#iAmThatBoy

A short inspired by true events.

Synopsis:

Cameron James is a 16-year-old boy who manages to drug and rape a teenage classmate. He does so with a group of teens standing by snapping pictures and video footage using their mobile devices. No one steps up. No one speaks out. Instead, they post these images on the varying social media outlets. The images go viral.

Cameron James is that boy who would not only think to do something like this, but has the ambition to carry it out. Without accountability or him taking responsibility for his actions, he will grow up to be that man who will... rape again, just because he can and has gotten away with it before.

Director's Statement

I heard about Jada’s story in July 2014.  I was in Norman, OK preparing for a screening of “1 in 3” a feature film I wrote/directed about domestic violence, when this story landed in my Facebook feed.  At the screening we held a photo shoot where members of the local domestic violence shelter program counter posed in support of Jada.  Do you know this story?  

 

Jada a 16-year-old girl out of Houston, TX had been drugged and raped at a party.  Photographs were taken of the sexual assault and the aftermath—those photos were posted online.  The images went viral.  I never saw a single one of them.  However, Jada’s story stuck with me.  Haunted me is a more appropriate word.  I thought about what it was like to be 16-years-old and how awkward those years were.  Then I thought about how something like that would have rocked my 16-year-old world.  

 

This got me thinking about what it takes to be able to do something such as this to another human being— “something is broken,” I thought.  Then I asked the question, “How do we spark a conversation about what’s broken in hopes of mending it...?”  The answer: #iAmThatBoy.


Lagueria Davis (writer/director/producer)

Lagueria Davis graduated from the University of Oklahoma in December 2007 with a BFA in Media Art. Since graduating, Davis has established herself as an award winning filmmaker.  Her short film "Help Yourself" won the award for best short comedy in the 2009 Trail Dance Film Festival.  That same year, Davis wrote and directed her first feature film, "1 in 3."  The film screened in the Bare Bones Film Festival (among other festivals) where it won for Best Oklahoma Soil Picture and Best Actress for Shanika Robinson who plays the lead in the film.  In 2013, "1 in 3" was awarded a Bronze Telly Award in the Social Issues category. Currently, Davis resides in LA where she works as an experienced production professional. Her credits includes work for NBCUni, National Geographic, The Discovery Channel, and The History Channel. She is a member of Film Fatales, AWD, and WIF.

Valeria Lopez (producer)

Valeria Lopez is a Los Angeles based artist, producer, and fixed gear bike enthusiast. Since 2010, she has been making steady waves in Hollywood working on independent features, new media content production, commercials, shorts, TV and pretty much anything she can get her hands on. She has produced several web series' including "Lesbian Cops," "The Sketchy Chicks" and "On Empty.” Her film credits include Location Manager on the Sundance Labs feature Life Partners and Still Punching the Clown, a sequel to Punching the Clown about real-life comedian Henry Phillips. She has doubled up as both the Location Manager and Production Coordinator on multiple films including The Tiger Hunter and Life of a King. Additionally, she has spearheaded various successful crowd-funding campaigns including a project with Guinevere Turner. She received an MFA from Tufts University/SMFA and a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University.

 

Aymae Sulick (cinematographer)

 

Aymae Sulick has served as director of photography for award-winning films, documentaries, television shows, and commercials. Her work has aired on networks such as PBS, CBS, TLC, A&E, Bravo, and ESPN, as well as numerous festivals.  Aymae earned her MFA from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. She is happiest when creatively engaged in visual storytelling.

 

Rebekah Bell (production designer)

 


Rebekah Bell is a Midwest born Production Designer, who has worked on such films as Mother and Child, starring Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, and Kerry Washington, Bringing Up Bobby, starring Milla Jovovich, Bill Pullman, and Marcia Cross, and The Assistants, starring Joe Mantegna, Jane Seymour, and Stacy Keach.  After completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre at the University of Oklahoma, she went on to obtain credits in a film program headed by Gray Frederickson and Fritz Kiersch. She soon began working with Frederickson and Kiersch on Feature films in the Art Department and never looked back. In the past twelve years she has worked in Los Angeles and Oklahoma on over forty films and television programs.  Whether working on a Feature Film or Television Series, Rebekah feels that her Technical Theatre background formed the foundation for her in-depth understanding of character development and script analysis that allows her to create the appropriate environments to propel each story forward.

 

Raven Zimmer (costume designer)

 

Oklahoma native, Raven Zimmer started sewing at the age of 10. She begrudgingly learned the skill from her mother. On one occasion, young Raven, sat at her sewing machine proclaiming, “sewing would never be useful” in her life.  Only a few short years later, Raven found herself “eating crow” when she decided to major in Apparel Design and Production at Oklahoma State University.  During her college career, Raven honed her sewing skills. Her designs were often acknowledged for their craftsmanship and impeccable detail. In her junior year of college she interned on a feature film, thus beginning her freelance costume and design career.  After a few years of gaining experience working on movies such as “Yellow”, “August: Osage County”, and “Rudderless”, she moved to Los Angeles, where she currently resides. She has designed several short films, including, “Chute Fighter’, and “Rods and Cones”, and continues to work in the Film Industry.

 

DONATE TO THIS PROJECT:

Cinefemme's Federal Tax EIN Number is 52-237-4579.  Our address is 1014 Broadway St. #477 in Santa Monica, CA.  Donations to this project can be made via the donation button above, through a charitable fund, or by check.  Checks should be made out to Cinefemme and have "#IAmThatBoy" written in the memo section.  Checks must be mailed to:

Cinefemme

1014 Broadway #477

Santa Monica, CA

90401

#iAmThatBoy

A short inspired by true events.

