Private Project

She the Creator

LOGLINE: Lilith, a brilliant artist living in isolation, decides to face her deepest trauma with a new series of paintings based on the alchemical process. Seduced by her narcissistic caretaker Kat, Lilith loses her grasp on reality as Kat assumes her identity.

SYNOPSIS: Grieving the loss of her mother and sister, Lilith is completely alone except for her relationship to her caretaker Kat. Obsessed with the alchemical process of transformation, she embarks on a new series of alchemically inspired works to face her trauma.
As Lilith and Kat become increasingly invested in her latest series, Kat makes a deal to sell Lilith’s work at a local gallery.

Kat’s growing obsession with Lilith and her art pushes Lilith’s mental state to the limits as the subjects in her paintings begin appearing to her in visions and dreams. As their relationship becomes convoluted, Kat spends more of her off-hours with Lilith, blurring the lines of professionalism and romantic interest.

As Lilith develops feelings for Kat, Kat pulls away becoming negligent and abusive. As Lilith’s condition worsens, the entities from her paintings reveal her darkest inner fears and memories. The entities of her paintings begin to manifest in her waking state as nature begins taking over through a vigorous deterioration of her physical space. As Lilith walks the line between creativity and self-destruction, her realities collide and she must make a choice as to which demons she will face, and how far she is willing to go to achieve artistic perfection.

  • Ettie Wahl
    Writer
  • Ettie Wahl
    Director
    Yellow Lights, No Room For Me, Instant, Life on a Rock, Nightwalker (Series), The Habit, What to Do
  • Ettie Wahl
    Producer
    Yellow Lights, No Room For Me, Instant, Life on a Rock, Nightwalker (Series), The Habit, What to Do
  • Hannah Walls-Scott
    Producer
    SEKUND, Slice of Life, Bumbo
  • Veronica Compton-Wallace
    Producer
  • Micah Fusco
    Producer
    You Missed a Spot, Techno Vampire, Thornbook
  • Bernadette Cuvalo
    Key Cast
    "Lilith"
    Jerkbeast, Natural Possession, Druid Peak
  • Johanna Warren
    Key Cast
    "Kat"
    The Midnight Gospel, Twisted
  • Sera Barbieri
    Key Cast
    "Sara"
    Potato Dreams of America, Rachels Don't Run, Three Busy Debras
  • Dawn Perryman
    Key Cast
    "Brigid"
    Release, Exchange
  • Gabe Shelton-Jenck
    Editor
    Last Will & Testament
  • Emer Kinsella
    Composer
    American Horror Story, Hellboy, In Orbit
  • Ian Hubert
    Visual Effects
    Dynamo Dream, Prospect, Project London
  • Brody Willis
    Cinematography
    Captain Fantastic, Queen of Wands, Kristi 18
  • Georgianna Nielson
    Production Designer
    Lipstick
  • Kaitlin Romig
    Art Director
    Prospect, Dynamo Dream
  • Ajeng Canyarasmi
    Sound Design
    Love and Monsters, Symbiosis, Preman
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Psychological Thriller, LGBTQ, Drama, Surreal
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 37 minutes
  • Production Budget:
    80,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Ettie Wahl

Ettie Wahl, is a 30 year old Mexican-American artist, filmmaker, and entrepreneur from the Pacific-Northwest and is the Writer-Director-Producer of her debut feature film, “She the Creator”. Since 2013, she has been engaged in artistic curation and underground arts activism in the greater Seattle area, culminating in her foundational work with Bioluminescent Films, a production group focused on educating and empowering women and LGBTQIA filmmakers. Ettie’s directing style prioritizes catharsis and challenging toxic production models while showcasing the magic of film in a ceremonially infused style. She aims to reflect life honestly and poignantly through a dreamlike, emotionally visceral, and art-centric lens.
Descending from a long line of Mexican artists, Ettie first learned painting and directorial methodology under her mother, Veronica Compton-Wallace, who studied extensively under Lee Strasberg prior to her incarceration. Born and raised in a women’s prison, Ettie is committed to exploring the societal impact caused by the current carceral system and is working to dismantle oppressive systems within the film industry and provide opportunities to disadvantaged and/ or marginalized people.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

This film is a prayer, a dedication, and a commitment to myself and every other artist, queer person, and survivor- to learn the balance between devotion to our work and to ourselves. Through this challenging story I hope we can all evaluate our relationship to our work, and our beliefs around the value of wellbeing vs our productivity. We are all deserving of time, space, and resources to heal, and our soul-work, our art, should never have to destroy us.
In my life, I learned early on that having a shadow of the prison system and an incident that took place long before my birth would follow me wherever I went; it would lead institutions to turn away my work, it would lead me to have less access, less opportunity, and more controversy and judgment than my peers. Through facing this stigma head on, and honoring the intergenerational traumas and intersectional injustices that led me to this exact moment in time- I am proud to have made this work as a reflection of where I come from. My ancestors are Mexican muralists and political painters, who have taught me through their work that these kinds of stories and experiences create a kind of resilience that allowed me to be born in the first place. I am proudly, fiercely, here to stay- and will continue to create work that challenges mainstream narratives and tells unspoken stories for as long as I live.
I will not allow my story to be swept under the rug and lost to time.