“What I did was, I saved myself as a worker, as a writer, as a human being [by moving to Michigan]” – Pati Smith, as told to Rolling Stone
RAMONA AT MIDLIFE is a dark comedy about a single mother and former Literary It Girl who discovers that her unflattering current reality is the subject of a hot filmmaker’s newest project. As Ramona faces up to her disappointments and wrecked friendships, she finds true creative power and is finally ready to become her best self.
Summary
In 2019, The New York Times ran a piece proclaiming that women over 50 were finally reclaiming their right to be seen. But how are we seen? And in what light, and by whom? The piece went on to talk about the amazing Gloria Bell, which lives somewhere in the tone of my movie, Ramona At Midlife.
Women over 50 (and indeed, over 40, as my character Ramona is solidly in her 40’s) are rarely seen as dynamic and in the foreground of our own lives. Even in the recent batch of films, we’re But unlike Gloria, Ramona is no empty-nester looking for love. Ramona (who is in her 40’s not her 50’s — but as Jeanne Tripplehorn once said, “In Hollywood, 40 is the new 80”) is a woman in her prime. Ramona is raising a 9-year-old daughter and working a job to get by while wondering exactly how and when she’ll get her life back. A former Literary It Girl, Ramona published a wildly successful book of essays along the lines of Meghan Daum’s My Misspent Youth, And she had a drink named after her at her favorite bar. But something happened to Ramona by the time she turned 40.
This is a movie about a woman living in tightly drawn lines whose lines start to blur. This blur is a good thing! It means she can finally integrate and become her full self.
While stories about women over 40 are having a renaissance, most of these women are empty nesters (Kathyn Hahn in Mrs. Fletcher, those wine moms in theRamona At Midlife reimagines what happens to women over the age of 40. And begs the question: why is a woman’s story still most marketable when told by a man?
Film Links
- https://www.ramonaatmidlife.com
- https://www.instagram.com/ramonaatmidlife
- Trailer: https://vimeo.com/828384454/9de0cc13dd
Key Personnel
Brooke Berman / Writer & Director
Brooke Berman is a playwright, filmmaker and memoirist. Her plays, including Hunting and Gathering, Smashing and A Model City, have been produced across the US and internationally at theaters including Steppenwolf, Primary Stages, 2nd Stage and developed at The O’Neill, The National Theatre Studio in London, Williamstown Theater Festival, Naked Angels and others. She has written films for Natalie Portman, The Mark Gordon Company, Vox Films, Fugitive Films and Red Crown.
Brooke adapted and directed the short film Uggs For Gaza, which premiered at the Aspen International Shorts Festival where it won Audience Special Recognition. Brooke’s feature script POLLY FREED won Best Screenplay at the Toronto Independent FilM Festival in 2020 and is in development with Rebelle Media. POLLY FREED was developed through New York Stage and FIlm’s Filmmaker’s Lab where it was mentored by Zach Helm, Kyra Sedgwick and Billy Goldberg and through NYWIFTs From Script To Preproduction Lab. PF was a second rounder for Sundance Labs twice. She wrote the short ALL SAINTS DAY which, directed by Will Frears, won Best Narrative Short at the Savannah Film Festival and played Tribeca Film Festival in 2008.
Brooke’s memoir No Place Like Home is now available on Audible. After writing extensively about illegal sublets, couch-surfing and roommates, Brooke now owns a coop in Queens where she lives with her writer husband and middle-school-aged son.
www.brookeberman.net
https://www.instagram.com/brookebermannyc
Kristen Vaganos / Producer
Kristen Vaganos was born to a loud crazy Greek American family in Philadelphia. She earned her BFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in just three years. As an actress, Kristen is known for starring in Lifetime original films Mommy Would Never Hurt You and Obsessed with the Babysitter, in WongFu’s rom-com series Dating After College, and as the titular Lisa in I Am Lisa, a revenge werewolf thriller that had its world premiere in 2020 at the UK’s FrightFest and has a sequel in the works with Mutiny Pictures. Kristen is a trained UCB comedian, previously on a house improv team.
As a producer, Kristen hails from the inspirational feature Bobcat Moretti, starring Taryn Manning, Vivica A Fox, and Oscar-nominee Sally Kirkland and the futuristic dark comedy Okay Google, starring Rebecca Black.
