ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOGLINE
On her way out of town forever, Dina—fast-talkin’ queer rebel cowgirl—makes a surprise stop so she and her beloved Bev can escape the pious throttle of their small town church.

SYNOPSIS
SPIT ME OUT is a genre-blending contemporary western—a Fellini-inspired musical about a queer woman comin’ back at high-noon after her mysterious disappearance, hell-bent on reuniting with her love, so together they can escape the suffocating small-mindedness of their home town. Dina’s whirlwind nature unleashes the congregation into an electrifying spiritual renewal. But when the emergence of torrid secrets of sexual violence and pregnancy without options threatens their getaway, Dina and Bev’s relationship is tested as they discover that even as we brokenly rip one another to shreds, each of us is aching to know love, forgiveness…and goddammit, a little bit of grace.

This film explores the devastating reverberative impact that restricting abortion rights can have—both on the the individual unable to access abortion, and on their relationships. It explores how oppressive religious and political institutional forces operate inside individuals and play out in our most personal inner lives and relational realities. It also explores intersections between religious institutions, reproductive rights, the identities and bodies allowed or not allowed to be expressed, which is painfully salient right now, throughout our country and especially in the Southern US, where our story takes place.

SPIT ME OUT rejects the ‘good vs. bad’ binary of the cowboy film, instead evolving into a complex and fully human story of pain and deliverance—where the ‘show-down’ is with the secret selves we’re all desperate to hide.

PROJECT TYPE Narrative Short

DIRECTOR Lauren Ludwig
SCREENWRITER Tova Katz
PRODUCER Matthew Andrews, Jeffrey Simon, Jer Adrianne Lelliott, Kaia Ferari

WEBSITE

The Film Collaborative (TFC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing programs and services for independent filmmakers. TFC’s federal tax ID number is 32-0295081. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

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