumhouse film TRUTH OR DARE as well as Netflix’s FAST & FURIOUS: SPY RACERS.

        Vico Escorcia: DULCE LOPEZ CASTILLO 

Vico was nominated for the Ariel award (equivalent of the Oscars in Mexico) for EDDIE REYNOLDS Y LOS ANGELES DE ACERO and LOS CRIMINES DE MAR DEL NORTE, for which she also won a Silver Goddess Award. She most recently had a series regular role in the show COYOTE HILLS from Rivit TV. Vico also stars in the HBO production STERLING and can also be seen in History channel’s TEXAS RISING and has appeared in FOX’s TV series APB.

Jordan Michaud-Scorza: PRODUCER   

Jordan was born and raised in Minnesota.  She began her first film internship at Voodoo Films at the age of 17.   After earning her BA in film production from Emerson College, she moved to Los Angeles and has worked on over 14 feature films and dozens of short films, as well as commercials for brands like Target, Warby Parker, and Sprint. Her short film “End Times” won Best Short Film at the 2018 Boston Underground film festival and screened at festivals like Fantastic Fest and Fantasia. Her short film “Kate in Oxnard” won the “Shorty” award at the 2019 Sun Valley Film festival, and screened at Hollyshorts, Bendfilm, LA Shorts, and Brooklyn Film Festival. Jordan was an Associate Producer on the Facebook Watch series “Fired” with Adam Waheed and recently was Production Manager on the feature film MARTIN EDEN, filmed on Nantucket Island. Jordan has produced several features, including NEWLY SINGLE (starring Molly Quinn of Castle and Marguerite Moreau of Shameless and Grey's Anatomy; distributed by Gravitas Ventures and available on Amazon, iTunes, and Tubi) and MARZIPAN (starring Tamara Taylor of Bones, Reece Noi of Game of Thrones, and veteran actor Fred Melamed; currently in post-production).  

Nikit Doshi: PRODUCER   

Born in Kenya, Nikit has lived in Australia, India and Los Angeles where he graduated from The American Film Institute’s MFA Producing program. He has worked on two major Bollywood films OM SHANTI OM (starring Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone) and SORRY BHAI (starring Sharman Joshi) and has held positions at Captivate Entertainment (THE JASON BOURNE SERIES), MGM Studios (JAMES BOND), at Pathe International (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE) and on Season 7 of AMC’s MAD MEN. In 2015, Nikit founded Alpas Entertainment, a co-financier on THE JOURNEY IS THE DESTINATION, based on the life of slain journalist Dan Eldon. Produced with Martin Katz (HOTEL RWANDA) and Voltage Pictures (THE HURT LOCKER and DALLAS BUYERS CLUB), directed by Bronwen Hughes (FORCES OF NATURE) and written by Jan Sardi (THE NOTEBOOK), the film premiered at The Toronto International Film Festival in 2016 and is currently on Netflix.

   Emilie Silvestri: CINEMATOGRAPHER  

Emilie Silvestri is a filmmaker whose love for visual storytelling has led her around the world. After studying English Literature and Japanese, she moved to Japan and subsequently to Singapore, where she pursued her Graduate Film MFA at New York University Tisch School of the Arts Asia. During this time she directed several short films in addition to working as cinematographer on films shot in Singapore, Japan, the Philippines, China, Guatemala, Norway and the United States. Her work has screened at international film festivals across the world. Her first narrative short, TEINEN, was shot on location in Tokyo and premiered at Aspen ShortsFest. Her thesis film APRIL IN WINTER, shot in the North Woods of Maine in February, won the Panavision New Filmmaker Gold Circle Award for Best Student Film from the Caucus Foundation for Directors & Writers in Los Angeles and premiered at the Rhode Island Film Festival. Originally from New York City, she now lives in Maine and produces, directs, and shoots narrative and documentary films, television, and commercial & branded content. Most recently, Emilie has directed a commercial for the St. James in Washington D.C. as well as projects for Visit Maine, National Geographic, and the New York City ballet. 

Thank you for your consideration!