Experiencing Interruptions?

Unicorns

When Elise hits rock bottom, her mentor Marlon suggests she connect with Jonah, a teenaged boy battling severe depression of his own. What begins as a forced conversation turns into a genuine, even life-saving connection, as Jonah and Elise each turn out to be the sign the other was looking for.

  • Candice Carella
    Director
    PONY, Three Days in the Hole
  • Leah McKendrick
    Writer
    MFA, Voicemails for Isabel, Girl in the Green Dress
  • Caity Ware
    Producer
    We Are Gathered Here, Philanthropy, Eveything's Gonna Be Okay
  • Hilary Curwen
    Producer
  • Hilary Curwen
    Key Cast
    "Elise "
    I'm Dying Up Here, I Feel Bad, Another Period
  • Malik Yoba
    Key Cast
    "Marlon "
    New York Undercover, The First Wives Club, Cool Runnings
  • Markees Christmas
    Key Cast
    "Jonah "
    Morris From America, Sins of the Father, Blackish
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 36 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 26, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    15,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Marina del Rey film festival
    Marina del Rey , California
    United States
    November 2, 2019
    special mental health awareness award
Director Biography - Candice Carella

Candice Carella studied fine art, photography and cinema at UCLA. Her first professional experience came as a wardrobe stylist and costume designer for music videos; working with Grammy Award winning artists (Eminem, Moby, Gwen Stefani) and styling large scale commercials (British Telecom, Coors, McDonalds).
Candice’s desire to work on more narrative projects led her to work in costume departments on several high profile TV shows (Sons of Anarchy, Revenge, Underground, Crossbones) and feature films (50 First Dates, Haywire, Prom)
Branching out on her own, Candice wrote, produced and directed a 30-minute short “PONY,” starring Xander Berkeley (Air Force One, Terminator 2, The Walking Dead) and Suzy Nakamura (Dodgeball, Togetherness, Dr. Ken, Avenue 5) which premiered on the festival circuit in 2015, screening in over 50 film festivals, winning 32 festival awards and gaining a worldwide distribution deal with Shorts International.
In 2017, as a recipient of the prestigious Panavision New Filmmaker Grant, Candice wrote, produced and directed a 20-minute film “THREE DAYS IN THE HOLE,” based on a true story about a young Yezidi girl's struggle to survive her ISIS capture after the Iraq genocide of 2014.
“Three Days in the Hole” was accepted as part of the 2018 Festival De Cannes Short Film Corner and was recently nominated for the 2018 Hollywood Film Festival Silver Screen Jury Prize, the 2018 Rome International Film Festival Best Narrative Short Film award and the 2019 Julien Dubuque International Film Festival Best short Film. It recently won a REMI award at the 52nd Annual WorldFest Houston International Film Festival.
In 2019, Candice Carella directed "UNICORNS", a modern fresh take on a serious subject, surviving depression. Unorthodox, and at times jarring, the film, starring Malik Yoba (Cool Runnings, New York Undercover, Designated Survivor, Empire), Markees Christmas (Morris From America, Black-ish), and Hilary Curwen (Bad Nannies, Happyland, I'm Dying up Here) ultimately shows us that we are not alone.

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Director Statement

I was interested in directing “Unicorns” because it’s a modern, fresh take on a serious subject: surviving depression, which to me is a present universal struggle. The film is also about a connection that develops between two unlikely people from very different walks of life. The script, written by Leah McKendrick, had a unique and unorthodox approach, and I knew it would make a different, interesting and visual movie that could provoke a serious
discussion of depression and suicide that is so prevalent in our modern society.

Actress/Producer Hilary Curwen developed this film with the intention of supporting diversity and gender parity in filmmaking. I was especially excited at the prospect of collaborating with a crew primarily composed of dedicated and talented women.

Hilary Curwen (I’m Dying Up Here, Happyland, Bad Nannies) really challenged herself to discover the many textures of main character “Elise,” finding nuance and mining a level of personal discomfort to deliver a powerful performance that shows off her acting versatility. Markees Christmas (Morris From America, 88, Black-ish) brilliantly plays “Jonah”, an intelligent, gentle soul with a tough exterior, who carries the weight of severe depression that stifles his innate sense of optimism. Malik Yoba (Cool Runnings, Empire, Designated Survivor, New York Undercover) used improvisational choices to bring depth and authority to the “Marlon” character.

Shooting for two days, in five locations (from downtown LA to Santa Monica), with multiple company moves amidst threatening rain, it was a relief to work with our amazing producer Caity Ware, who skillfully navigated a shoot fraught with production hurdles. I worked with DP Brad Rushing to devise a shot list that would be visually interesting and would be feasible for our tight schedule. I collaborated with Astrid Anderson on production design and set decoration to make sure the environments were realistic and textured and dripping with details. I collaborated with Amit Sidi to give visual nuance and depth to all the characters’ visual identities with costume. Brett Hedlund skillfully edited this film, setting the pace and helping to balance the tone to push the narrative further. I had the pleasure of collaborating with music producer Anthony M. Jones on a score that heightens the tension and elevates the emotions of the film infusing it with with his own style of contemporary music. KO creative and Colorspace added the final touches to make it sound and look great.

“Unicorns” was a fun to direct and it showcases the hard work and creativity of this team. I hope it gets the platform to entertain, educate and start important conversations about mental illnesses like depression.