FiSpo Spotlight: Women On The Edge
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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When you’re a woman in a patriarchal world, just existing means you’re outside the norm. It’s easy to turn to the supernatural when the world outside seems so… unnatural. A break with reality can sometimes be the only way to face it, but sometimes it can lead to ruin.
The women in the three films in this month’s Fiscal Spotlight are at their breaking points– and desperate times call for unique solutions. In The Scream of the Butterfly, a woman is taken to a prison and finds that her only way to see a way out is the eye that was gouged out while she was taken captive. In Peach Fuzz, our hero manifests a sinister caterpillar who threatens to sabotage her final exam at culinary school. Finally in No One Likes A Mad Woman, memories of a dead ‘witch’ haunt two women in a puritanical colony.
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.
THE SCREAM OF THE BUTTERFLY
Project type: Fiction Short
Project status: Development
Co-Writer/Director: Ariya Akhavan
Co-Writer/Producer: Anjini Taneja Azhar
About the Project: In the midst of a brutal revolution, an Iranian woman taken to an otherworldly prison with only her dismembered eye as a method of sight transforms into a symbol of hope and resistance against a totalitarian regime in a harrowing journey of defiance.
Meet the Filmmaker: Ariya Akhavan received an MA in Dramatic Arts from the world-renowned Central Saint Martins in London, England. Upon graduating, he was pulled into photography where he perfected art direction, storytelling within a frame, and painting with light.
Anjini Taneja Azhar is a producer, screenwriter, and director based in Los Angeles. She began as an actor in 2011, with roles in films such as JJ Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness and TV such as HBO’s The Brink. At her time on Star Trek, she was allowed to observe Mr. Abrams’ directing when she discovered her passion for filmmaking. Since then, she has written and directed multiple award-winning shorts and produced for Fortune 500 companies. Anjini has been featured for her work in Forbes, Women Cinemakers, and Ladygunn Magazine.
PEACH FUZZ
Project type: Fiction Short
Project status: Development
Writer/Director: Hannah Sperling
Producer: Fiona Hardingham
About the Project: 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.
Meet the Filmmaker: Hannah Sperling is a senior at NYU, studying Film and TV. 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.
NO ONE LIKES A MAD WOMAN
Project type: Fiction Feature
Project status: Development
Director: Kim Caicedo
Writer/Producer: Teresa Catherine
About the Project: In a Puritan town consumed by paranoia, a young mother, haunted by her friend’s execution, must navigate growing suspicion to protect her daughter from a similar fate.
Meet the Filmmaker: Colombian-American director Kim Caicedo brings over a decade of experience in New York advertising and production to her films. She holds a master’s degree in film directing from the American Film Institute, where her thesis film Francis won the DGA Student Jury Prize in the Latino category.
Teresa Catherine is the executive producer and screenwriter of No One Likes a Mad Woman, and the founder of Maid & Prince Productions. Teresa is an award-winning filmmaker – her short film Only the Dead won Best Horror at Raindance NYC, her short film interiorem pueri made the Hot List at Cleveland International Film Festival, and her feature length scripts Dissent and No One Likes a Mad Woman were Semifinalists in Screenwriting at the Oscar qualifying Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival.
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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