Logline: When Miranda makes bad decisions about her love life, a possessed TAMPON slips in to take care of business.

Length: 6 min 45 seconds

Director: Jeanne Jo

Producer: Jeanne Jo

About the director and producer: Jeannie Jo is visual artist turned filmmaker living in Los Angeles where she writes, directs, and sometimes performs in narrative films, art installations, and music videos. Her award-winning work has been shown in galleries and festivals globally. She was educated at the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Southern California. www.jeannejo.com

Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): film festival directors, journalists

Funders: self-funded

Made in association with: University of Southern California

Release date: TBD

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

Tampoon is the next step in an ongoing collaboration between Jeanne Jo (director, co-writer) and Nicholas Musurca (co-writer). Jeanne is a comedy writer/director with a background in visual art and performance, and Nicholas is a writer who was recently called one of “the horror genre’s freshest voices”. (A.V. Club).

Their work together so far has yielded strange, genre-busting cinema—including M.A.R.R.A, an experimental 64-minute action comedy told in 26 parts and screened as a media installation. With Tampoon, they riff on 80s horror movies to make a monster out of the most infamous object in a woman’s purse: the tampon.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

If you like comedy or if you are into horror or if you like female-driven narratives, you will love Tampoon. Or you will hate Tampoon.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

Can’t get much more personal than a story about a tampon! But at its heart, Tampoon is about relationships. The ones we are in and the ones we think we are in.

How has the script and film evolved over the course of its development and production?

In writing the script, we quickly found a female lead character that we loved. But the character of Sean took more time to develop. We wanted him to really earn his demise but at the same time, he couldn’t just be a stereotype. It was fun to play with their chemistry and backstory.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

We’ve screened in quite a few places and gotten a lot of laughs, which is always incredible and also a huge relief. We’ve won two awards: “Best US Short” at SF Indie Fest’s Another Hole in the Head and “Best Cringe Comedy” at the Hollywood Comedy Short Film Festival. Our feelings about this can best be described through the Person Bowing Deeply emoji.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

Not to spoil the ending, but after one screening we had a horrified man say to us, “But…he’s alive in there!”

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

We’re thrilled to be on www.wearemovingstories.com and to join other shorts from Short Film Corner! It’s great to be able to spread the message of killer tampons with the world.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

We <3 journalists and film festival directors.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

We’re showcasing a story with a female perspective, a female lead, and a largely female crew and we hope for a warm reception from men and women alike.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

It’s not in the form of a question but we think it’s important to note that the evil entity in this film is the tampon, not the lady bits.

What are the key creatives developing or working on now?

Jeanne and Nick are each doing a lot of writing. Watch out for a few new projects coming in 2017.