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Logline

On her 21st birthday, Mia struggles under the mounting pressure of her final week in culinary school, facing one of the most demanding recipes in her class while battling a destructive eating disorder – manifested as a cunning and sinister caterpillar only she can see. As the day unfolds, she must confront her deepest fears and the deadly grip of her illness before it consumes her entirely.

Synopsis

On her 21st birthday, Mia is drowning under the pressure of her final week in culinary school, tasked with one of the most demanding recipes of her class. But the real battle isn’t in the kitchen – it’s in her mind. Her eating disorder takes shape as Cat, a cunning and relentless caterpillar only she can see, twisting her thoughts and warping her reality. As the day unfolds, exhaustion and self-doubt cloud her focus. One mistake – small but irreversible – ruins her dish, shattering the illusion of control. Humiliated and desperate, she binges all the food she can see in sight including the cupcakes in the trash and her ruined dish, turning Cat vicious, preying on her deepest fears. In a nightmarish climax, Mia reaches the breaking point. Cat coils around her heart, consuming what little remains. Her body distorts, her reflection warps, and Cat takes over her body, leaving her empty, but skinny.

Meet the Filmmakers

Hannah Sperling — Writer/Director
Hannah Sperling is a senior at NYU, studying Film and TV. Growing up in Los Angeles, she fell in love with filmmaking through the chaotic, low-budget videos she made with her younger siblings. As she grew older, she became increasingly conscious of the pressures girls face regarding their bodies and sexuality – an awareness that continues to shape her storytelling. Hannah has worked across the industry, with experience at NEON, Saturday Night Live, Bleecker Street, Peacock, Maven Screen Media, and American High. She spent last year abroad, studying at both the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the National Film and Television School in London, further honing her voice as a filmmaker. Her most recent short, Meek, premiered at the Montclair Film Festival and was featured in Variety, Gold Derby, and Yahoo Entertainment. She is passionate about telling women’s stories with honesty, intensity, and care, and is building a team that shares that vision through Peach Fuzz.

Fiona Hardingham — Producer
Fiona Hardingham produced the documentary series Go Gently with Dash Pictures, hosted by climate activists Bonnie Wright and Pattie Gonia (HBO Max & Amazon Prime). She was the Series Associate Producer on Netflix’s IDA-nominated My Love: Six Stories of True Love and 2nd Unit Production Manager on Netflix’s Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

A Film Independent Producing Lab (2023) & Project Involve (2021) Fellow her recent work includes Tribeca-premiered Fireline (Indeed’s Rising Voices S4) released on HULU, and award-winning shorts The Mason Ring (HBO Max’s ‘Best Short Film’ at Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival), All I Ever Wanted (HollyShorts ‘Best Comedy’) and Our Sister funded by the BFI Network and Tribeca Institute Pond5 program (Leeds International Film Festival ‘Best British Short’.

Christopher Noviello — Producer
Christopher Noviello is an accomplished post supervisor whose journey began with the holy trifecta: Superman II, Empire Strikes Back, and Clash of the Titans. After seeing those films, he convinced his uncle to buy him a video camera to create a stop-motion/live-action short. Armed with two different VCR decks, he failed—gloriously. But when he discovered American Cinematographer and Cinefex, his path was set.

Since then, Christopher has worked on 947 music videos and commercials, along with numerous short and long-form projects in multiple roles. From inventing a camera/sound sync device for a music video to supervising a 23-camera shoot, or taking over a small village in England for five weeks for a documentary, his “roll up your sleeves and get crackin’” mantra and “producing from post” mindset continue to drive his work.

He is currently developing a variety of films, with multiple documentary projects in production—and a short film he refuses to share the rough cut of. Christopher is a member of the PGA and Television Academy. Partial credits include: How To Die In Oregon, Long Live Benjamin, Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé, Boys State, Time, A Man Named Scott, Val, Audible, Operation Varsity Blues, Fairyland, and Resynator.

Carley Lovito — Producer
Carley Lovito is a writer, director, producer and recent graduate from NYU’s Tisch School of Drama, recently making her debut as a filmmaker across major festivals worldwide with the award winning poetic short film Everything I Never Told You. Carley’s work focuses on cultivating creative community and uplifting female voices while making space for representation in under-presented storylines that drive pivotal, queer and female focused narratives. Carley is currently the lead producer and creative director of the world premiere of Clifford Odets’ The Nursery. She is also in development for Can’ t You See I’m Trying and LIVING, coming in 2026.

Alex Lycette & Chloe Rahal — Producing Team
Alex Lycette and Chloe Rahal are co-founders of Gilbara Entertainment, a production company focused on bold, emotionally driven storytelling. Both NYU Tisch graduates, Alex started making films in Pennsylvania and worked on The Tonight Show and at Riverside Entertainment, while Chloe, a Bulgarian-American producer/actor, grew up on film sets and began acting in features as a child. Since founding Gilbara in 2024, they’ve produced music videos for artists like Alana Markel and Leah Kate, and Jillian Rossi, and collaborated on shorts in NYC. Chloe recently produced Bunnylovr (starring Rachel Sennott) which premiered at 2025 Sundance, while Alex recently served as associate producer on Brian Tetsuro Ivie’s feature documentary Serenity, and together they are producing Ivie’s debut narrative feature, ANIMA. Alex and Chloe are passionate about building creative environments where vulnerable stories can thrive.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.