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Logline

Set against the backdrop of an LA house party, little white lies follows a young dreamer who was recently manipulated into an unwanted sexual encounter with her crush. To cope with the abuse, she seeks to define and solidify their relationship.

Synopsis

little white lies takes you into the world of young 20-somethings of varying levels of workplace woes, many of them working in the entertainment industry. The movie focuses on a musician named SOPHIA. And though she’s moved to the city with creative aspirations, at this particular party what she is really intent on is asking her crush Jacob to be her plus one at her sister’s wedding. Jacob seems to like her, but he’s a little hot and cold. And over the course of the party, Sophia processes this with anyone who will listen. Of course, they’re all caught up in their own dilemmas which only makes Sophia seem more desperate. Eventually, after some flashy dialogue and a literal flash mob, there’s a flashback and the big twist is revealed. A month ago, Jacob took advantage of Sophia. This revelation paints all their interaction in a brand new light and reveals the lie Sophia’s been telling herself: “If I can just make him my boyfriend, then it wasn’t really rape. And I won’t be a victim.”

By positioning Sophia’s sexual assault against the backdrop of a party full of exploited dreamers, little white lies offers this commentary: Just because we get the job, the exposure, or the promotion — it doesn’t undo the abuse. The title little white lies refers to the question that every character answers: “What is the lie that you believe that allows you to continue being exploited?”
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Erin Brown Thomas – Co-Writer/Director
Erin Brown Thomas makes dramas that masquerade as comedies until the final emotional gut punch.

A UCB-trained improviser, Erin has an aesthetic genre-blending sensibility with a gut for the rhythms of bold comedy and psychological suspense. Her characters are often outsiders who subvert gender stereotypes, grapple with their mental health, and navigate complex relationships.

Erin’s films have taken home trophies from Academy Award-Qualifying events such as
Hollyshorts and Cinequest. Other notable selections include AMPAV’s Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at Cannes Film Festival, Palm Springs ShortFest, Austin Film Festival, and SCAD. Recent projects include [subtext], A Question of Service, and Rekindled.

Erin was a finalist for Shondaland’s directing mentorship. She is an Academy Nichol Semifinalist for her ensemble traumady The Body of Chris.

Erin’s YouTube channel “Versatile Assassins,” tells stories through dance and aerial circus arts, has 100K subscribers, and is growing daily.

Erin is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Salute Your Shorts Film Festival in Hollywood. Curation has deeply impacted her curiosity and voice as an artist.

Ciarra Krohne – Co-Writer/Lead Actress
Ciarra Krohne has been acting in film and theatre for over 10 years. In film she can be seen in the Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem promotional show for Nickelodeon, A24’s Waves, Netflix’s Labyu with an Accent. She has also worked on a national Anti-Bulling Series with Debra Hall-Greene, a pilot with Diane Namm, and was a producer of an award winning mini-series, #MarriedLife. Ciarra also does Voiceover work in dubbing and animation.

She got her start in theatre and has a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts. This has allowed her to carry several professional productions such as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker at Indiana Reparatory, Scout in To Kill a Mocking Bird, and Juliet at California Shakespeare.

Olivia Haller – Producer
Olivia Haller is a DC-raised nationally-produced playwright and award-winning filmmaker. Most recently, her short film [subtext] which she wrote, produced, and starred in has been accepted to 20 festivals and counting, including the Austin Film Festival, SCAD, Indy Shorts, Evolution Mallorca, and FilmQuest. Her half-hour pilot Friendmance was a Finalist in the Catalyst Story Institute festival in 2022. Olivia’s stage plays have been presented at or developed with Relative Theatrics, Convergence Theatre (2018 Women’s Voices Theater Festival), Interlochen Center for the Arts, NextStop Theatre Company, Theater Alliance, Keegan Theatre, and Rorschach Theatre. Olivia holds a BFA in Theatre Arts from Boston University and two certificates from UCLA’s Professional Program in Writing for Television (drama and comedy). She currently lives in Los Angeles where she works as an assistant to two literary managers at Industry Entertainment.

Elle Shaw – Producer
Elle Shaw is a proud SAG/AFTRA actor & producer who hails from the Midwest. Her credits include the CBS pilot, The Odds, as well as AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire series and many independent films. She later started producing in theater and has traveled the US, UK and Europe with shows. Elle is the award-winning producer of, A Question of Service. AQOS has been a resounding success on the festival circuit recently, including, Austin Film Festival, Catalyst Festival in Duluth and The Emerging Filmmakers Showcase at Cannes Film Festival. In her “spare time” Elle co-runs Salute Your Shorts Film Festival in Los Angeles with Erin Brown Thomas and the amazing SYSFF team.

Beth Napoli – Producer/Cinematographer
Coming from a family of artists, Beth’s passion for creating moving imagery stemmed from an early age. A love of photography and cinema coalesced into a career in filmmaking. She studied studio art with a concentration in photography at Saint Mary’s College in Indiana. Shortly after she earned her MFA with a concentration in cinematography from Florida State University.

Since starting her career, her work has screened at festivals domestically and internationally, including Poland’s Camerimage and the American Pavilion’s Emerging Filmmakers Showcase at Cannes. Some of her commercial clients include Vizio, Sharp, Nestle, Zeiss and RED Digital Cinema. She lensed the commercial short film, Carrion, which unveiled the first footage from RED’s 4.5K Raven camera. She recently lensed the upcoming feature, Rally Caps, starring the Academy Award Nominated Judd Hirsch and Amy Smart. See her work at bethnapoli.com.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.