Affliction (2019)

Two coworkers contemplate the aftermath of an encounter.

"Affliction" on the blog. Check out The Making of.

Behind the Scenes

Press

Crew

Director, Producer
Christina Raia

Writer, Producer
Kelsey Rauber

Cinematographer
Peter Westervelt

Assistant Director/Editor
Matt Gershowitz

Director Statement

The short was originally born out of a weekly writing group between screenwriter Kelsey Rauber, frequent collaborator Ryan Kramer, and myself. We try to meet up every week to either give feedback to each other on new pages of ongoing projects or practice pitches that are either inspired by our own experiences or come out of challenges we give each other in session (like from news stories or a draw of the hat type of exercise featuring genres and settings). This particular piece was a script Kelsey presented that was inspired by frustrations surrounding the lack of self-reflection and tangible progress in 2019 despite consent finally being a topic of discussion in the zeitgeist, as well as a general fascination with menstruation and evolution. I really liked the way it played with a both timely and timeless issue and did so via a high concept conveyed through a small contained encounter. We ended up workshopping it over a few meetups and, eventually, Kelsey and I decided to collaborate on it together with me as director. I'm really eager to discuss the final product with an audience.

Screenings & Awards

2020 Sidewalk Film Festival

2020 Horrible Imaginings Film Festival (Runner-Up: Best Dramatic Short & Best Director Short Film)

2020 Queens World Film Festival

2020 Capital City Film Festival

2020 Revolution Me Film festival (Winner: Best Social Awareness and Best Screenplay. Nominated: Best Drama, Best Director Short Film, Best Actor, Best Editing)

2020 Adirondack Film Festival

2020 Revenge Fest

2020 Indigo Moon Film Festival

2020 Fem.Cine.Anarchy

2020 Imagine This Women's Film Festival

Cast

Starring:

Briana Swann & Nabil Vinas

Full Cast & Crew: IMDB