Private Project

SURPRISE!

The Silverstein family is the modern day ‘All in the Family’ sitcom with reversed roles where the mother Nancy is the conservative character and the father, Brian, is liberal.. They present a parody of conservative perspectives to show the outrageousness of this mentality. The liberal bent in turn shows reluctance to confront this abysmal conundrum. Their 2 kids are enough to raise the roof of their home in Surprise AZ to grapple with social issues that entwine them all with laughter, tears and some real DEI, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

  • Nicole Picard
    Director
    Lineage Tribe, You Got the Feelin’, For my Heart, Keep up the Pace
  • Nicole Picard
    Writer
    Lineage Tribe, You Got the Feelin’, For my Heart, Keep up the Pace
  • Nicole Picard
    Producer
    Lineage Tribe, Got the Feelin’, For my Heart, Keep up the Pace
  • Paula Achter
    Producer
    Cure of Enki, Faces in the Mirror, Plant Healing
  • Nicole Picard
    Key Cast
    "Nancy Silverstein"
    Lineage Tribe, Jane the Virgin, Revenge of the Nerds lll, Deadtime Stories
  • David Edelstien
    Key Cast
    "Brian Silverstein"
    Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Atropa, American Crime Story
  • Abigail Thomson
    Key Cast
    "Lisa (Liam) Silverstein"
  • Jason McCrite
    Key Cast
    "Joey Silverstein"
    Twice and Strong, The Landlord, Genesis
  • Logan Laurel
    Key Cast
    "Young Lisa"
  • Jake Getman
    Key Cast
    "Young Joey"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Television, Web / New Media
  • Genres:
    Comedy, LGBTQ
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    May 26, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    50,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1080
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Santa Monica Shorts Film Festival
    Santa Monica, CA
    United States
    July 13, 2021
    Santa Monica Shorts Festival
    Best LGBTQ Short Film
  • Venice Shorts Film Festival
    Venice, CA
    United States
    July 16, 2021
    Venice Shorts Film Festival
    Semi-Finalist
  • Vegas Shorts Film Festival
    Las Vegas, NV
    United States
    May 2, 2022
    Nevada Premiere
    Best Comedy, Best Actress
Distribution Information
  • Amazon Prime
    Sales Agent
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: All Rights, Internet, Pay Per View
Director Biography - Nicole Picard

An award winning Director, Nicole Picard has honed her skills by working on film and TV sets for the past 35 years. A Sarah Lawrence College graduate, she studied under the tutelage of Brian de Palma. Her curiosity and passion was recently stirred up while teaching musical theatre to children and coaching scene and character analysis for all ages. She has worked in front and behind the camera as well as performed on stage for so long, (www.imdb.com/nicolepicard), presenting other creative people's projects, that it came time for her to venture out and create her own vision.

Nicole felt compelled to DIH (do-it-herself) and establish her own production company, Picard Productions, which she did January 2019. Her first project was Lineage Tribe (LT), a musical film that has received multiple awards and is now being expanded as a limited series to run on Amazon Prime.

SURPRISE! was inspired by her transgender daughter and the issues that came up as she transitioned. Nicole experienced herself many similar situations as the character Nancy in the series, but it has taken on it's own form in SURPRISE! with the struggle coming from a very conservative bent and societal pressures.

Writing and directing and acting in situations that impacted her life is a whole new form of therapy. Everyone in SURPRISE! was very supportive and motivated to get this story and the characters right. The social issues presented in the pilot are so relevant for today's world,... it is vital that all actors are authentic!

There are 3 more projects lined up for Picard Productions as Nicole's creative juices have been released and there is no stopping her now!

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

SURPRISE! was written, directed, produced, DP'd and edited by ME, Nicole Picard, a DIH do-it-herself kind of gal…which was an overwhelming effort. All that was fine, I can take it. I just figured that's what executive producers do.

Now I know where my passions are focused on, I learned alot but I want to collaborate more with the soon to be filmed projects on the Picard Productions docket. I love to work with like-minded women, creative artists who get a real kick out of random ideas.

What I really enjoy is the reaction I get from people who work with me for the first time as I do my best to bring femininity to the set. As a member of Women in Film, Women in Media and the Sundance Institute and following their equity mantra, I hope to bring in more women and girls of all walks of life who are driven to be creative!