Kickstart This! Elusive

You may have noticed by now how most of the stories I share here are about kickass women and girls doing amazing things. And while it's my main goal in life to highlight these stories, I feel it's also important to recognize the fact that not all of these kickass princesses came out of the womb fully formed and in fighting shape. And even if they did, even the most badass of them will still have to face some tough life choices that will rock them to the core. It's just the nature of life.

At some point, we will all find ourselves in what feels like a no-win situation, whether it is feeling trapped in a loveless relationship or in a soul-sucking job. It's what we do about it that determines who we are. The troubles we face are what give our eventual self-rescuing the necessary context, and serve as the inspiration for others. And we don't always get it right the first time.



Three amazing and creative women, Ren Harris, Caitlin Gold, and Seri DeYoung, want to create a film that explores the often round-about process of self-discovery. Elusive is the tale of a young woman who finds herself faced with a difficult decision, and instead turns away from it.

Charlie is a woman who finds herself in a relationship that she's outgrown. Unable to face the facts, she embarks on a journey of self-destruction. "Elusive" is a dramatic short film that explores what happens when you can't go back, but you're too scared to move forward.

We need better representation of the full humanity of women in the media. Television shows are getting better about giving us interesting, complex, often flawed characters, although not on the scale I'd like. Films showing the inner lives of women are still somewhat limiting, and too often resort of dated tropes -- strong female character, sassy sidekick, bitchy ball-buster, etc. -- as a shortcut to skip doing that work.These one-dimensional representations leave me wanting more. Which is why it's so important we back projects like Elusive.

The need to tell this story came about after a breakup. Our writer, Ren, realized that women in media are rarely portrayed as being fully-fledged humans, with flaws, hang-ups, and fears. She confronts this issue through exposing Charlie's inaction through indecision. It is a story that, while told from a female perspective, we believe is one to which everyone can relate: finding one's voice and confronting one's fears, despite the consequences to either self or others.

Finding one's voice and confronting one's fears is what becoming a self-rescuing princess is all about.

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