STEVIE BRETT BODINE 

Genres: Drama, Psychological Thriller

Logline: Two orphaned sisters must fight to keep the house and land they never inherited, or lose their independence forever. 

Synopsis:  STEVIE BODINE, a small town waitress, and her protective older sister BRETT BODINE, hire a city lawyer, ANDREW HSU,  who, by fate, stopped in at the diner where Stevie worked while driving through town, to administer the estate of their late father, who left all his property and land to sons that he never had.

Finding themselves almost as trespassers in their own home, and with none of the locals wanting anything to do with them, they rest all their hopes on Andrew, who, in his soft and gentle demeanor, presents a stark contrast to the harsh and traumatic realities of the sisters' existence and history. But having been literally and figuratively screwed over by abusive men their entire lives, the Bodine sisters are not very trusting of Andrew, believing he has ulterior motives to help them, especially since, as he informs them, he is doing the work pro bono. Brett is particularly antagonistic to Andrew, and is triggered every time she sees her naive younger sister Stevie begin to open up to him. 

In the final act, we see an explosive confrontation between the three of them that forces Stevie to choose between her sister and her lawyer, both of whom she has now developed conflicting feelings about. In the end, Stevie chooses herself, for once in her life, knowing that only then can she truly learn how to love and survive on her own.

"Your own mind is your worst enemy."

The following trilogy of short films were all written and produced by me. Currently in development for a feature-length film, tentatively entitled STEVIE BRETT BODINE, that combines all three shorts into one story.

The Beginning: THE REMAINDERMEN

Director/DP: Amil Dave

Principal Cast: Cara Wahle, Lynn Mancinelli, Dan Chen, Travis Collins, David Kossack

The Middle: BLACKACRE

Director: Dan Chen

DP: Gabe Chavez

Principal Cast: Meghan Perry, Elana Justin, Dan Chen, Jeff Zern

The End: BLACK BEAR (fka WINTER SEISIN)

Director: Gabrielle Davenport

DP: Thomas Santangelo

Principal Cast: Emmaline Morris, Dan Chen, Lindsay Weisberg 

Writer Statement

Originally written 10 years ago, the STEVIE BRETT BODINE story is as relevant today as it has ever been: a woman’s fight for life in a man’s world - which, in 2025, one would think unnecessary, but, sadly, continues to be one of the most pressing issues of the day.

One of the main reasons I got into filmmaking is to give voice - a stronger voice - to those demographics who are traditionally underrepresented in Hollywood, and to create opportunities for myself to play the type of roles that I might not otherwise get to play in a major studio production.

So when my friend and frequent collaborator, Amil Dave, challenged me one night with a prompt to write something with the following three elements: a strong female lead, a mystery, and fog - I took to it right away, consistent with my personal and professional mission. I felt it important to practice what I preached in terms of feminism, in the broadest sense of the word, and was guided, in part, by what is commonly referred to as the Bechdel Test, when I set out to begin writing. This test measures whether or not a movie portrays women in a way that is sexist or otherwise characterized by gender stereotyping; and, in order to pass the test, a work must feature at least two named women, who talk to each other about something other than a man.

That inspired me to write the first installment to the series, entitled THE REMAINDERMEN. Here, we are introduced to our two main characters: STEVIE and BRETT BODINE, two sisters who find themselves alone against the world, and who, orphaned at a young age, come to find out that they are now trespassers on their own childhood home and land. Both refusing to accept reality, the sisters are conflicted about what to do. When their instincts for fight or flight kick in, Stevie tries to run, but Brett insists on standing her ground. This drives a further wedge between the sisters, who have already grown distant in the five years since their parents’ passing, and have been living entirely different lifestyles.

Complicating their dilemma is that every male character in this story is presumptively an enemy. Their late father, we learn, never wanted girls (and so gave both his daughters traditionally “boy” names). Moreover, the Bodine patriarch did not believe that women should own land, and therefore made provisions in his will that the Blackacre estate should only pass to a male heir. Since there was none at the time of his death, it was unclear who owned Blackacre.

A “city” lawyer, ANDREW HSU, soon shows up in their one-traffic light town. He offers to help Stevie sort things out, but Brett is very unwelcoming to the outsider, and distrusts his motives in getting involved.