Private Project

The New Weapon

High School Student Destiny (Rachel Resheff , Larry David’s Fish In The Dark, Orange is the New Black, The Escort) takes refuge from the cruelty of bullies in her room. The walls only help keep her secrets from her Mom ( Kaili Vernoff,Hulu original drama series The Way, Ratter, The Mysteries Of Laura, Mildred Pierce) and Dad (Jamie Harrold, 2009 Academy Award wining Short The New Tenants, Mad Women, Aftermath, The Score, Erin Brockovich) Her worried friend Kenya ( Charlotte Alexis White, Private Practice, Grey’s Anatomy) urges her to tell her parents. Destiny refuses as she continues to take her punches on Social Media. Destiny struggles to make it stop.

  • Michalina Scorzelli
    Director
    Aftermath, Distractions,many additional credits
  • Michalina Scorzelli
    Writer
    Aftermath, Distractions, many additional credits
  • MIchalina Scorzelli
    Producer
    Aftermath, Distractions, many additional credits
  • Rachel Resheff
    Key Cast
    Orange is The Black, The Escort, Larry Davids Fish In The Dark, many Broadway Shows
  • Jamie Harrold
    Key Cast
    Mad Women, Academy Winning short The Tenants, The Sum of All fears, The Score, Erin Brokovich
  • Kaili Vernoff
    Key Cast
    The Inquisition of Camilo Sanz , The Mysteries of Laura, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion ,Sweet and Lowdown
  • Charlotte Alexis White
    Key Cast
    Greys Anatomy, Private Practice,Longmire
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Family, Crime, SocialIssues, Teen, SocialMedia
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 19 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 17, 2015
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    HDV
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.78 (16x9 V
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Michalina Scorzelli

Michalina is an award winning Director and Producer and a proud member of the Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Michalina is also Co-owner operator of Independent Artists Collaborative LLC. Her work has been seen in and won numerous Film Festivals, Theaters and Television. Michalina currently has a children's show The Adventures of Snow White and Rose Red available on Amazon Prime. A feature title the same was at Cannes and is being shopped for distribution.

As a Producer Michalina has a feature film currently in Theaters titled Aftermath. Aftermath was Written/Directed and Edited by her mentor Thomas Farone and was Chris Penn's last film. It also stars Tony Danza, Anthony Michael Hall, Leo Burmester, Frank Whaley, Federico Castelluccio, Jamie Harrold and Elizbeth Rohm. Also as Producer she has had three shorts Breaking Up, Boxed In and Four that where well received on the film festival circuit

As a Director Michalina's short film DISTRACTIONS was screened nationally on BET and BET-J. DISTRACTIONS was selected as one of the Programmers Choice at the Hollywood Black Film Festival. It then went on to win the Grand Jury Award at the Ruff CutZ film festival in Boston, Winner of Best Short at the Trinity Film Coalition in Chicago, official selections at the International Black Film Festival in Nashville, The Woodstock Film Festival, The San Francisco Black Independent Film Festival and the International Pan African Film Festival and many more. Her short film FOUR ironically did win four awards at the Edwood Film Festival in 2007.

She is extremely passionate about all aspects of filmmaking in front of and behind the camera. She brings a joyous spirit, with confidence, passion, calm and the love for collaboration to her work and the world

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

It was early morning before my eyes where open I watched The New Weapon in my minds eye. In my minds eye I saw the entire film from title to end. I opened my eyes and wrote the script. I am not really a writer I was just telling a story that resonated in my heart, soul and desire to make a difference in our society.

It was like an out of body experience. A testament to how much we take in and feel subconsciously. There seemed to be story after story all over the nation about cyber bullying in the news I did not think about a title or even plan on a doing a short but when I woke up and watched The New Weapon in my minds eye I had no choice but to make it.

We shot it in a weekend and as cheesy as it sounds it was magical! Both cast and crew had this special energy knowing we were doing something that could shift the perspective of viewers of all ages. Everyone can relate to bullying on some level. Bullying has always been around but in the new age of social media there is no escaping it. Technology today can be useful but it can also be abused and used as The New Weapon.