Kristen is driven by her strong sense of empathy and a passion to illuminate honest human behavior in nuanced and empowered female-driven stories. She strives to work in inclusive environments and to highlight the unique points of views of the artists around her.
www.kristenvaganos.com
https://www.instagram.com/kvaganos
Dominica Eriksen / Cinematographer
Dominica Eriksen is a New York City-based cinematographer. Born and raised in Northern California, she developed a love for photography at an early age and became determined to pursue a career in the arts. After completing undergraduate degrees in Photography and Multimedia, she worked in design and photography before expanding into filmmaking. While completing her MFA at New York University’s Graduate Film program, she was the recipient of several awards, including the NYFA Made in New York Film Women’s Grant, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Production Grant, and the Nestor Almendros Award for Excellence in Cinematography.
Her work has gone on to screen internationally, including at festivals such as TIFF, BFI, Clermont Ferrand, Aspen Shortsfest, Austin Film Festival, AFI Film Fest, and Palm Springs Short Film Festival.
https://www.dominicaeriksen.com
https://www.instagram.com/dom_a_rama
Key Cast
Yvonne Woods (Ramona)
She is known for her recent portrayal of Suzanne in Richard Nelson’s What Happened? and Sonia in Richard Nelson’s adaptation of Uncle Vanya.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2781558/
April Matthis (Imani)
April Matthis is an Obie-award winning actor and a member of the groundbreaking experimental theater company Elevator Repair Service, where she was mostly recently seen in the international revival tour of GATZ as Jordan Baker.Currently April can be seen on Broadway this Fall in the revival of August Wilson’s FENCES.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3400997/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Joel de la Fuente (Carlos)
Joel de la Fuente received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the New York University Graduate Acting Program in 1994, having received his Bachelor of Arts from Brown University. He has appeared in films such as Personal Velocity (2002), Return to Paradise (1998), and Roommates (1995). On television he was a series regular on Space: Above and Beyond (1995) and had a recurring role on 100 Centre Street (2001) and High Incident (1996). He guest-starred on ER (1994), Cosby (1996), Fire Co. 132, and Due South (1994), and was a lead performer in the mini-series, _”Summer Stories: The Mall” (1992) (mini)_ and When the Cradle Falls (1997). Mr. de la Fuente’s extensive theatrical experience includes appearances with the Ma-Yi Theater at the Public, Williamstown Theater Festival, National Asian American Theater (as Iago in Shakespeare’s Othello), New York Shakespeare Festival, Vineyard Theater, La Jolla Playhouse and international appearances – including at London’s Barbican Theater – as Liu Meng Mei in The Peony Pavillion.
Alysia Reiner (Gwen)
Award Winning Actress Alysia Reiner just originated the role of #DODC Agent Sadie Deever in the much anticipated and critically acclaimed Disney+/Marvel TV series, Ms. Marvel, and is best known as “FIG” on all 7 seasons of Orange Is the New Black, for which she won a SAG AWARD, Additionally, she just finished her 5th season as Sunny on Peabody Award-winning Better Things on F/X x HULU, and is about to start her second season playing Katharyn in STARZ’s Shining Vale with Courteney Cox and Greg Kinnear, after finishing 2 seasons as KIKI on HBO’s THE DUECE.
As a producer, Alysia produced and stars in the motherhood dark comedy EGG with Christina Hendricks and Anna Camp. It premiered at Tribeca film festival, is 100% FRESH on Rotten tomatoes and available on iTunes, Amazon & VOD Now. Additionally, Alysia conceived of, developed, produced and starred in the feature film EQUITY, bought/distributed by Sony Pictures Classics at Sundance 2016.
A few other filmed adventures include getting married in the Oscar winning film Sideways, getting naked in an Emmy Award winning episode of Broad City, and going head to head against Viola Davis on How To Get Away with Murder, and she just starred in Stampede Ventures’ feature film, Going Places, and wrapped The Independent with John Cena, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Brian Cox.
Equity was Alysia’s first feature as both actress and producer, but she has acted in countless critically acclaimed and award winning films and shows, working with film masters like “Sideways” director Alexander Payne, Jodie Foster, Richard Loncraine, Matt Weiner, and of course Jenji Kohan and Pamela Adlon. You may also know her from feature films like Sideways, 5 Flights up, Kelly and Cal, Shine, Fort Tilden, Kissing Jessica Stein, or countless other indie films and TV shows (and yes you have seen her on all of the Law & Orders multiple times).
A classically trained theatre actor, Alysia has appeared on stages around the world; from the Sundance Filmmakers Lab in Utah to The Royal Court Theatre in London; from the famed Apollo Theatre in Harlem NYC to The Edinburgh Festival in Scotland Other key cast include Cathy Curtin(Stranger Things, Orange Is The New Black), Yetta Gottesman (New Amsterdam, Labyrinth Theater), Scarlett Sher (Hustlers, Asian Persuasion), Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother, Liberal Arts, Happy Thank You More Please), Robert Beitzel (Turn) and Zarah Mahler.
