Nothing About Filmmaking is Independent
Family, Art, and Interdependence
After 21 years of dreaming, writing, studying, sharing, risking, trying, failing, asking for money, working jobs we don’t always love, pushing through, parting ways, finding ways, creating community, growing our family, embracing family, and reimagining our future, we have ultimately made FAMILY FOR ART our mission.
The past five years at Cheshire Moon Productions has been devoted to holding hands and jumping into the deep end of the unknown over and over again. We have been calling action on instinct, trusting in each other, and practicing radical faith in our vision as we set out to create worlds where we, as artists, can thrive.
For us that means trusting we can be free while also leaning into family. Community values historically clash with the nature of art. Not only do support systems rarely work for artists, but they often seek to tame the life force aimed at challenging convention intrinsic to creative genius and threatening to organizations. CMP, alternatively, is committed to protecting and nurturing the artistic spirit.
So many artists suffer from a constant sense of not belonging. That pain forces separation, but the fact is that, as essential as the inward journey and path toward individual freedom may be for artists, we are not meant to create alone and frankly, we can’t.
More than the accolades we’ve acquired this year, we are proud that our productions reflect our mission to create and rely on family structures while the stories we took risks to tell reveal the dysfunction in the very systems on which we depend.
Art reflects and destroys survival structures in the way of freedom. This makes becoming an artist and finding support for art and artists a double edged sword for family, business partners, and investors who’s very function is to offer stability.
For us, however, family is necessary and adversity is an expected and inevitable part of the process. Like raising a child, we anticipate that from the moment of conception a work of art will begin to change life as we know it and create a place for itself which is unfathomably sacred.
We faced waves and waves of challenges while shooting both of our films. We got through by having faith each obstacle was somehow necessary. Miracles happened a hundred times over surrendering to that practice, as well as recognizing the reality of interdependence verses independence.
This revelation in outlook is what changed the game for us and why, after five years, both of our films were brought to completion and award-winning success this year on the festival circuit.
However confronting the subject matter, our films were made possible almost entirely thanks to friends and family support.
In Her Name is about estranged sisters, each living in denial of reality in their respective ways in order to survive the pain of their parents narcissism and depression. The sisters reunite to claim what is theirs - their inheritance, which is not only a beautiful home in Los Angeles but also family wounds to acknowledge and heal within themselves so they can freely love each other again and move on. Ultimately, it is a film about forgiveness, and believe it or not, it’s as beautiful and funny as it is tragic. Congratulations to everyone involved in In Her Name, and thank you for trusting us and yourselves through the uncertainly of the pandemic in order to bring this film to the world. You are the family we will forever honor.
A Pity is about a disgraced politician who takes refuge in an empty monastery and drinks himself to oblivion in order to face the shadow within him that lead him to darkness. He has betrayed and disappointed all of the women in his life, and murders the hero archetype within himself in an attempt to reconnect with his own abandoned masculinity. This film was entirely a product of family support and the themes, however relevant, are extremely triggering to empathize with — the pain of the fallen white man. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to bring this gorgeous film to the world and to the festivals who have featured it in their lineups so far.
With an intention to produce stories that may otherwise be cast aside as impossible or unimportant, the unique explorations and expressions of love that come to us and through us at CMP have a fighting chance to be felt on a grand scale and legitimized.
A story shared can change someone’s life forever and quite possibly the world at large.
Thank you for believing in our work and being a part of this community. Thank you especially to our immediate family, our parents, brothers, and sisters who inspired us and contributed both creatively and financially, to our friends who jumped in as producers, and our children who kept our priorities in check.
We set out to be an example of what’s possible by living in alignment with our calling. This year, for the first time, we have been able to offer real platform and real income for deserving artists to experience their worth, share their gifts, and be celebrated for their courage to stand in the unique beauty of who they are, especially by those who would rather their stories be left in the dark.
To everyone who made our year so special, from the cast, fellow producers, and crews of In Her Name and A Pity, to the juries, audiences, friends, family, and supporters at every festival in which we were featured, to all of you for your continued presence as we move into the uncharted territory of sales and distribution, finding new investors for our next projects, and opening our hearts to the next artists to invest in and collaborate with — thank you. The future ahead is bright.
Miracles On the Festival Circuit
We would like to thank all of those that presented us with awards along the festival circuit. Awards aren’t everything, but they have certainly helped and are largely thanks to those of you who attended the festivals either virtually or in person, the critics and journalists who took the time to watch our films and write some wonderfully generous and poignant articles, and our team at Jessie Cohen PR who take pride in their discretion in working with artists and filmmakers who they believe in. It’s been an incredible honor to have been on their roster this year. Read on to learn about some of our biggest wins and largest honors on the festival circuit.
Tribeca: Audience Award
The first and perhaps most impactful miracle to occur was not only having Tribeca Film Festival host In Her Name’s World Premiere along with 120 of the year’s top independent features, but to also win The Audience Award and so the attention of top distributors like Samuel Goldwyn, IFC, and Lionsgate. Attracting top-level success right out of the gates enticed further festival attention and curiosity from international film sales markets.
New York City has been the home of our dreams and our dreams coming true for as long as we can remember, and to not only be invited to screen at Tribeca but to win an award was just incredible and so humbling. What matters most about this award is that it told us our film had been seen, felt, and loved.
Flaunt and Cultured Mag were among the publications who wrote press on our premiere. You can read more press coverage on Cheshire Moon Productions here.