Synopsis:

Cameron James is a 16-year-old boy who manages to drug and rape a teenage classmate. He does so with a group of teens standing by snapping pictures and video footage using their mobile devices. No one steps up. No one speaks out. Instead, they post these images on the varying social media outlets. The images go viral.

Cameron James is that boy who would not only think to do something like this, but has the ambition to carry it out. Without accountability or him taking responsibility for his actions, he will grow up to be that man who will... rape again, just because he can and has gotten away with it before.

Director's Statement

I heard about Jada’s story in July 2014.  I was in Norman, OK preparing for a screening of “1 in 3” a feature film I wrote/directed about domestic violence, when this story landed in my Facebook feed.  At the screening we held a photo shoot where members of the local domestic violence shelter program counter posed in support of Jada.  Do you know this story?  

 

Jada a 16-year-old girl out of Houston, TX had been drugged and raped at a party.  Photographs were taken of the sexual assault and the aftermath—those photos were posted online.  The images went viral.  I never saw a single one of them.  However, Jada’s story stuck with me.  Haunted me is a more appropriate word.  I thought about what it was like to be 16-years-old and how awkward those years were.  Then I thought about how something like that would have rocked my 16-year-old world.  

 

This got me thinking about what it takes to be able to do something such as this to another human being— “something is broken,” I thought.  Then I asked the question, “How do we spark a conversation about what’s broken in hopes of mending it...?”  The answer: #iAmThatBoy.


Lagueria Davis (writer/director/producer)

Lagueria Davis graduated from the University of Oklahoma in December 2007 with a BFA in Media Art. Since graduating, Davis has established herself as an award winning filmmaker.  Her short film "Help Yourself" won the award for best short comedy in the 2009 Trail Dance Film Festival.  That same year, Davis wrote and directed her first feature film, "1 in 3."  The film screened in the Bare Bones Film Festival (among other festivals) where it won for Best Oklahoma Soil Picture and Best Actress for Shanika Robinson who plays the lead in the film.  In 2013, "1 in 3" was awarded a Bronze Telly Award in the Social Issues category. Currently, Davis resides in LA where she works as an experienced production professional. Her credits includes work for NBCUni, National Geographic, The Discovery Channel, and The History Channel. She is a member of Film Fatales, AWD, and WIF.

Valeria Lopez (producer)

Valeria Lopez is a Los Angeles based artist, producer, and fixed gear bike enthusiast. Since 2010, she has been making steady waves in Hollywood working on independent features, new media content production, commercials, shorts, TV and pretty much anything she can get her hands on. She has produced several web series' including "Lesbian Cops," "The Sketchy Chicks" and "On Empty.” Her film credits include Location Manager on the Sundance Labs feature Life Partners and Still Punching the Clown, a sequel to Punching the Clown about real-life comedian Henry Phillips. She has doubled up as both the Location Manager and Production Coordinator on multiple films including The Tiger Hunter and Life of a King. Additionally, she has spearheaded various successful crowd-funding campaigns including a project with Guinevere Turner. She received an MFA from Tufts University/SMFA and a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University.

 

Aymae Sulick (cinematographer)

 

Aymae Sulick has served as director of photography for award-winning films, documentaries, television shows, and commercials. Her work has aired on networks such as PBS, CBS, TLC, A&E, Bravo, and ESPN, as well as numerous festivals.  Aymae earned her MFA from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. She is happiest when creatively engaged in visual storytelling.

 

Rebekah Bell (production designer)

 


Rebekah Bell is a Midwest born Production Designer, who has worked on such films as Mother and Child, starring Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, and Kerry Washington, Bringing Up Bobby, starring Milla Jovovich, Bill Pullman, and Marcia Cross, and The Assistants, starring Joe Mantegna, Jane Seymour, and Stacy Keach.  After completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre at the University of Oklahoma, she went on to obtain credits in a film program headed by Gray Frederickson and Fritz Kiersch. She soon began working with Frederickson and Kiersch on Feature films in the Art Department and never looked back. In the past twelve years she has worked in Los Angeles and Oklahoma on over forty films and television programs.  Whether working on a Feature Film or Television Series, Rebekah feels that her Technical Theatre background formed the foundation for her in-depth understanding of character development and script analysis that allows her to create the appropriate environments to propel each story forward.

 

Raven Zimmer (costume designer)

 

Oklahoma native, Raven Zimmer started sewing at the age of 10. She begrudgingly learned the skill from her mother. On one occasion, young Raven, sat at her sewing machine proclaiming, “sewing would never be useful” in her life.  Only a few short years later, Raven found herself “eating crow” when she decided to major in Apparel Design and Production at Oklahoma State University.  During her college career, Raven honed her sewing skills. Her designs were often acknowledged for their craftsmanship and impeccable detail. In her junior year of college she interned on a feature film, thus beginning her freelance costume and design career.  After a few years of gaining experience working on movies such as “Yellow”, “August: Osage County”, and “Rudderless”, she moved to Los Angeles, where she currently resides. She has designed several short films, including, “Chute Fighter’, and “Rods and Cones”, and continues to work in the Film Industry.

 

DONATE TO THIS PROJECT:

Cinefemme's Federal Tax EIN Number is 52-237-4579.  Our address is 1014 Broadway St. #477 in Santa Monica, CA.  Donations to this project can be made via the donation button above, through a charitable fund, or by check.  Checks should be made out to Cinefemme and have "#IAmThatBoy" written in the memo section.  Checks must be mailed to:

Cinefemme

1014 Broadway #477

Santa Monica, CA

90401