Story by Marisa Vitali Drama 13.57 Minutes Written & Directed by Chris Ordal Produced by Marisa Vitali, Chris Ordal, Claudine Marrotte, Alysia Reiner Starring: Marisa Vitali, Stephanie Brait, Alysia Reiner, Zach Grenier, Chris Kerson #race*the*mo+ie.com ,acebook.com.(race/eMovie t0itter.com.#race_the_movie insta#ram.com.#race_the_movie Syno%sis Short Synopsis 2anice must ,ace her high po0ered e3*husband in ,amily court ,or the custody o, their dau#hter. 4ead 0aitress at the Depot Diner, staying clean and doing the right thing is Janice5s only priority. When her boss 2ohnny ma-es a decision that afects her ability to appear in ,amily court, 2anice has to ,ace her addiction demons and choose 0hether to stay clean throu#h adversity or 7scre0 it' and use. ("!C8 ,ollo0s 2anice as she tries to do the right thing for hersel, and her dau#hter. Medium Synopsis ("!C8 tells the story o, a recovering addict trying to create a ne0 life ,or hersel,. 2anice has been trying ,or years to keep her act to#ether, so that she can get custody and have her dau#hter back at home with her. She 9nally has a chance to prove that she can be the mother she 0ants to be, and prove to hersel, that she has truly reco+ered from addiction. 2anice :ust celebrated her 9rst year clean ,rom dru# addiction and is ready ,or the ne3t step: custody o, her dau#hter. 2anice5s po0erful ex husband not only has custody o, (race but is also an addict deep in his addiction. Janice has gathered her coura#e to face the day, the court, her ex husband and her dau#hter. On the day she is scheduled to #o to court, complications arise. No0 her :ob is on the line and 0ith %robation hanging over her head, Janice must make a life changing decision. She 0onders if this is too much ,or her. Can she even handle the responsibility o, being a mom< Will she do the right thing or 0ill she say scre0 it and #o back to using< =oday, like e+ery other day o, the past year she has been clean, she must make that decision. But this time, the stakes are higher. Production Notes Marisa Vitali 0anted to tell this story about the 9rst year o, being clean as a 0ay to ackno0led#e, process and celebrate her o0n past. She chose to 9lm in her o0n hometo0n o, North%ort, NY to keep is really %ersonal. ?ilming in the to0n 0here she #re0 up, Marisa 0as delighted to 9nd a community o, su%%ort and strength. Marisa loo-s forward to starting a conversation about ho%e and recovery. =echnical Info Camera: Red !spect Ratio: 1.85 Bocations ;orthport, NY Manhattan, NY - Flatiron District Creator's Statement @ 0as inspired by an acting teacher 0ho #a+e us a call to action. 4e told us 0e all have a story to tell, so tell it. @ have 0ritten my story be,ore, about ho0 @ started using heroin, in many diferent ,orms. @5+e 0ritten it as a stream o, consciousness, a play, a screenplay, a short story. &ut @ al0ays #ot stuck at the ending. @ couldn5t see what it was. !,ter receiving the call to action, the story :ust Co0ed out o, me. @ couldn5t 0rite ,ast enou#h. /e story 0as not about my active addiction, but about my 9rst year clean in reco+ery. @ realized then that the 9rst year 0as the most difcult time ,or me. @ had to ,ace the reality o, 0hat my life had become, 0ith no dru# to hide behind. My ,amily and ,riends didn’t 0ant to talk about it and acted as i, nothing had ha%%ened. /ere was an unspoken expectation that because I wasn5t using, everything was fne. I felt ra0 and e3%osed. /is is the story @ 0anted to tell in this 9lm. @ 0anted to talk about hope and reco+ery, and create a conversation between addicts and non-addicts. We can all be a little more compassionate ,or one another5s stru##les to overcome, sometimes a#ainst all odds. @, @ can make a diference to one person 0ith this 9lm, @ 0ill have been o, service. /ank you for taking this journey with me. Marisa Vitali Creator, Actress, Producer /e Filmmakers Marisa Vitali Creator/Producer/2anice Marisa is a &rooklyn based actress and producer. She ,ound acting at an early a#e and a,ter #raduating ,rom ;>F =isch she pursued a %ro,essional acting career. Soon, she became disillusioned 0ith acting and 0as attracted to the instant #ratifcation o, clubs and dru#s. Marisa ,ound hersel, in a treatment ,acility at 25 years old for heroin addiction. Marisa says acting saved her li,e, kno0ing she had other options besides a life o, addiction. In treatment, she met La0rence Sacharo0 (&road0ay Director T4"88 =!BB WOM8;I 0ho 0as on staf and casting his O6*&road0ay play =48 CONC8PT, 0hich chronicles addicts in treatment. Marisa 0as cast in his sho0 and Ba0rence became a mentor, encoura#ing Marisa to pursue acting ,ulltime. She :oined Michael 4o0ard5s Master Class and ,ound a channel ,or the #uilt, shame and resentments that she carried into recovery. Marisa credits 0orking on =48 CONC8P= and honing her acting cra,t as the two things that kept her clean. Since then, Marisa has been seen in 9lms on the ,estival circuit, tele+ision sho0s aired on 4&O, !