Punch Drunk
A bartender navigates the dirtier aspects of her job while suffering uterine bleeding and an inescapable, dark past - all in a single, pivotal night.
Interview with Writer/Director Emily Lerer
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I've always been drawn to dark comedies dealing with female-centric, gritty, and real themes.
We are living in a world where women are just starting to creatively explore what it means to walk in a female body in a real and brash way-passing the Bechdel Test. Phoebe Waller Bridge explores this in Fleabag, and Emily Halpern in Booksmart, to name a few.
Punch Drunk is an exploration of the darkest corners of what it means to be female: casually bleeding out vaginally while pretending everything is okay, because that's what women are supposed to do...right?
Dark Comedies intend to make light of events that would otherwise be too painful to discuss. The hope is that the viewers are taken on a journey of cathartic experience, laughing at the absurdity. Nora's experience is that of my own, but reimagined in a bar, in a single evening with a lotta absurd humor thrown in.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
It's honest, funny, and entertaining. Punch Drunk will take you on an emotional rollercoaster of our heroin Nora, bringing cathartic release.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Nora's story is my story of a driven woman fighting against her world to survive, through an absurd and funny lens. The personal themes align with Nora's medical condition, which is very female, unique and personal to me. But we are also dealing with a very universal experience: what it is to be human in our modern world, suffering from something internal while trying to navigate the external.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Our script started out taking place in a newsroom during an overnight evening news segment and evolved to taking place in a bar. It was at one point written to be a miniseries or a pilot. It's now evolved quite a bit as a short proof of concept taking place in a gritty dive bar bathroom.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We've received very positive feedback on the script from "Nora is relatable" to "her experience was so similar to mine, it's the sh*t women don't talk about or aren't allowed to talk about" People have been very excited to see this on its feet.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Our feedback on the process has been really reassuring. Everyone is passionately getting behind Punch Drunk in a way that really warms my heart.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Breathing life into one woman's experience with trauma, haunting past experiences, and day-to-day relationship dynamics takes courage, capital, and a whole lot of support.
It would be lovely to gain some exposure about this project to those interested in contributing and those interested in seeing the final piece once we finish it!
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Investors, journalists, film festival directors.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Punch Drunk should be an enjoyable ride with a roller coaster of emotional twists and turns landing in absurd catharsis. Leaving the viewer feeling less alone, and revealing behind the curtain experience of a less talked about woman's experience.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
What does it mean to be female today?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We're touring with our short film A Moment. Cason is working construction on American Horror Story and I'm working in post-production on the upcoming and final season of Shameless.
Interview: February 2020
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Punch Drunk
A bartender navigates the dirtier aspects of her job while suffering uterine bleeding and an inescapable, dark past - all in a single, pivotal night.
Length: 10:00
Director: Emily Lerer
Producer: Joanna Fang & Ian Cooley
Writer: Emily Lerer & Cason Weiss
About the writer, director and producer:
EMILY LERER is a director, writer and post-production manager with a background in theater telling stories from Shakespeare to new works. Her passion is storytelling that explores heavy subject matter with a comedic approach. Her post-production experience spans Docuseries Wolves and Warriors (Animal Planet), and Scripted tv: Woke (Hulu/Sony), Twenties (BET), and Shameless (Warner Brothers/Showtime). Emily recently made her film directorial debut in A Moment currently making the film festival circuit. She is a proud member of the Alliance of Women Directors, SMPTE, and HPA. www.emilyjlerer.com
CASON WEISS is a writer, comic and frequent flier of UCB who most recently co-starred as President Donald Trump in Les Deux You Remember This: The Musical for the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Having moved to LA in pursuit of stage performance and storytelling, Cason began his stand-up career in the underbelly of Silicon Valley, where still occasionally visits to see his favorite barber. Featured on such shows as FCCFREE Radio Ha Ha, Mutiny Radio's Alta-Cast with Latoya Shariff Wynn, and Personally Speaking show, he has also performed with the Playwright's Center Theater Festival, penned stories for The Moth, and provided voiceovers for radio (NPR, What A Tomato Produce Co., Asiento Tapas). www.casonweiss.com
Currently an integral part of Briarcliff Entertainment’s distribution of films such as Don’t Let Go, JOANNA FANG is a seasoned producer navigating the film circuit and industry with incredible drive and vision. Her passion for films with powerful, visceral messages has brought numerous films from conception to reality. Now bringing that energy to the Punch Drunk film, she looks to encourage awareness and dialogue regarding women’s issues via the silver screen.
IAN COOLEY began his career as an editor/producer for television, short docs and film promos, providing services for clientele such as Disney, Fox Sports One, and Mattel. Seven years later, he consults for screening operations at Lionsgate as an engineer while maintaining creative outlets beyond the studio via collaborative projects. In pursuit of content that can make the world a more connected and understanding place, he has teamed up with his longtime friend Emily to raise awareness for women in film/television and around the world dealing with everyday struggles, like Nora.
Key cast: Danielle Argyros (Nora)
Looking for: producers, buyers, journalists, film festival directors
Facebook: Punch Drunk
Instagram: @punchdrunkfilm
Hashtags used: #punchdrunk #punchdrunkshort #punchdrunkfilm
Funders: Indiegogo