Private Project

Dysfunctional Dating

Logline:
Tru Heart is single and not loving it, with hopes of bringing an awkward Jewish guy home for Christmas, but when he’s too shy to make a move, her fantasies take over.

Mini Synopsis:
Tru Heart is thirty-five, single and not loving it, with just a month to find a good man to bring home for Christmas dinner, after lying to her Grandma about not being alone anymore. Old-fashioned in her style and values, online dating is not for her, so she fantasizes about coffee house Daniel asking her out, but when this awkward Jewish guy is too shy to make a move, she finds a way for them to be together, under the most unusual circumstances.

  • Evlin Lake
    Director
  • Evlin Lake
    Writer
  • Evlin Lake
    Producer
  • Lorelai Hibbard
    Key Cast
    "Tru Heart"
  • Buddy Hologram
    Key Cast
    "Daniel Goldstein"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Romance, comedy, romantic comedy, holiday, romcom, Christmas, dark comedy
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 25, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.4:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University of New Orleans
Director Biography - Evlin Lake

Evlin Lake is a native of Los Angeles, California. In her younger years, she took extensive acting for film and stage classes regularly for eight years, taught by L.A's renowned coaches. Featured on "MAD TV" (2003); Made her film debut in "Bob Steel" (2004); Began writing screenplays (2006); Earned a starring role in the features "AmerAsian" (2006) and "Feral" (2010); Winner Best Actress - San Antonio Horrific Film Festival (2018); "I Love Cash" was offered an option by the producers of “Alabama Moon”, but Evlin felt it wasn’t the right fit for her vision and declined; The same year, Evlin’s screenplay “I Love Cash” was chosen out of 7,000 submissions, by the Director of the Austin Screenplay Competition, to be read out-loud at a round table by Producer Lindsey Doran who later requested Evlin acquire a literary agent or attorney to send the script to her office; Evlin begin studying film production at the University of New Orleans (2020); NOVAC screened Evlin's short film "Dysfunctional Dating" at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation (2023). UNO nominated "Dysfunctional Dating" for Best Film & won runner-up Best Sound Design; “Dysfunctional Dating” won runner-up Best Rom-Com at the Lit Laughs and horror International Film Festival in July 2023. Evlin continues her studies at UNO, focusing on screenwriting and film production, working on as many student films as possible to gain knowledge, experience, and connections (2023); It's been a long road for Evlin, but the future is looking bright.

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Director Statement

It’s all just therapy.