Elle

A former soccer phenomenon, feeling her life eclipsed by her pregnancy, encounters a haunting Lilith spirit doula, bent on eliminating her career obstacle - the baby.

SHIRA, late 30’s, pregnant, tries to impress her former soccer team and new captain, but crashes. Her pregnancy stripped her of her identity and now requires bed rest. To her dismay, ROY, her husband, insists she gets help. A doula is hired - ELLE. Shira begins dreaming about dying at birth like her mom, while her marriage unravels as Elle urges her to reclaim her career. An offer from her dream team in Europe finally allows her to see a way to be a mother and fulfil herself. Roy refuses, sues for custody and Shira concedes. Elle overhears and brutally forces Shira into delivery, alone. Shira and her baby survive and take refuge at her dad’s, who suspects the doula is Lilith, a baby-killing demon. Roy has a change of heart but disappears. As Shira’s dad searches for him, Elle finds Shira. To Elle’s fury, Shira realizes her priorities and offers her life instead of the baby’s. A fight erupts. Dying, Elle plans to take over Shira’s body and raise the baby to become her version of a strong woman. Determined to save her daughter, Shira stabs herself so she can’t be possessed. Elle dies. Shira, saved, hums Elle’s signature lullaby.

Keywords: motherhood

Director's note:
Elle aims to explore the interplay between personal aspirations, societal expectations, and the inherent right of women to define their own identities. At the heart of the story lies Shira’s encounter with a haunting Lilith spirit doula, a supernatural entity determined to eradicate the perceived obstacle to Shira’s career: her unborn child. This supernatural element serves as a metaphor for fighting societal pressures and external forces that seek to undermine women's autonomy and control over our own destinies. At the same time, it dictates the “right” choice and eliminates the ability to choose yet again. Does Elle represent a voice inside most women, afraid to lose who they are? As we embrace the family chapter of our lives, does it mean our personal one must come to an end? Can what we choose to be good enough simply because we chose it? Through Shira’s battle with her inner demons, I explore my path and the delicate balance of having a career and starting a family.

Producer's note:
This project was born from a pitch to Shaked Berenson (GOLEM, JERUZALEM) at Fantasia Frontieres ‘23. He agreed to give 10% of the budget and Sam Zimmerman of Shudder suggested they’d do sales. With that and my longstanding US equity partnerships, we have 22% of the budget. Currently, we are in early development of the project. We envisage the script, at a 900,000 USD budget, funded by US equity; a Belgian /Canadian majority co-production; a UK minority co-production and an Israeli tax credit. European Genre Forum’s aim to foster co-production and boost the career of future European players is a great fit for us. I am still rebuilding my European networks (I hold UK / German passports), after being trapped in the US, with VISA issues, during COVID. Adva holds a Romanian passport and is relatively new on the European scene. We have also only applied to one other training program thus far: TFL Treatment Lab, which leaves us well-placed to attend 3 markets through the Forum.