Our mission is to spotlight the visionary womxn shaping the future of horror cinema. Through Fearless Frame, we celebrate the artistry, innovation, and diverse perspectives of womxn filmmakers who craft chilling tales, push boundaries, and redefine the genre. By amplifying their voices, we aim to inspire audiences and empower creators to continue forging their paths in the shadowy corners of storytelling. Through the month of December, we will be showcasing a womxn filmmaker in the horror genre each day!

AMANDA JANE STERN

WORK: Perfectly Good Moment – Thriller, Romance, Drama 2023 (73 Min.)

SYNOPSIS: This psychosexual thriller asks the question: what happens when the things that make your relationship passionate and exciting are the same things that make it toxic? Ruby and David have been together on-and-off for 8 years, since she was 19 and he 34. Six months after Ruby last ran out on him, she has returned. Once the initial bliss of the reunion wears off, old toxic patterns re-emerge. Is David too demanding and controlling or is Ruby just too sensitive? Is Ruby as delicate and demure as she appears to be…or is there something more sinister behind the surface? Why did Ruby really come back?

Themes: age-gap relationship, revenge, toxic relationship, domestic abuse

BIO: Lauren Greenhall is a director and producer whose work celebrates unconventional characters and women who are relearning how to reclaim the power over their lives. She has directed TV and video for CBS Interactive, Nat Geo, The New Yorker, The New York Post, the Huffington Post, Amazon Originals, and Inside Edition. Her work has been featured by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NY1, and Gothamist. She was a 2021 resident at the Jewish Film Institute for her feature length documentary ZELDA, a film proud to be sponsored by the New York Foundation of the Arts.

Amanda Jane Stern’s recent screen credits include supporting leads in the award-winning feature film 1 Angry Black Man and Lifetime’s Amish Witches: The True Story of Holmes County, and supporting roles in the upcoming A Brooklyn Love Story and the short film The Lost Weekend with Reed Birney and Stranger Things’ Catherine Curtin. As a writer, an excerpt of her play Coerced was featured and played on NPR. Her horror script Beast with Two Backs was a Second Rounder in the 2024 Austin Screenplay Competition. She has a BA in Film, Television and Interactive Media and Theater Arts from Brandeis University.

STORY STATEMENT: Perfectly Good Moment is only a two-character movie that focuses on a toxic age-gap relationship between David and Ruby. The film flips the script on male fantasies about younger woman by centering the film around Ruby’s revenge.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT: I hope that audiences come for the exciting revenge fantasy but leave with a new way to think about the under-discussed forms of manipulation in relationships. I spent my early 20s in a relationship with a 40-year-old man that I met at a holiday party. I didn’t feel meek or manipulated in the relationship. Nobody in the world was as in love as we were. I was watched and adored, I loved how he was hungry to have me and always wanted to be alone with me. The attention, possessiveness, and objectification were an aphrodisiac. It wasn’t until years later that I realized this dynamic had unforeseen consequences. As a first-time narrative feature director, I jumped at the opportunity to dissect this dynamic and explore a question that has plagued me for years: what happens when the things that make your relationship passionate and exciting are the same things that make it unbalanced and toxic? There is a common dynamic I’ve seen between straight couples, where a woman begins to modify her behavior to appease a sensitive man. Over time this need to keep the peace extends to changing her plans, friends, and effectively losing herself in the process. I wanted to tell this story with a May/December relationship that didn’t paint the older man as an everyman/hero and the younger woman as a cute prop/dumb little girl, the stereotype most films fall into when exploring this dynamic. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with an age-gap relationship, there is a huge difference between meeting a woman when she’s barely out of high school versus when she’s already established in her career and sense of identity. Perfectly Good Moment introduces an important shift in this conversation by beginning the story 8 years into this relationship. The eroticism of the older/younger dynamic is undercut by the overall asymmetry that Ruby has finally started to understand. I loved working with the writer and actors to push these questions to their limits and to tell this story from the perspective of a smart younger woman with agency.

