THE BRUTAL LANGUAGE OF LOVE
W: Alicia Erian D: TBD
Based on the short story of the same title from Alicia Erian’s acclaimed collection published in 2001, THE BRUTAL LANGUAGE OF LOVE is the story of Penny, a young projectionist at an art house cinema, who must contend with a potential medical problem, her father’s obstinacy and the emotional complications of her adventurous sexual relationship with her co-worker Fritz. Casting aside traditional notions of right and wrong and conjuring situations that are at once familiar and unsettling, THE BRUTAL LANGUAGE OF LOVE is a minimalist, elegant meditation on love, lust and the movies.

Alicia Erian's first novel, Towelhead, published by Simon and Schuster in 2005, was turned into a feature film in 2008, written and directed by Alan Ball.

New York Times

FINN AT THE BLUE LINE
W: Anya Epstein and Dan Futterman D: TBD
Set in contemporary New York City, FINN AT THE BLUE LINE tells the story of Carolyn Finn, the terrifically successful broadcast personality of the NY Islanders. Having grown up in an ice-hockey obsessed Boston family, she can call shots with the best of them, and her great looks and sharp, sometimes caustic wit have made her stand out among her peers in televised sports. Now 38, she decides that the time has come to stop waiting for Mr. Right, and to strike out and have a baby on her own. At the same time, ex-star player and infamous ladies man Vincent Bodine has come out of retirement to rejoin the team, despite public opinion that he's washed up.  With an up-to-the-minute take on love, sex and fertility, FINN AT THE BLUE LINE portrays with humor and intelligence a woman’s quest for love and family, despite the odds.

Read a review of CAPOTE, written by Dan Futterman (nominated for an Oscar)

Rolling Stone

Read the relevant March 19, 2006 NYT Magazine cover article

'Looking for Mr. Good Sperm'

GIVE ME BACK MY DREAMS
W: Daniel Handler D: TBD
Sunny high school student Nancy Canada enjoys her simple life in the small town of Ravioli, surrounded by good friends and a bright future.  When two mysterious talent agents, Miss Bumpercars and Mr. Ferris Wheel, come to town looking for the "next big thing", they set their sights on Nancy, rigging a local talent competition so the young singer wins.  She is then whisked away and thrown into the crazy world of The Big City.  Literally trapped in her own stardom and unable to pursue her potential true love, Johnny Switzerland, or see her old friends, Nancy tries to tell the world the truth about the celebrity machine - but is it too late?  This madcap comedy is written by Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket).

MARTYRS' CROSSING
W: Naomi Wallace and Bruce McLeod (screenplay), Amy Wilentz (novel) D: Paulo Morelli
One fatal night, Israeli Lieutenant Ari Doron follows army orders and denies Marina Raad, an American-born Palestinian, and her sick child passage across a West Bank checkpoint.  The young boy dies, leaving questions of blame and botched protocol unsettled.  The child’s death ignites a blaze of anti-Israel propaganda and Palestinian wishes for revenge. Facing threats, Doron must grapple with his guilt and conflicting moral obligations while a devastated Marina finds little solace through her husband or acclaimed intellectual father. The campaign to destroy Doron mounts.  Marina experiences surprising sympathy for the solider who tried to follow military procedure and Doron too feels drawn to Marina; his quest to make amends to her leads him to a crisis of national and personal ideals.  As tragedy unfolds for both Doron and Marina, MARTRYS’ CROSSING examines the individual stories that exist beneath the surface of political propaganda and the human struggle for redemption and peace.

RESILIENT (In Production)
W: N/A D: Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine

RESILIENT, a documentary feature film, is a profoundly personal and global journey where the audience will walk the path of resilience with Mariane Pearl as she guides us on a progressive voyage through four courageous women's lives. It is a celebration of the abilities of singular people to make a difference, despite seemingly insurmountable odds.

The film is executive produced by journalist Mariane Pearl and Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie.  Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine (2008's Academy Award nominated WAR DANCE) direct.

SYNAPSE
W: Lisa Robinson and Alex MacInnis D: Lisa Robinson

SYNAPSE  is the story of a young video game animator, Sacha, who inadvertently falls in love with a rakish neuroscientist, Daniel, on the eve of his move to Japan. Through a combination of their creative and technical abilities, Sacha and Daniel design ways to keep up a virtual long distance relationship, but discover that "virtual contact" is no substitute for the real thing.  

SYNAPSE is a story about how our brains get in the way of our emotional needs and our best intentions.

At the end of 2002, Lisa received the first Sloan Foundation Feature Film Production Fund award of $100,000 for SYNAPSE.

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