SHORT  FILM

WRITTEN by:

TIFFANY STILES



 

DIRECTED by:

MARCUS HENDERSON



Logline

Mirror is a social conscious project about sexual violation in the African American
community. It touches on incest, shame, lust and survival.

Theme
“It’s never too late to heal and forgive.”

Synopsis
Mirror is about a woman who was sexually violated by a close relative as a teenager.
As a much older adult, she has flashbacks of this traumatizing event. Will is trigger
hurt, shame, fear or redemption? Who does she see in the reflection? Mirror is a
story about survival, healing and closure.
 

Background
suicide are on the rise. We aimed to tell a compelling story that puts these issues that the community rarely wants to notice and speak about; we want to bring it to film. The symbolization of a cantaloupe being scrapped was used throughout the piece. With every pulsating thrust and destructive force “Uncle James” was taking away “Kayla’s” women hood as he attempted to destroy her womb and spirit. We wanted to capture the emotional moment of “feeling” and trust that this awareness will bridge gaps, inspire discussion and ultimate healing.



 

Writer

Tiffany Stiles is a screen writer and script supervisor from Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania. During her undergraduate studies at Keystone College she took a Creative Non-Fiction that forever changed her life. Being able to create, cry, love, shun, hate, be intimate and explore all angles of emotion without judgment or prejudice. Her interest in Media Arts derived from an internship at Warner Music Group in 2004, where she worked in the Video Production department. In 2006, following her undergraduate study at Keystone College, she landed a dream job at Genius Products and in turn became the New York executive assistant to Steve Bannon, partner at The Weinstein Company. She has written a speck script for Ugly Betty and wrote a few short synopses for DVD released under The Weinstein Company. Tiffany now resides in New York and is working on her 3rd feature film as well as her 2nd graduate degree, a Masters in Fine Arts for screenwriting.
 

​Director

Marcus Henderson is a Film Director from Rochester, New York and has been praised within the film community for being fearless and taking on projects not traditionally explored. He has written, produced and directed shorts films, "Mirror", " Shotgun" and "Pretense"; music videos for rap artist, Shorty Roc and a documentary, " How U Doin" which focuses on hip hop and homophobia. His background in Production, Finance, Music Producing, Editing and Sound Editing working with employers such as CBS Production, Inside Edition, William Morris Talent Agency, and Warner Music Group. His goal is to develop stories based in large part through experience in the LGBT community by focusing on sexuality and gender construction. It is his hope that through storytelling there is dialogue within communities to change, grow and development to foster acceptance.
 

​Director of Photography

Will Vaultz is a native New Yorker that has been working in visual media for more than 20 years. Within that time he’s focused his abilities on creating images that spark ideas and inspire people. Whether in man or in nature, beauty is the result of love viscerally manifested. Using his lens to expose this is paramount to this Emmy Award winning cinematographer. Currently Mr. Vaultz is gearing up for his feature film premiere at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival, which he shot as well as produced.



Editor

Mars Roberge is a Canadian editor/filmmaker who resides in Los Angeles, CA. He graduated in 1995 from York University with a B.F.A. in Film Production. Upon graduation, he worked for several years as one of the three in-house editors for Black Walk Productions, which was the busiest and most popular music video company in Canada at the time. Jumping ahead to the year 2000, Mars moved to New York City and spent a decade pursuing a music career with his multi-media electronic pop group Rise NYC. Mars not only produced the music but he also created experimental movies to play as backdrops during their concerts; which were cut to the exact beat and rhythm of the bands performance. From 2000-2010, Mars worked as a freelance editor in NYC cutting several corporate biography kits, trailers, music videos and short films. It was in NYC, where Mars met director Marcus Henderson and cut a trailer for his feature film, "Men of Color". Mars currently works in Santa Monica for Nomad Editing Company as their Digital Asset Manager, working primarily on commercials for Apple. As a dedicated editor, Mars recently cut his first feature film, “The Little House That Could”; which was also submitted to this year's 2012 Sundance Film Festival.



Music By:
Gavin Bradley: “Another Shade of Blue” from - “Daylight Fading Out” on Afternoon Tea Records (G. Bradley © 2012 GavCo/SOCAN) www.GavinBradley.com

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Cast

KAYLA                            Soniya Johnson
UNCLE JAMES              Erik McKay
TROY                             Donald Chartruce Calliste
 

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