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Logline

If she stays awake, she unravels; if she sleeps, the hag returns. Escape means facing the faceless demon that follows her — or becoming it.

Synopsis

Angels Pull Your Hair is a narrative short about Danielle, a young Black woman grappling with the lasting impact of being raised by a mother with untreated mental illness. As Danielle struggles to make sense of her past, she’s haunted by the fear that she’s inherited her mother’s condition — a fear that takes form in the figure of a faceless sleep paralysis demon.

Desperate to avoid sleep and the terrifying visions that come with it, Danielle numbs herself with reckless nights out. After a particularly unsettling experience, she turns to her best friend, Nolwenn, for support.

Together, during a weekend trip to upstate New York, Danielle confronts her fears — a turning point that allows her to reckon with her past and extend compassion toward both her mother and herself.

 

Meet the Filmmakers

Gabby Beans — Writer/Director/Executive Producer
Gabby Beans is an award-winning actor, writer, and filmmaker drawn to bold, genre-blurring narratives that explore the surreal beneath the mundane. Screen credits include Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent opposite Jake Gyllenhaal, and Ethan Coen’s Honey Don’t! opposite Margaret Qualley. She recently wrapped roles in Steven Spielberg upcoming untitled UFO film, and India Donaldson’s Chaperones. As a filmmaker, her award-winning shorts Nostos and Omakase have screened at domestic and international film festivals including Tacoma, Coney Island, Austin After Dark, Big Apple, and WorldFest-Houston. She earned a Tony Award nomination for her Broadway debut in The Skin of Our Teeth, starred in the Tony-nominated Romeo + Juliet opposite Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler, and recently garnered Obie and Lucile Lortel Awards for her leading role in the Off-Broaway Premier of Jonah (Roundabout). Gabby holds a BA in Neuroscience and Theatre from Columbia University and an MA from LAMDA.

Atticus Orsborn — Producer
Atticus Orsborn produced The Three Little Proletariat Pigs (Amazon Prime Video) which won the World London Film Festival and Creative Horizons in 2023. His second feature Soy Boy starring Taylor Gray (Saturday Night, Star Wars Rebels) and Marie Faustin (Comedy Central, Broad City) is in post production now. Short films have appeared at more festivals such as the Big Apple Film Festival and Athens Film

Kermide Luc — Cinematographer
Kermide Luc is a Haitian – American Photographer + Director. Known for her bold storytelling, rich colors, and soulful imagery. Rooted in identity and Blackness, her work blends raw authenticity with striking visuals, creating narratives that captivate and inspire. She directed and co-DP’d the short film Holy Sinner and was 1st AC on Febrero, winner of the 2023 Miami Film Festival and part of Reeling: Chicago LGBTQ+ Film Fest. As DP of The Untold Story of Heriberto Bahamonde Jr., she helped spotlight inner-city youth sports, contributing to the subject’s full-ride scholarship to FSU.

James Ortiz — Creature Design & Fabrication
James Ortiz is a New York City-based designer, performer, playwright, and director, known for his OBIE-winning puppet design in the Off-Broadway hit The Woodsman and his viral turn as Milky White in the 2022 Broadway revival of Into the Woods. He earned a 2022 Drama Desk Award for his massive dinosaur puppets in Lincoln Center’s Tony-nominated The Skin of Our Teeth. His work has appeared at venues including The Public Theater, Hartford Stage, Yale Rep, Paper Mill Playhouse, Dallas Theater Center, Shakespeare Theatre of DC, the Kennedy Center, and Soho Rep. A recipient of the Eugene O’Neill Residency and two Jim Henson Foundation grants, James is also the Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Strangemen & Co. The Woodsman was taped for PBS and is now streaming on Amazon Prime via BroadwayHD.

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Contact

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