What the critics are saying about In Her Name
“These difficult, love/hate universal feelings are at the root of Sarah Carter’s feature film directorial debut, In Her Name, (which made) its directorial debut at Tribeca Film Festival.” —Jamie Rogers, Playlist [Exclusive Trailer Available]
“With this directorial debut, Carter shys away from nothing, rather taking on life’s biggest subjects: family ties, martial strains, motherhood, purpose and death.” —Staff, Cultured Mag
“Making her way behind the camera, Sarah Carter did not hold back from telling a raw and complex story that is painfully relatable to many… Told through the female gaze, In Her Name deeply engages with mortality, offering an emotional, existential tableau.” —Nate Rynaski, Flaunt
“Filmmaker Sarah Carter uses glorious black and white to her full advantage in the emotional and captivating new dramatic picture, In Her Name… It’s great to see such freedom of artistic expression in a film and it’s even better to see a performance like Ciera Danielle’s in this splendidly photographed picture.” —Thomas Duffy, Film Book
“The film is about people’s true identity, the desire for freedom, and how to deal with a conservative family environment…” —Montse Terrasa, Diario de Mallorca
“In Her Name is darkly funny at times—especially if you’ve spent any time in the art world—and it’s family dynamic hit so close to home it’s laughable in that verging-on-tears way.” —Alex De Vore, The Santa Fe Reporter
“Through her sense of humor in her writing and the way she uses music and visuals around her characters’ surroundings, you can tell Carter poured her heart into this story, and she has even more to offer to the industry with her creativity.” —Edgar Ortega, Loud and Clear
Not Film Festival: Best Director
In Her Name’s next honor came in Italy, where Sarah was presented with the Best Director award at Not Film Festival. It was at Not where we expanded our family and met some of the most inspiring filmmakers and artists internationally. Actor and producer James Aaron Oliver joined with one of our closest and most supportive friends, Alexandra Fulton, who is also an actress in the film, as well as our biggest investors, Sarah’s parents, who got to watch the film for the first time outdoors alongside a castle wall where Federico Fellini grew up. It couldn’t have been a more appropriate celebration of our film or honoring of influence.
Siena Film Festival: Seguso Award
Italy has been so good to us. Our festival run began with the Siena Film Festival for A Pity. Kevin, Alec and Sarah were in attendance along with actor, producer, and dear friend David Agronov where we came away with their coveted Seguso Award. A Pity went on to screen in Ischia, Santa Fe, Portland, and Bushwick.
DTLAFF: Best Supporting Actor
At our home screening premiere for In Her Name at DTLAFF, Nyambi Nyambi won the Best Supporting Actor award for his role as Judah. Thanks to everyone who came out and packed the house!
Other Awards and Honors
In Her Name won Best Narrative Feature and Best Actor at Imagine This Women’s Film Festival; Best Picture at Zion; and Best US Long Feature, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay at the Hollywood International Golden Age awards.
In Her Name has also received honorable mentions at Rhode Island International, Festival of Cinema, Next Generation Indie, and Red Rock.
It meant so much to share these festivals with everyone involved in the making. It’s a lot to ask people to travel so thank you to everyone who came out, namely James Oliver attending overseas in Italy, Erin Hammond and Cynthia Bravo who joined Sarah at San Diego International Film Festival, and Algiin Ford joined Sarah at Santa Fe International Film Festival.
Some press undergone at SDIFF and SFIFF include Pulse, Santa Fe Reporter, and Santa Fe New Mexican. Read more press here.
One of the most important festivals for us was Evolution Mallorca where Sarah was featured on a panel with Kim Magnusson for International Film Sales Strategy, moderated by Ben Dalton of Screen Daily. Kim is a producer who has been nominated for 7 Academy Awards and won 2, whereas Sarah offered her authentic and more magical experience combined with the natural intuition she has acquired in the industry. The conversation ended up being about the relationship between International film sales strategy, experience, instinct, faith, and maybe sheer luck. That conversation was the perfect integration and offering of what we have learned from our journey in filmmaking so far and how we intend to continue on the path with hope, clarity of vision, and, most importantly, a process for future success which is sustainable. Mallorca was a beautiful place for Kevin and Sarah to relax and celebrate what they’ve built over the past five years.
Another wonderful publication, Diario de Mallorca, wrote a piece about the film.
EmpowHer
Closing Message of Thanks
Sarah spent the pandemic deep in business courses, reimagining a career not only for herself, but for her family and for so many artists she’s witnessed struggle. She felt deeply inspired by them, and wanted to be able to support them and herself in a real way.
She started building CMP 20 years ago, but she hadn’t taken producing seriously as a way to invest in projects beyond her own until Kevin and his youngest brother, Alec, needed her to step in as a producer on their short film. They are incredible writers, so there were roles for friends and even one for Sarah. Perhaps the greatest assurance was that Chayse Irvin - our dear friend who happens to be on of the best cinematographers alive (Blonde, BlacKKKlansman) - was up for shooting it. It was an opportunity and blessing we knew we couldn’t pass up.
When Erin Hammond approached Sarah to write, direct, and produce a vehicle project for her that would showcase her as an accomplished painter and actor, Sarah was ready to partner up and say YES which lead to our production company’s first success story, In Her Name. Five years later with monumental help from our families and close friends, we have two award-winning film babies crawling around out there looking for distribution. Filmmaking, music, and art is more than a career for us - it is a calling and a passion. We continue to heal and be healed by the stories shared and relationships built.
Thank you again for your unwavering support. We couldn’t have done any of this without the magic of your belief in us.
~ S ~
Sarah Carter, CEO