&C and @D Discovery, and in NYC theater. She has been in numerous commercials and is the voice o, many audiobooks ,or audible.com. She 0as a lead in the OEcial Cannes ?ilm Selection YOF & @, directed by Christopher Scott, opposite Blake Gibbons. Marisa produced, 0rote and acted in the short 9lm ("!C8, based on her stru##le 0ith heroin addiction, and is in the 9nal sta#es o, preparations ,or a ,estival run. She is in development on a ,eature 9lm loosely based on the short 9lm. Marisa is a member o, S!(.!?="! and !8!; and is on the pro#ramming committee at NYW@?= (NY Women in Film and TVI. ,acebook.com/MarisaVitali?anPa#e t0itter.com/marisa+ofcial 000.marisa+itali.com Chris Ordal Writer/Director/Producer Chris is an a0ard*0inning 0riter, producer and director. 4is debut ,eature 9lm Earthwork Hstarring !cademy !0ardK Nominee, 2ohn 4a0kesI 0on a sta##ering number o, a0ards at 9lm ,estivals across the Fnited States Hincluding more than 20 &est ?eature ?ilm !0ards, multiple !udience !0ards, multiple &est ?irst ?eature ?ilm !0ards, multiple &est Director !0ards, a &est Cinemato#raphy !0ard and an !udience !0ard & S%ecial 2ury Prize at the 2010 SMSW ?ilm ?esti+alI. Ordal lives in Bos !ngeles 0ith his lovely 0ife, 8mily and their charming do#, Sampson. /e Filmmakers continued Claudine Marotte Producer Claudine is a success,ul Ne0 York City based creative and tactical Producer 0ith a holistic twist. She has 0orked on television, ,eature 9lms, commercials documentaries, 0eb-series and music videos. 4er producing experience ranges ,rom ne#otiating and signing a0ard 0inning actors, to creating accurate & 0orkable bud#ets, to motivating cre0s to e3ecute, to delivering a0ard*0inning sho0s on time and under bud#et. She believes that communicating a clear vision ,or the team you 0ork 0ith empo0ers them to 9nd their o0n ans0ers instead o, relying on ,orced instructions. Organization, thorou#h %reparation, dedication and a sense o, humor are paramount to building team trust and respect, a critical skill for a flmmaker. Alysia Reiner Producer !lysia a%pears as ?i# in O"!;(8 @S =48 ;8W &B!CK, the NetCix series by 2enji Kohan 0ho created W88DS, as 0ell as the 9lm B@?8 @=S8B? 0ith Morgan ?reeman and Diane Keaton. "einer, one o, the S!( !0ard*0inning ensemble o, S@D8W!YS, has been busy scoring roles in a sle0 o, upcoming 9lms including Martin Scorsese5s "8V8;(8 O? =48 ("88N D"!(ONS, =48 (@"B @N =48 &OOK, )8BBY & C!B and ?O"= =@BD8N Hboth at SMSW 2014), and =4!= !WKW!"D MOM8;= with Zac E,ron. 000.alysiareiner.com 000.facebook.com.!lysiaReiner insta#ram.com/alysiareiner t0itter.com/alysiareiner Lyn Montcrief Cinemato#rapher Byn is an !merican cinemato#ra%her based in Bos !ngeles. 4e holds an M?! ,rom the !?@ Conservatory in cinemato#raphy and is a member o, the @nternational Cinemato#raphers (uild. 4is 0ork as a Director o, Photo#raphy has taken him around the 0orld shooting in 8urope, !sia, and North !merica. 4e has com%iled an eclectic body o, 0ork, including over 50 narrative ,eature 9lms, documentaries, music videos and short 9lms. @n addition he has earned over a doDen a0ards ,or his 0ork including the coveted Koda-5s Visions o, Bi#ht !0ard. /e Cast Marisa Vitali * Janice See above Stephanie Brait - Melissa Ste%hanie is an actress 0ho recently relocated her porcelain H8ast Coast butt to sunny Bos !ngeles. ?ormerly based in Ne0 York and splitting her year eOually between the two, Stephanie has recurred and #uest starred in a number o, =V sho0s and appeared in a #ro0ing collection o, 9lms including (OBD8N &O> HC&SI, @ 2FS= W!;= MY PA;=S &!CK HM=VI directed and e3ecutive %roduced by Dou# Biman, (8O"(8=OWN H!&CI, B!W !ND O"D8"$ SVF (;&CI, B!S=!"DS O? YOF;( (a NY feature currently doing the festival circuit; available on !maDon and iTunesI, COB&Y Ha ,eature in pre*production, in 0hich Stephanie %lays the title role, a serial*drifter 0ho 9nds hersel, ,antastically stuck), M8=4 H screened at Cannes, among other ,estivals * &est !ctress a0arded to Stephanie ,or the Derby ?ilm ?est).