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Logline

A wrong number call connects an ex-addict looking for his daughter with a young woman on house arrest grieving the loss of her own father.

Synopsis

After Toni aka Toni-Tornado gets a DUI, she is sentenced to house arrest in her childhood home. It’s a swift reality check as she moves back in with her mother for the first time since her father died years ago. Toni’s arrival quickly becomes a prison for everyone. It’s not a house that makes a home, it’s the house arrest!

When she receives a wrong number phone call from an older man, RAY, looking to make amends with his daughter, Toni does the unthinkable and pretends to be his daughter. Through moments of comedy and hope, Toni’s bleak house arrest suddenly becomes a second chance as she grows fond of Ray and the clean slate she embraces as his “daughter.” Ray is an addict himself, and speaks to Toni’s need for recovery, seeing her in a way no one else could.

We follow as their phone calls bring healing to them both, when we reveal: Ray is terminally ill. Toni’s guilt over her ruse grows, as does Ray’s desperate requests to see her in person before he dies. Is breaking her house arrest and revealing herself the freedom she needs…or just another link in the never-ending chain of self-sabotage?

Meet the Filmmakers

Michelle Askew — Writer/Director/”Toni”
Michelle Askewis a writer/director/actor born and bred in Staten Island, New York, where she grew up surrounded by a strong mother and a large family of firefighters. Sunday dinners felt like a firehouse and storytelling consisted of shouting at the dinner table. She is currently a writer (and Gen-Z consultant) on the upcoming seasons three and four of Netflix’s GINNY & GEORGIA. Her comedy feature, HOT GIRL SUMMER, was the Overall Winner of the 2020 LaunchPad Feature Competition, and subsequently a 2021 Blacklist selection. Michelle received her BFA from the University of Southern California’s screenwriting program where she learned to write stories that explore what it means to be a woman today through a comedic lens because if you don’t laugh at it, you’ll never get through it! Her short film GAY-ISH, which she wrote, directed, and starred in won 2023 BEST LGTBQ Film at the Burbank International Film Festival after a successful festival run. She hopes to continue writing, directing, and acting, because she’d have to move back to Staten Island and become a firefighter if it doesn’t work out. She is currently repped by Artists First and United Talent Agency.

Angela Gulner — Producer
Angela Gulner is an award-winner filmmaker and theater artist who splits time between Dallas, TX and Los Angeles. She has an MFA from the MXAT/ART Institute at Harvard University. She is the co-founder of Dallas-based production company Wicked Myth Films, and has produced two feature films in the TX/OK region over the past three years. Her feature film directorial debut, THE BELDHAM, stars Patricia Heaton, Katie Parker, and Corbin Bernsen, and premiered at Sitges Film Festival in late 2024. She is best known for co-creating the viral digital series BINGE based on her journey with bulimia. Gulner produced Askew’s first short film GAY-ISH and is so excited to be collaborating with Askew again on HOMESICK.

Delani Wolf — Producer
Delani Wolf is a screenwriter and producer who grew up in Southern California, so while she doesn’t know the feeling of being homesick, she knows what it’s like to be sick of home (just kidding mom and dad!). She graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts with a BFA in Screenwriting, and has worked for powerhouses such as NBCUniversal and Academy President Janet Yang. Currently a personal assistant, Delani knows how to put out multiple fires at the same time, and she can do it while driving – what else could you want from a producer?

Ksusha Genenfeld — Cinematographer
Ksusha Genenfeld is an award-nominated cinematographer whose work spans narrative films, documentaries, commercials, and music videos. She began her career by earning a BA in Film Production at Loyola Marymount University and has spent over a decade honing her craft behind the camera. In that time, she has lensed numerous feature films, including A Wounded Fawn, which premiered at Tribeca. Her cinematography on the film earned her a Fangoria Chainsaw Award nomination for Best Cinematography, where she was nominated alongside industry titan Hoyte van Hoytema, and recognition by The Playlist as one of the best cinematographers of 2022.

Annabelle Janssens — Producer
Annabelle Janssens is a New Yorker turned Angeleno who traded bagels for beaches but kept her East Coast hustle. A journalism grad from the University of Maryland and a local Emmy winner for her student production Desperate for Diapers, she began her professional career in the Media Rights department at UTA before moving into TV development at Fifth Season. She’s passionate about storytelling and bringing projects to life that blend heart, humor, and humanity.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.