Ray

"Ray" is a highly visual, emotional yet hopeful short film, filmed in the lush fields and down-to-earth settings of rural Ohio. We developed it as a proof of concept short for Jennifer's feature screenplay "Ray's Not Coming Back" to help guide our vision and process for its feature counterpart, while also serving as a standalone film which we are looking forward to sharing with the world.

This story is an exploration of darkness and light, shadow and sunrise, played out through the interactions of an ordinary family in an extraordinary time. As this fractured family struggles to become who they need to be to move forward, they learn that sometimes the best step forward is a step back.

We have all felt the sting of loss, betrayal, disappointment or abandonment. In a sense, what is more ordinary than those feelings? Yet surviving them requires us to become extraordinary, to draw upon reserves of strength that we didn't know we had, and most importantly, to forgive ourselves and each other as we stumble through the darkness together, searching for the light. While all along, the past breathes into us like a dream, a memory, a long lost love. In "Ray," we hope to shine a light into the potential for strength which we all have inside us, even in the darkest of times.

And now for some behind the scenes trivia! Jennifer and veteran actor Thomas Kopache ("The West Wing," "Star Trek," "No Country for Old Men") who plays Al, first met in Jennifer's hometown while Tom was shooting a movie there. Jennifer was a hopeful 11 year old wanting to be an actor, and Tom kindly gave her helpful advice. They reconnected decades later and became good friends, and now are acting in Jennifer's film together, with Izzie, who plays Jennifer's daughter, the same age that Jennifer was when she and Tom first met. A full circle moment which could only happen in the magic of the movie business, and a true story fit for its own film one day!