Experiencing Interruptions?

LEGAL FICTION

LOGLINE: Two girls at an elite private school compete to be captain of their Mock Trial team, not knowing that their fathers’ lives (one a mayor, and the other a notorious crime boss) depend on who wins.

Concept: A high school Mock Trial team accidentally exposes pickleball as a criminal enterprise run by the mob boss father of one of its girls. It’s Mean Girls meets Law and Order.

Synopsis: When the Mock Trial club at St. Genesius School for Girls (SGS) decides to practice their trial advocacy skills on each other, they uncover the hidden identities of the cool new transfer student, their teacher, and their lawyer coach, putting all their lives in danger.

In the process, we learn why pickleball is really America’s fastest growing sport, why a history teacher is in the federal Witness Protection Plan program, and what a mob boss’s biggest dream is for his daughter.

Uncovering all that is, Alex Elwell (the Mayor’s daughter), a lifer at SGS, entering her senior year, who learns that no amount of winning can ever make her feel truly fulfilled. Her rival, Jesse Fritz (whose dad turns out to be the notorious crime boss Eddie Cozzi), a 12th grade transfer student, who threatens to supplant Alex at SGS, discovers that abandonment is a two-way street. Together, they realize that their lives are broken in the same way - that they are living to make other people happy, rather than themselves. But with the help of their Faculty Advisor, Avery Mann (whose testimony put Jesse’s dad in jail, and is now being protected by Alex’s dad), and their Mock Trial coach, Casey Law (who works for Alex’s dad as an Assistant District Attorney, but is also an “adopted daughter” to Jesse’s dad), they both learn to live their truths - and write kick ass college essays about it to boot!

  • Dan Chen
    Writer
    Entropy
  • Dan Chen
    Producer
  • Audrey Schnecker
    Producer
  • Ava Wigdor
    Director
  • Isabel Pierone
    Cinematographers
  • Audrey Schnecker
    Key Cast
    "Alex"
  • Anya Stevens
    Key Cast
    "Jesse"
    Three Women
  • Dan Chen
    Key Cast
    "Avery"
    Russian Doll, Girls5Eva, The Sopranos
  • Elizabeth Yako
    Key Cast
    "Casey"
  • Grace Rose
    Key Cast
    "Bailey"
  • Daren Donofrio
    Key Cast
    "U.S. Marshall"
    Law & Order, Bull, FBI: Most Wanted
  • Cris Colicchio
    Key Cast
    "Eddie Cozzi"
    Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street
  • Phoebe Nunziato
    Key Cast
    "Young Jesse Cozzi"
  • John Nunziato
    Key Cast
    "Criminal Court Judge"
  • Cristina Aguirre
    Key Cast
    "Defense Counsel"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Web / New Media, Other
  • Genres:
    Crime, Comedy
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 43 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 14, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Hunter College
  • Nassau Film Festival
    Plainsboro, NJ
    United States
    December 7, 2024
    Honorable Mention
Director Biography - Ava Wigdor

Ava Wigdor is a filmmaker, writer, and creative looking to draw inspiration from everyday experiences. She is originally from Montclair, NJ and now lives in Williamsburg, NY. For as long as she can remember she has been doing something creative whether that was singing, making up shows, or acting in school plays. Ava graduated summa cum laude from Colgate University in May of 2023 with a bachelor's degree in Film and Media Studies and a sociology Minor. She has experience working at production companies, specifically in development. She has also worked at film festivals from working as a venue manager at Montclair Film Festival to being a representative from Colgate University and The Gotham Institute at the Cannes Film Festival. She is currently working as a freelance production assistant, primarily with Saturday Night Live's Film Unit, and is a script coverage intern with Alta Global Media. Legal Fiction is the first professional project that Ava has directed. She is so excited that Dan Chen has entrusted her with this project and she hopes to continue growing her directorial repertoire. Please feel free to contact her with any potential projects at ava4131@gmail.com

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Legal Fiction is the first professional project that I have directed and the first time that I have directed something that I have not written myself. I am honored that Dan Chen has selected me to execute his vision.

In my work, I like to focus on individual relationships and make each character feel relatable in some way. I enjoyed being able to work with a cast that consisted of such talented women who were around my age and not far off from the high school age of the girls in Legal Fiction. It felt very easy for us all to relate to one another and the characters. Despite the larger themes of money laundering and involvement with the mob that may be harder to relate to, I think we all know what it's like to be in class with a teacher's pet and a shy, new classmate. I was really interested in tapping into the reality of those dynamics while directing this piece.

It was exciting to work on one of Dan's first comedic pieces because that is a genre I tend to be drawn to. Filming the classroom scenes in a mockumentary style was a lot of fun because it allowed us to have a very specific way of interacting with the camera which lent itself well to the comedic tone and made it easier to look legitimate on a lower budget. We hope to continue this series and the rest of our pilot!

Thank you for watching and I hope you enjoy!