FiSpo Spotlight: Couples Turning the Page
Welcome to Fiscal Spotlight, a special monthly round up of projects—at all stages of production—working their way through Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship pipeline. Enjoy!
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A relationship is a coming together of two people with two different histories, and two different perspectives. There’s strength in those differences, but there can also be tension. When difficult times come for both partners, those differences can reveal different ways forward. The path chosen can be one decided on together, or two separate paths that can end up driving the couple apart.
The couples in the four films in this month’s Fiscal Spotlight all have come to a difficult point in their relationships and must decide if they will take on their challenges together or alone.
In Coparenting Storey, two exes work out how to navigate their history, their families and their coming child. In Good Evening Marshall (Good Evening, Geraldine), a literal reset button wreaks havoc on a couple trying to hold things together when they receive difficult news. With Switches, a couple tries to save their relationship by taking a pill that allows them to switch bodies & lives. Finally, in Tomorrow Night, an elderly couple has to find a way to come together to deal with the uncomfortable physical aspects of aging.
Through Fiscal Sponsorship, independent filmmakers and media artists gain access to nonprofit funding, helping bring their unique visions to life. These projects embrace diversity, push creative boundaries, and showcase the power of independent storytelling. Want to explore the full lineup of sponsored projects? Head over to our Sponsored Projects page and take a look!
Keep reading to learn more, including how you can support these projects.
TOMORROW NIGHT
Project type: Fiction Short
Project status: Development
Writer/Director: Drew Marquardt
Producers: Halley Lamberson, Wei Dai
About the Project: An elderly couple’s deep bond is tested by the physical and emotional tolls of aging, leading them to find unexpected intimacy in the most awkward of moments.
Meet the Filmmaker: Drew Marquardt — Writer/Director
Drew is currently the producer of the screenwriting podcast Scriptnotes with John August (Big Fish, Aladdin) and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl, The Last Of Us). His most recent short Act of War won multiple student filmmaker awards in the United States. He holds a BFA from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and is a recent MFA graduate of USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program.
SWITCHES
Project type: Fiction Short
Project status: Production
Producer: Brandon Broussard
About the Project: Switches is near future comedy about a couple on the brink of divorce who take a pill to save their marriage.
Meet the Filmmaker: Brandon Broussard — Producer
Brandon Broussard started the feature writing team, Murder Ink with Hudson Obayuwana and Jana Savage in 2015. Since then, his writing team has had several films produced including The Perfect Match for Lionsgate, #RealityHigh for Netflix and Praise This for Universal Studios. Their spec, Homecoming based on Brandon’s experience at Howard University was on the 2021 Blacklist and is currently set at Lionsgate with he and his team producing. Currently, they’re writing the latest The Addams Family film, Cousin It for Amazon/MGM and are in pre-production on Just Wynn, a feature comedy starring Chris Tucker with Good Fear and STX producing. Brandon wrote and directed the short film, Run which was in several festivals. Switches: A Future Love Story, is Brandon’s debut as a solo feature writer and director. Brandon resides in Los Angeles, California with his wife, Mikah and their son, Maverick.
GOOD EVENING, MARSHALL (GOOD EVENING, GERALDINE)
Project type: Fiction Short
Project status: Pre-Production
Writer/Producer: Jessica Mosher
Director: Laura Seay
About the Project: Geraldine and Marshall need everything to be perfect and they work very, very hard to keep it that way, thank you very much. But when one of them questions the rigid rules of their game, their literal reset button stops working and they are forced to confront reality or risk losing each other forever.
Meet the Filmmakers: Jessica Mosher — Writer/Producer
Jessica Mosher is a Canadian actor and award-winning screenwriter based in New York City. Winner of the Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition, she has also been recognized by the HollyShorts Screenplay Contest, Cinequest Screenwriting Competition, Big Apple Film Festival Screenplay Competition, and Outstanding Screenplays, among others. Her fiction has been published in the Jet Fuel Review and she has also been recognized as a fiction finalist at the Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards and awarded a core residency in screenwriting at Millay Arts. She loves stories about women behaving badly and unexpected narrative structure. (www.jessicamosher.com)
Laura Seay — Director
Laura Seay is an award-winning director, writer, and actor whose films have
screened at Oscar-qualifying and top-tier festivals worldwide, earning numerous accolades across the circuit and critical acclaim from publications including MovieMaker Magazine and Film Threat. A Ryan Murphy Half Initiative fellow, she has shadowed directors on FBI and Doctor Odyssey, and is a Sundance Collab selectee. Her work blends emotional precision with bold visual storytelling across genres. As an actor, she has performed for top directors including Steven Soderbergh (Command Z), with credits in Superbad, NCIS, and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. She is a member of the Alliance of Women Directors.
COPARENTING STOREY
Project type: Fiction Short
Project status: Development
Writer/Director: Brandyn Johnson
Producers: Tyrin Bell-Sinkfield, Khari Johnson, Masora Fukuda
About the Project: Simone is trying to co-parent with her ex. Art is trying to prove he’s not still in love with her. Their families are wild, their boundaries are unclear, and their newborn is already judging them.
Meet the Filmmaker: Brandyn Johnson — Writer/Director
Brandyn Johnson is a father, filmmaker, and educator from Brooklyn, NY. California is where he currently calls home. During his time at USC, he developed a proficiency in screenwriting, creative producing, directing and film sound through mentorship from award-winning professionals like Brenda Goodman, David Balkan, Barnet Kellman, and Midge Costin. In a nutshell, his narrative work largely focuses on the new vs the old—the things we learn and take from the past that inform the futures we build for ourselves. Continuing to strengthen his understanding of the film language, he’s committed to telling thoughtful and honest stories that reflect the people and diverse communities that have shaped him. Johnson is a 2025 Film Independent Project Involve Fellow and currently serves as the Program Manager for Ghetto Film School LA. The young people in his life, including his 8 year-old son Grey, are his harshest yet most loving critics.
Learn more about Fiscal Sponsorship, including its benefits and eligibility requirements by visiting our website. See which projects are currently being supported via our Sponsored Projects page.
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