Private Project

A Tale of Endurance: Celebration of the Imperfect

Trapped in an abandoned dungeon, the badass heroine IRO manages to free herself and a band of zombielike misfits from captivity.

  • Stephanie Bollag
    Director
    Identicals, Beaufort, The Painted Lady, Aruma, etc.
  • Stephanie Bollag
    Writer
  • Stephanie Bollag
    Producer
  • Kate Stahl
    Producer
  • Melissa Weisz
    Key Cast
    Félix & Meira
  • Yansen Abreu
    Key Cast
  • Simone Awor
    Key Cast
  • Aloba Ayinde
    Key Cast
  • Cassy Cammarano
    Key Cast
  • Emma Chaves
    Key Cast
  • Simone Di Donna
    Key Cast
  • Fraser Edwards
    Key Cast
  • Levesque Triplets
    Key Cast
  • Alexa Santy
    Key Cast
  • Sheena Satana
    Key Cast
    Power, Americas Next Top Model
  • Charity Woods
    Key Cast
  • Amanda Bollag
    Styling
  • Pamela Fuentes
    Hair & Make Up
  • Bella Bonder
    Hair & Make Up
  • Victoria de la Vega
    Composer
    12 Years a Slave, If I Stay
  • Bumi Hidaka
    Sound Design
    Generation Iron
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Student, Other
  • Genres:
    Fashion, Sify, Shortfilm, Drama, Thriller
  • Runtime:
    1 minute 39 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 7, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    7,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • ACCOLADE GLOBAL FILM COMPETITION
    La Jolla, CA
    United States
    Winner Award of Merit: Women Filmmakers
  • SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FASHION FILM FESTIVAL
    Seattle
    United States
    August 26, 2017
    Winner Best Cinematography
  • FASHIONCLASH FASHION FILM FESTIVAL
    Maastricht
    Netherlands
    European Premiere
    Official Selection
  • FASHION FILM FEST ISTANBUL
    Istanbul
    Turkey
    Official Selection
  • CALIFORNIA INTERNATIONAL SHORTS FESTIVAL
    Los Angeles
    United States
    September 17, 2017
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Stephanie Bollag

Stephanie Bollag is a Swiss filmmaker & fashion content creator with Swedish roots based in New York City. She began her creative career as a classically trained painter before venturing into filmmaking. Over the past two decades Stephanie has produced and directed numerous award winning short and feature lengths films in Israel, Switzerland, the UK and the US. Amongst others, Stephanie worked with Israeli film director Joseph Cedar on his Academy Award nominated war drama Beaufort, executive produced sci-fi thriller Identicals (Edinburgh Film Festival) and production-managed award winning shorts Hold On Me & Paper Mountains. Heading PR & marketing campaigns for international brands such as Esprit, Guess and IRO Paris, Stephanie is no stranger to the evolving business of fashion. She is currently finishing her Master’s at NYU Tisch School of the Arts in film writing & directing. Stephanie speaks six languages.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

In my last semester at NYU I discovered my niche: visually and viscerally evocative stories at the intersection of fashion and film told through the female gaze. The models and actors I cast are of every color, ethnicity, shape and size. The superheroes in my films are women disrupting the status quo both on and off screen. The norm does not interest me. Diversity yields emotional and visual texture. As a result my work is multilayered and prompts discussions that extend past the surface.

A Tale Of Endurance: Celebration of the Imperfect is a badass, feminine fashion film I conceptualized, directed, produced and edited on spec for the French fashion label IRO Paris. The branded film is a celebration of color, race and gender and is meant to send an empowering and disruptive message about preexisting gender norms and racial stereotypes.

Inspired by the interchangeability of IRO’s clothes between the sexes; androgyny and gender were central themes. I consequently cast Melissa Weisz, Hasidic wife turned queer actress, as the story’s lead. Her androgynous demeanor and piercing gaze make her the ideal heroine for this feminist zombie liberation saga.