Synopsis:
NYC party-girl, Jane, forms an unlikely camaraderie with the owner of a rural bowling alley and his son; but an afternoon of drinking and bowling reveals her true reason for being there, which drives them into unsettling terrain. It’s about how asking an impossible question can lead to healing, even if you don’t get the answer you’re looking for.
Mission:
We are a female-led production team excited to tell a woman-centered story with a diverse crew. We want to explore how a woman centers herself in her own story in a world that historically makes it challenging; and how doing so benefits her and everyone in her orbit.
Writer | Director’s Statement:
My parents divorced before I was born. No visitation. No explanation. No Dad. He was a missing piece.
I secretly became obsessed with his absence, the whys, the “why not me?”
It made me interested in how we generate healing when a parent is unwilling to show up.
Psychologist Susan Schwartz writes about this phenomenon in her book, Absent Father Effect on Daughters:
“Behind hate for the father’s absence is the desire for love, which can become a fascination that can rivet the daughter to the father. Curiously, this lure becomes stronger when a father has not offered himself for identification and does not welcome the daughter into his life. Nevertheless, and even more so because he is absent, he remains significant in her mind.”
Cahill’s Lanes was developed and produced as a play at Ensemble Studio Theatre. This short film is an adaptation of the play. It explores how a daughter centers herself when her father’s gaze eludes her.
Key Personnel:
MARCO JO CLATE (Writer/Director/Producer) is a screenwriter and theatre artist. She trained at NYU/Tisch as an actress. She developed the play, “Cahill’s Lanes” with CityLab at Ensemble Studio Theatre, where she also produced the Annual Marathon of One-Act Plays and associate-produced Horton Foote’s “The Traveling Lady.” Her work has been staged at NYC International Fringe Festival, One-Minute Play Festival, and many NYC venues. She was selected to participate in Moonshot Initiative’s Weekend Film Challenge as a script-supervisor, making a short film in one weekend with an all female/non-binary cast and crew. Since then, she has script-supervised “DROPPED,” “Worst Morning After,” and “BnB Host from Hell.”
ELIZABETH WISEMAN (Producer) is a writer/producer/actor, a finalist in the Academy of Motion Pictures’ prestigious Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, and Senior Curator and Judge for The Marilyn Horowitz / PANO Screenwriting Award. Elizabeth worked as a writer for DoubleAstrix productions, during the creation of their animated comedy series. She is a founding member of the newly formed 17D Productions and associate produced its newest feature film, “Caper” which will be released in 2025. Her most passionate goal is getting female-centered content out to diverse audiences and is truly excited to work on “Cahill’s Lanes.”
ALEX PARRISH (Associate Producer) is a writer, producer, and project manager currently working and living in LA. Though currently residing in Los Angeles, she originally hails from Spokane, Washington but got her education in Salt Lake, graduating with a degree in Communications with an emphasis in Print Journalism and a minor in psychology. Alex is also a big, loud leo who believes in championing women on and off screen. She is currently working on a project about women and football as well as a western short film she plans on shooting late next year.
MAISA CHIANG (Production Designer) is a multi-faceted creative. She’s the Writer & Director of many short films including: ‘Worst Morning After’, ‘BnB Host from Hell’, ‘Acceptance’, and the award winning, ‘Song and Grace’. She was selected as a writer in the Moonshot Initiative’s Weekend Film Challenge in which she wrote five short films in two days, one of which was shot by an all women and non-binary cast and crew in one weekend. In addition, her skills extend to costume, prop and set design. She designed and created costumes, props, and production design for all her short films, including sewing up a special “in between takes” robe for one of her actors on set.
ALICIA GIANGRISOSTOMI (Jane) is an NYC-based actor & dancer known for her dynamic work across film, television & theatre. She’s appeared in Hulu’s Everything’s Trash and Apple Plus’s Batsh*t Bride, and lit up the theater in Annette Ferrara at The Actor’s Studio writers group, Thats’s Showbiz, Baby at the Hudson Guild Theater and Caligula Maximus at La Mama. She stars in the film Backstory awarded Best Short Film at Goldendoor International Film Festival, and Paradise 6-5000 which premiered at the Chelsea Film Festival. Alicia also stars in The Monitor, which was awarded Best Horror Film at GENCON, and Penny, a New York Indie Short Film Festival semifinalist. Currently, she’s signed on for two exciting new lead roles. Outside of acting, she’s a dancer, often found assisting top choreographers at Broadway Dance Center. Big love to her fellow artists, family, and friends for their non-stop support! Follow her on IG/TikTok: @giangrisostomi and check her out at www.Giangrisostomi.com.
