My Grandma was my rock. My best friend. My safe place. The only person that I felt like I didn’t have to hide parts of myself from. She celebrated my quirks, encouraged my creativity, welcomed my vulnerability with open arms. My memories of her include uno cards, fried chicken on a Sunday, and the bounce of her shoulders as she laughed. The Young and the Restless and Gunsmoke. “Go put on my noodles”,and “I love you little lips”. She was everything to me. So of course, losing her is a pain, unimaginable.

Writing about my Grandma was the best way I knew how to cope with her death and out of that experience, Inez was born. Grandma always told me I'd be a writer, so this is what she would have wanted. So here I am, marking my directorial debut with a short film commemorating her life.

This is more than a script, more than a film. It’s a tool for healing. It’s an opportunity to examine the raw experience of grief in all its complicated, intermundane, glory. I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Logline: 

After the death of her Grandma, 26 year old Kayla revisits her childhood only to discover that Grandma has strangely disappeared from some of her memories.

The Story:

During her final days of life, I watched my Grandma struggle to exist between two worlds - Life and death. After her death, I found myself in a similar struggle as I fought to keep my memories of her alive while she was no longer with us in real life. I fought to make sure my memories weren’t plagued by the darkness that can come with losing a loved one. A grueling experience with grief that I hope this film will embody.

This story is centered around a recurring dream I had following my Grandma’s death. In the dream, I revisited childhood memories of my Grandma. However, I discovered that my Grandma had disappeared from my memories and I was unable to find her. Through my journey with grief, I set out to find my Grandma and to find peace after this devastating loss.

The Plan: 

We are currently in pre-production - securing crew, location scouting, and casting so far. Our goal is to begin shooting the last week of August into the first week of September - not too far away!

Because this film is a reflection of real life events, it’s important to me as the director to make sure this film looks and feels as close to my personal experiences with my Grandma as possible. That means certain aspects of the film like casting, set design, and locations will be a big cost. We also plan to pay our cast and crew for their time and make sure they are as comfortable as possible during the production process.

Of course we’re doing everything we can to me cost effective and creative, but at the end of the day independent filmmaking is can be costly! 

With your help, were able to raise the funds to cover production costs, but now we are looking to raise funds to help cover post production costs (editing, sound design, music score etc) as well as funds to aid with distribution (screening, film festival submissions etc). We are also looking to raise $$ to help offset the costs we've acquired for our casts' travel and lodging during the production process.

We’re looking to raise $5,000 for post production! My Grandma deserves the very best!

Once the film is done, we plan to submit Inez to film festivals and possibly an online and in-person release so that the world can see, celebrate and experience the greatness that was my Grandma - Inez Edwards.

The Why:

I know people write and direct films everyday, but gaining your support in helping me tell THIS story would mean the world to me and more. I wish my Grandma was here to see this film come to fruition, but I believe she is here because she lives in me. She’s a part of me, and completing this film is something she would have wanted.

If my Grandma was here, and I told her I was shooting a film about her, she’d reach into her pocketbook, in between the crumpled up tissues and give me all the money she had. So… in the spirit of Inez Edwards, I’m asking you to do the same!

My heart is already so full as my friends and colleagues agree to be apart of the team that brings Inez to life. I’d love for you to be a part of that as well! Thank you!

With Love,

Kayla