The Trembles In My Voice - A CSUN Senior Thesis Short Film

"Corey a 17-year-old with a stutter relies on self-isolation to protect himself from mockery. When the only person who makes him feel accepted for who he is passes away, Corey has to learn how to navigate life alone through a world that glorifies fluency."

Welcome to the fundraising campaign of The Trembles In My Voice, a CSUN Film Production CTVA Senior Thesis Film. Thank you for visiting our page! Please read on to learn more about our film and how you can help. We appreciate your time and support.

Our Story

Our story is about a seventeen-year-old named Corey. Corey has a stutter and is mocked and ridiculed because of it. The negativity around his stutter doesn’t always come from a place of bad faith, mostly just ignorance. His mom, Esther, just wants to protect him from all the ignorance and malice. 

The closest person to Corey is his grandma, Carolina. She has been living with them for a few years now since she started to require more attention as she got older. Carolina is Corey’s safe person, she understands him and makes his life easier. After spending a day together, it ends with Corey watching his grandma die as he’s unable to communicate with the 911 operator. 

His aunt Jade is in town for the memorial, and having pains of her own, she urges Corey to leave his stutter out of his decisions to speak at her memorial. Will Corey put his fears behind him and do one last thing in honor of his grandma?  

Background  

Our film’s goal is to shine a light on a group that is often shunned from the world. Fluency is usually rewarded and viewed as confidence, preparation, and at times talent; which leaves stuttering to be seen as a lack of preparation, anxiety, fear, shyness, etc. People who stutter often stop themselves from socializing, order different food from the one they really want, or are simply deemed rude when they enter a room and don’t introduce themselves. For so long, dealing with a hidden disability has been a hidden struggle, but it doesn’t have to be. People who stutter shouldn’t have to feel the need to fix themselves or achieve fluency, in order to be understood and accepted. A little bit of patience and empathy can go a long way.

Your Donation

Our cast and crew are committed to telling Corey’s story with authenticity and care. Creating this heartfelt narrative requires your help! Every donation will go towards making this project a reality. but we can't do it without your help! 

Your generous donations will go to the following:

• Art department: To reach the specific aesthetic of Corey feeling alone in a world where others don’t we need to rely heavily on the art department. This also includes costumes, makeup, props, set dressing, and more.
• Camera and lighting: Inquiring access to professional equipment including cameras, lenses, grip equipment, and media storage is crucial to make this film look the best it can.
• Cast: To capture the best on-screen emotions we need the best talent out there. To do so we are hiring our talent, having a professional casting Director, as well as finding the perfect background talent. 
• Catering: It’s crucial we keep the energy and morality of our cast and crew while on set. What better way to do so than craft services? 
• Locations: Securing and locking a location that will only help in telling our story, a homey and loving house, a family-owned restaurant. Along with finding the perfect locations come permits, insurance, and transportation to set.
• Sound: Sound is crucial to any film we will need to rent sound equipment, as well as work with a composer for an original score or attain music rights.
• Post Production: Color grading, transcoding, editing hard drives and more are vital to have the best edit possible. In order to keep this story alive and seen by as many as possible we plan to join as many Film Festival’s as we can. 
• Safety: Filmmaking and having the best result is our passion and goal, but under no circumstances should anyone be at risk of injury or serious harm on set. 

Your donation will help ensure that all the things stated above become reality.

**ALL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE TREMBLES IN MY VOICE ARE 100% TAX DEDUCTIBLE. The California State University Northridge Foundation is a CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION 501 (C)(3) PUBLIC BENEFIT CALIFORNIA CORPORATION.**

The Crew

We are thrilled to have a crew as talented and dedicated as ours. Our crew is full of passionate filmmakers who are ready for any challenge we may come across. We’re extremely proud to have primarily a female crew. There’s a lack of opportunity for women in key roles of production, and therefore most sets end up being heavily and mainly male. This is a fight in which we are dedicated to being part of the solution. Our set, although mostly female, looks to promote equity, eliminating the gender roles that restrain us. Our crew looks forward to working on a healthy and safe set.  

Meet The Trembles In My Voice Crew 

Ana Carolina de Jesus - Writer, Director

Lindsey Mandel - Producer 

Yeva Sarukhanova - Producer

Alex Ringier - Producer

Kara Bresman - 1st Assistant Director | Harmony Smith - Script Supervisor

Daniel Tran - 2nd Assistant Director

Kevin Sustaita - Director of Photography

Claudia Sofía Sepúlveda Solís - Camera Opperator

Hannah Hobson - 1st Assistant Camera 

Marianna Vashchilenko - 2nd Assistant Camera

Kate Williams - Production Designer

Cynthia Wortmann-Tenorio - Art Director | Sophia Calcagno - Costume Designer

Justin Hong - Gaffer | Manuel Jr Martinez Gonzalez - Key Grip

Viridiana Rodriguez - BTS 

Leah Krasnoshtein - Social Media Manager

 Taylor Clark & Kameela Hassan - Sound Mixers

Grace Kelly - Editor | Emily Dray - Editor

Casting By

Kerry Baker Casting

Other Ways To Support 

We understand that donating to our project might not be something everyone has the privilege to do so get that being financially involved may not be an option. However, there are many other ways to help! Spread the word! Share our donation website with friends and family who may be able to help us out. Other alternative funding/sharing options are provided below.

Social Media

Follow us on Instagram @trembles.film to stay up to date on all aspects of our film.

Merchandise 

Stay tuned for The Trembles In My Voice merchandise!!! By purchasing our amazing merchandise our project will receive a percentage of the sales made from the online store. Just wearing our merch out and about makes a huge difference.

Thank You

On behalf of all the dedicated and hard-working students, cast, and crew members we would like to thank you for your support and time. With your generous contributions to The Trembles In My Voice this story will be possible. We look forward to sharing more updates along this process to the big screen.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or comments that you would like to share, please reach out to a producer or director: 

Director/Writer: Ana Carolina de Jesus - ana.de-jesus.639@my.csun.edu 

Producer: Lindsey Mandel - Lindsey.mandel.335@my.csun.edu

Producer: Yeva Sarukhanova -  yeva.sarukhanova.467@my.csun.edu

Producer: Alex Ringier - Alexander.ringier.977@my.csun.edu

The Trembles In My Voice: tremblesinmyvoice@gmail.com