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Logline

When a feral boy is found after years of captivity, a forensic artist is sent to sketch a composite of his captor but she finds the only face worth drawing is his.

Synopsis

A nonverbal boy, John Doe, is discovered wandering a roadside with rope burns and a shaved head. A sheriff brings him to the local police station, where Doe is overwhelmed by abrasive sounds and harsh lights.

Victoria, a forensic artist, is sent in to construct a composite sketch of Doe’s captor using a facial identification catalog. However, the process stalls because Doe selects features that don’t form a coherent face. It seems Doe does not understand any language and perhaps has never encountered another person before.

Tension mounts outside as a grieving mother who believes Doe might be her missing son demands to confirm a specific birthmark. When she forces her way in and sees that Doe is not her son, she collapses and the sheriff escorts her out. Doe, terrified at the intrusion, urinates himself.

Victoria takes him to the bathroom to clean him up. Doe sees himself in the mirror for the first time. He reaches for Victoria’s hair and pulls it over his bare scalp. He is transfixed by his own reflection.

Back in the interrogation room, Doe searches the facial catalog for the hair pages. As he runs his hands over his shaved scalp and back over the pictures, he begins to understand what has been taken from him. He tears the catalog apart in rage.

Victoria watches as an idea sparks. She turns to a new page and draws Doe himself. Her portrait omits his injuries and imagines him with long hair. When she presents it to him, Doe finally sees a version of himself he can recognize: not who he is or should be, but who he could be.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Ethan Soo — Writer/Director
Ethan is a writer & director from Chicago with a strong devotion to telling disruptive genre stories. His most recent film SWEPT UNDER played in competition at Fantastic, Fantasia, and Beyond Fest. He graduated from University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts where he was a two-time recipient of the Jon M. Chu Scholar and Jack Oakie & Victoria Horne Award recipient. He has worked for producer Janet Yang and is the assistant to Jordan Peele.

Sofia Ribeiro — Producer
Sofia Ribeiro is a Los Angeles-based producer, originally from São Paulo, Brazil. She is a film production graduate of California State University, Northridge and is currently a producing fellow in Issa Rae’s ColorCreative Find Your People Program. Sofia has experience in feature films, short films, and music videos. Additionally, she has worked at Sony Pictures Entertainment in both the Features Physical Production and Television Post Production departments. Her projects have been featured and nominated at various festivals, including the LA Shorts International Film Festival, the HollyShorts Film Festival, the PBS Fine Cut Film Festival, among others. Sofia is passionate about sharing impactful stories that can change someone’s day and even their perspective on life.

Po Wei Su — Producer
Po Wei Su is a Taiwanese filmmaker and producer based in Los Angeles with 45 producing credits. His work has screened at Tribeca, SXSW, Berlinale, Palm Springs, and Chicago, with ENDLING (2024) longlisted for the 97th Academy Awards and now streaming on Hulu and Kanopy. An advocate for underrepresented voices, he has produced for Tribeca Rising Voices Seasons 2, 3, and 4, and the CAPE Julia Gouw Program. His 2025 features include BAND AIDS produced by Adam Wyatt Tate and Lauren Pratt, and THE VIDEOGRAPHERS. He is currently in pre-production on LOVE AND OTHER FELONIES, produced by Tze Chun.

Ava Benjamin Shorr — Director of Photography
Ava Benjamin Shorr is a Director of Photography whose work is influenced by fine art, skate videos, Magic: the Gathering cards, and art-house film. Her most recent credit is Killer Films’ OMNI LOOP (SXSW 2024, Magnolia Pictures), starring Ayo Edebiri and Mary-Louise Parker. Other credits include: Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara (TIFF 2024, Hulu), DISCLOSURE (Sundance 2020, Netflix), and EQUAL for HBO/Max. Ava was named a 2024 Rising Star of Cinematography by the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) and was included on Variety’s 10 Cinematographers to Watch list. She also co-hosts the popular Cinematography Salon podcast, which has 50k followers on Instagram.

Vivian Gray — Production Designer
Vivian Gray is a production designer and director of film and narrative media. She received her BFA in Film and Television Production from the USC School of Cinematic Arts and was a recipient of the John Huston Scholarship for Directing. She directed the pilot episode of PROVENANCE, which went on to win “Best Drama” at the 2023 Television Academy College Awards. She most enjoys genre films and served as production designer for the film OBSESSION (2026), directed by Curry Barker.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact [email protected].