Genre
Synopsis
TRUTH COSTS will explore the aftermath of truth on individual women from varying cultural and socio-economic groups. What did it take for them to come
forward to speak their #MeToo stories? And what has their experience
been in the aftermath? We will tie in a living art installation (The TRUTH
Key Project) where a mountain of keys will grow as women in cities across
the country come together to not only speak their individual truths into a
single camera in a private and safe space (stylistically set up like Andy
Warhol's screentest) within a supportive setting rooted in believing their
words and stories, but also stand together as a collective fabric in naming
what needs to come next. Seeing the mountain of keys representing
TRUTHs grow before them (like the unfurling of the AIDS quilt). There is
power, support, and strength in women and girls seeing and knowing that
the struggles of living in a society that largely wants us silent are not
insurmountable. I want more women and girls to choose to live in the
aftermath, and to see the bounty of our collective truths as stones along a
pathway towards a more supportive and loving collective
Bio
Charise M. Studesville is an award-winning writer and director who hustled her way into the entertainment business via an internship after a chance meeting with producer Debra Martin Chase, which resulted in a weekly commute between Chicago and LA, while also raising four children. She then landed in a Warner Brothers/USC directing and producing summer program, directed her first film which went on to 60+ festivals around the world, and collected several awards along the way. Since then, Charise founded Hollywood Chick Mafia, became a USA Today bestselling author, was chosen as a 2022 WIF Multi-Hyphenate Mentee, and in 2023 she was honored as a featured artist in Kente Royal Gallery’s Black History Month 2023 art show in Harlem. In all of her creative work, Charise uses truth to illuminate darkness within the human experience, and loves stories and characters that speak to the human capacity to rise above the murkiest of waters without losing sight of the beauty that can bloom—like the lotus flower logo of her production company, Lotus Girl Films. As a fierce advocate for women, Charise is a proud member of WIF, Film Fatales, Women In Media, and Alliance of Women Directors.
Credits
Director of Photography - Chloe Smolkin
Director of Photography - Valentina Caniglia
Producer - Jael Calloway
