Experiencing Interruptions?

Nerd Association

After her popular ex-boyfriend dumps her, a striving social climber tries to get back at him by joining the Dungeons and Dragons club and dating his twin brother.

  • Ella McKenzie
    Director
  • Elle Pugh
    Writer
  • Maggie Granata
    Producer
  • Jim Burnstein
    Executive Producer
    Renaissance Man (1994), The Mighty Ducks (1996)
  • Robert Rayher
    Executive Producer
  • Molly Cesanek
    Key Cast
    "Shona"
  • Michael Fabisch
    Key Cast
    "Abel"
  • Logan Gray Saad
    Key Cast
    "Faye"
  • Luke Kolbe Mannikus
    Key Cast
    "Graham"
  • Caleb White
    Key Cast
    "Eliot"
  • Nicole Forester
    Key Cast
    "Michelle"
    Jack Reacher (2012), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
  • MJ Johnson
    Director of Photography
  • Dana Gray
    Production Designer and Costumes
  • Luke Rademacher
    1st Assistant Director
  • Eda Conway
    Supervising Editor
  • Henry Crater
    Music
  • Juan Morales
    Unit Production Manager
  • Callista Brand
    2nd Assistant Director
  • Venus Yeung
    Line Producer
  • Luke Rademacher
    Supporting Cast
  • Dorianne Jentzen
    Supporting Cast
  • Ethan Van Slyke
    Supporting Cast
  • Rachel Altland
    Camera Operator
  • Lauren Donatoni
    1st AC
  • Gwen Paulson
    2nd AC
  • Alex Van Sweringen
    3rd AC and DIT
  • Nick Daddona
    Gaffer
  • Aspen Kinomoto
    Set Decorator
  • Banks Krause
    Props Designer
  • Miles Hionis
    Makeup Artist
  • Sydney Seifert
    Art Department Production Assistant and Social Media
  • Ethan Malaver
    Sound Recordist
  • Alejandro Cantu
    Boom Operator
  • Eda Conway
    Boom Operator
  • Gio Gigante
    Boom Operator
  • Lizzy Ulharik
    Boom Operator
  • Venus Yeung
    Boom Operator
  • Tiara Partsch
    Intimacy Coordinator
  • Stefan Petrmichl
    Still Photographer
  • Gio Gigante
    Production Assistant
  • Lizzy Ulharik
    Production Assistant
  • Alma Hearin
    Assistant Picture Editor
  • Gabby Dias
    Colorist
  • Avery Nelson
    End Credits and Title Graphics
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Romance, Comedy, Romcom, Drama, Y2K
  • Runtime:
    34 minutes 57 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 11, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    4,400 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University of Michigan
  • University of Michigan: Lightworks Film Festival
    Ann Arbor
    United States
    April 26, 2024
    Best of Fest
  • Director's Guild of America Student Film Awards
    New York, NY
    United States
    December 18, 2024
    Grand Prize - Best Female Filmmaker
  • Culver City Film Festival
    Culver City, California
    United States
    December 11, 2024
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Ella McKenzie

Ella McKenzie grew up in a small Massachusetts town and attended the University of Michigan for what she thought would be her first step towards being a policymaker or lawyer. Halfway through her coursework, Ella realized her most desired route for social change has actually always been storytelling, and she decided to plunge herself into the world of filmmaking. At the University of Michigan, Ella directed two ~30-minute short films-one of which titled "Nerd Association" won her the Grand Prize at the DGA Student Film Awards, and the other titled "Sanctuary" currently out to festivals. Ella is now based in Los Angeles where she works as a Creative Executive Assistant at Day Zero Productions, Trevor Noah's joint Film/TV venture with Paramount. When she's not working in development or on set on the weekends, Ella is writing her first feature-film, eager to get back in the director's chair.

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Director Statement

When you’re in high school, everyone seems to adopt this unspoken sentiment that the most important thing in life is what other people think of you. Your social life can feel like life or death, and you find yourself craving the attention of people you don’t even enjoy being around. Young women, however, not only have to navigate the universal trenches of high school drama, but also have to worry about the things patriarchy teaches us that make us valuable: how attractive you are, how likable you are, if you have that perfect balance of trying hard but not too hard. I, for one, was a lanky French Hornist and A+ student who could not play a contact sport to save her life, so you can guess where I fell on the social ladder.

Nerd Association is the story of Shona, a young woman like so many of us who believed that there were only certain things that could make her valuable: being “wanted” by the popular jock, being “cool”, and most of all, being prom queen. These misguided goals were so deeply instilled in her, that she lost sight of what really made her happy: being a nerd, quite simply. Through meeting Abel and exploring the timeless game of Dungeons and Dragons, Shona rediscovers both her inner nerd and what is really important to her.

I think a lot of young women can relate to this feeling of putting society’s expectations over their own wants and needs. Nerd Association is a love letter to those young women who second guessed their value and strength. It’s a celebration of nerds: humans who love their craft so passionately that they make it their mission to understand it. And who knows, they might fall in love with someone along the way…