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Stages Title

AFTER TRAGICALLY LOSING HER HUSBAND TO COVID, DALILA FEELS A PRESENCE IN HER HOME. WHEN SHE INVITES IT IN, SHE REALIZES THAT IT’S NOT HER HUSBAND’S GHOST, BUT A MALEVOLENT ENTITY FEEDING OFF HER GRIEF.

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BIFF-Badge-2022 laurel
SEMI-FINALIST - Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival - 2022 laurel
Hollywood Blood Horror Festival Laurel
TAC_WINNER_UNPROD_SCRIPT laurel
Best Original Screenplay -L.A. Sci-Fi Horror Festival 2022
Unproduced Drama Winner - L.A. Sci-Fi Horror Festival 2022
Winner L.A. Sci-Fi Horror Festival 2022 laurel
LA Sun Film Fest Laurel
Chicago Indie Film Laurel
Winner Berlin International Art Film Festival-2022 Laurel
OFFICIAL SELECTION- Cannes Indies Cinema Awards-2022 Laurel
Independent Short Awards Laurel
LA Indies Laurel
OFFICIAL SELECTION-CaliforniaIndies-2022 Laurel
IndieX_OS_Aug2022_ laurel
Vegas Shorts Awards Laurel
Miami Indie Film Awards Laurel
Nominee-Toronto International Women Film Festival-2022 Laure
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Cannes International Cinema Festival - 2022 laurel
Inspiration Title
Depressed Woman sitting on ground

GRIEF

LOSING SOMEONE CLOSE TO YOU CAN CHANGE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT THE WORLD. EVERYONE PROCESSES THEIR GRIEF DIFFERENTLY AND WILL FEEL IT SOMETIME IN THEIR LIFE.

GRIEF PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN STAGES. AS DALILA PROCESSES HER GRIEF, IT’S DIFFERENT THAN WHAT HER FAMILY AND HER FRIENDS WANT HER. IT IS GRIEF THAT ATTRACTS THE FIGURE TO DALILA AND LEADS TO HER ISOLATION AND HER DOWNWARD SPIRAL.

Woman with mask

COVID ERA

THIS SHORT FILM IS SET DURING THE EARLY DAYS OF COVID. DURING A TIME OF ISOLATION, LONELINESS, AND UNCERTAINTY FOR EVERYONE. 

HAVING THE FILM SET DURING COVID PROVIDES A VULNERABLE SETTING FOR DALILA, MAKING HER AN EASY TARGET FOR MALEVOLENT FORCES.

Synopsis Title
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DALILA, A YOUNG LATINA WOMAN, LOSES HER HUSBAND SCOTT EARLY IN THE PANDEMIC WHEN HE CONTRACTS COVID. AS SHE PROCESSES HER LOSS, DALILA GOES THROUGH THE 5 STAGES OF GRIEF: ISOLATION, ANGER, BARGAINING, DENIAL, AND FINALLY ACCEPTANCE. BUT SHE IS NOT ALONE.

WHEN HER FRIENDS AND FAMILY TRY TO REACH OUT TO HELP, DALILA OBJECTS, WANTING TO GRIEVE FOR HER HUSBAND IN PEACE. WHEN SHE FEELS A PRESENCE IN HER HOME, SHE BELIEVES IT’S HER HUSBAND’S SPIRIT. AFTER DALILA’S FRIEND BROOKE TRIES TO CHEER HER UP, DALILA KICKS HER OUT OF THE HOUSE, FUELING THE ENTITY. DALILA BEGS FOR HER HUSBAND TO COME BACK WHEN THE PRESENCE REVEALS ITSELF AND REACHES OUT, PROMISING TO TAKE HER TO HIM. 

AFTER TAKING A NEARLY FULL BOTTLE OF ANXIETY MEDICATION, DALILA CALLS HER MOTHER AND APOLOGIZES FOR HER ABSENCE, BUT IT’S TOO LATE. LYING IN HER BED, SHE SAYS GOODBYE TO THE GHOST OF HER HUSBAND AND FINALLY ACCEPTS HIS PASSING AS SIRENS APPROACH HER HOME.

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Want to help Stages get made? Make a tax-deductible donation to our fiscal sponsor From the Heart Productions. Click on the donation button below.

Follow our social media page for updates on our fundraising progress.

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Stages dives into loss, love, and depression, all the while having to do it alone during a pandemic. After losing my father in 2018, I watched my mother go through the different stages of grief, as well as myself going through my own process. We had very different responses and were always in different stages, but it taught me real loss. All of sudden, sad songs made sense, I could relate to more characters in the films I watched, and could empathize with anyone who has lost someone important to them. Luckily, my family was able to process our loss together.

Then 2020 came around and the pandemic hit. COVID19 was everywhere, people I loved were having to go through their hardships alone. At first I was optimistic that it would go quickly, but as time passed, I started to feel a different type of grief. I was lucky. I had friends that stayed in contact, I had a husband, family close by during the pandemic. But I couldn't help imagining what it would be like to go through all of this alone.

This film combines my own experience with the pandemic and with my experiences of loss. Certain scenes are inspired by real events. My best friend had COVID when it first broke out and she was not allowed to go to the hospital until she could no longer speak. 

I tested positive well into the pandemic. When I told my husband to stay away, he thought I was joking and tried to step forward to comfort me. I instinctively took a step back, trying to keep distance between us. It was one of the loneliest times of my life, despite my husband only being down the hall.

People handle grief differently, but it's completely different when you have to do it alone. When you're willing to do anything to have just one more moment with the person you lost. Stages captures a moment in time, that we will hopefully all learn from and be able to move forward.

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