~ Lauren Greenhall (Director and Producer)

WRITER’S STATEMENT: Writer’s Statement It is more than a joke that Hollywood consistently pairs up AARP-aged men with women young enough to be their daughters (and sometimes granddaughters). While there’s nothing inherently wrong with an age-gap relationship, there is a huge difference between meeting when a woman’s barely out of –or in– college, vs. when she’s already established in her career and sense of identity. We are in a moment of cultural reckoning about these stories. Time and time again, audiences have seen the age-gap relationship story told from the man’s perspective. I want to flip that script. What happens when we let a woman tell these stories? From classic films like Last Tango in Paris to Manhattan, we are experiencing a moment in cultural consciousness where we are reevaluating such stories. Not only grappling with their problematic subject matter, but also their problematic creators (and creative processes). Even in movies where the age-gap isn’t central to the conflict, these stories rarely discuss the inherent power imbalance. By framing Perfectly Good Moment through a woman’s perspective, we gain the analytical lens to adjudicate the relationship. When a young woman is the one telling the story, the eroticism is undercut by the danger and overall asymmetry. The script for Perfectly Good Moment came from my interrogation of these experiences and narratives. I built the story around grappling with these questions about relationships where black-and-white are not clear cut —especially to a young woman.

~ Amanda Jane Stern (Screenwriter, Lead Actress, and Producer)

PRODUCTION CONTENT:

• Directed by Lauren Greenhall (She/Her/Hers)
• Screenplay by Amanda Jane Stern (She/Her/Hers)
• Story by Amanda Jane Stern (She/Her/Hers) Julian Seltzer (He/Him/His)
• Produced by Julian Seltzer, Amanda Jane Stern, Lauren Greenhall, Stephen Carlile
• Cinematography by Matt Braunsdorf
• Original Score by Mikey Coltun
• Intimacy Coordinator Acacia DëQueer SAG ULB
• Shot entirely in NYC

EXPLORING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION: Behind the scenes, we had women in a large amount of key roles including writer, director, 1st AD, 2nd AD, HMU, Costume, our crew also contained a lot of POC and members of the LGBTQ community.

MARGINALIZED VOICES INVOLVED:

• Women and Non-Binary Creators: Amplifying voices historically underrepresented in filmmaking.
• BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color): Celebrating cultural diversity and stories rooted in unique lived experiences.
• LGBTQIA+ Creatives: Showcasing horror from queer perspectives and exploring themes of identity and acceptance.

AWARDS AND FILM FESTIVAL APPEARANCES:

• SAN FRANCISCO INDIE FILM FEST – Sneak Preview
• *SARASOTA FILM FESTIVAL – World Premiere, Independent Vision Competition
• *JULIEN DUBUQUE INT’L FILM FEST – Midwest Premiere, Winner Best Use of Music
• *UNRESTRICTED VIEW FILM FESTIVAL – UK Premiere – Special Mention Best Foreign Feature, Nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress
• PHILADELPHIA INDIE FILM FEST – Northeast Premiere – Official Selection
• FORT MYERS FILM FESTIVAL – Fort Myers Premiere – Official Selection
• NEVADA WOMEN’S FILM FESTIVAL – Western US Premiere – Official Selection
• DEAD NORTHERN FILM FESTIVAL – York Premiere – Official Selection
• CHELSEA FILM FESTIVAL – New York Premiere – Official Selection
• CALELLA FILM FESTIVAL – Continental Europe Premiere – Official Selection
• BOWERY FILM FESTIVAL – Official Selection
• *WEST SOUND FILM FESTIVAL – Pacific Northwest Premiere – Winner Best Drama Actor: Amanda Jane Stern, Winner Best Cinematography: Matt Braunsdorf
• LOUISVILLE INT’L FESTIVAL OF FILM – Kentucky Premiere – Official Selection
• HOBNOBBEN FILM FESTIVAL – Indiana Premiere – Official Selection
• CENTRE FILM FESTIVAL – Official Selection
• SHEFFIELD GLOBAL CINEMA FESTIVAL – Official Selection

*Perfectly Good Moment is a gripping psychosexual thriller that dissects the complexities of an age-gap relationship through the lens of power, manipulation, and agency. Centered on Ruby and David’s tumultuous eight-year relationship, the film explores the blurred lines between passion and toxicity, challenging traditional narratives that glamorize such dynamics. By telling the story from Ruby’s perspective, it confronts the inherent power imbalances often overlooked in these relationships and delves into the under-discussed forms of control and self-erasure. As Ruby begins to question the motives behind her return and the dynamic she’s entangled in, the film transforms into a chilling exploration of revenge, identity, and the cost of reclaiming autonomy.

Learn more about the team behind Perfectly Good Moment here!