Have you ever wondered how Santa keeps track of all the boys and all the girls? Through a set of eyes, he watches, even though they aren’t his own. Each year Santa sends his loyal little elves to monitor the behavior of all the world’s children. But what if the elf in the room is really watching? What if he’s able to teach you a lesson? What happens if you touch him?
The Elf In The Room is a twisted but cautionary psychological thriller inspired by the popular holiday family tradition with a similar name. The story provides perspective on the notion that we are a product of our environment, by exploring the themes of parenting and the consequences of neglect. The idea of “present but absent” occurs when parents are emotionally unavailable to nurture their children. Since attention and affirmation are important to a child’s development, this void can lead to low self esteem and a tendency to act out and misbehave in order to get the attention they crave.
The concept of a “spying” elf doll is an intriguing metaphor, because even if exaggerated, it is conceivable to depict the activity as an easy out for parents; allowing them to shift the responsibility of disciplining and nurturing their children to an inanimate object. This isn’t any different than handing a child a smartphone or video game in lieu of quality time and attention.
There are two key prop elements that are crucial to the production of our film, the elf doll and the accompanying story book.
We are ecstatic to have the opportunity to partner with an accomplished and world renowned doll maker to bring our stylized vision to life. Of course, designing, modeling, and creating a poseable porcelain doll that is camera ready is no small feat and it is certainly not cheap. The production process for one doll will take over 4 months and will require a significant portion of the budget.
We will be shooting on location in Pittsburgh, PA in Q1 of 2019. Our cast and crew consists of film professionals, many of whom are generously giving up their time to help us out with the bottom line. Due to the seasonal relevance of our film, it likely will not be released to the public until the fall of 2019. That being said, contributors will have the exclusive opportunity to see the film before its release, when production is complete.
Click here to donate to The Elf in the Room: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-elf-in-the-room#/
