“Mrs. Stanley”
Written by Tamar Levine and Katie Marovitch
A Fiscally Sponsored Film Project
The idea for Mrs. Stanley came from our shared experience with grief after losing immediate family members, and the surreal feeling of trying to act normal in a world that suddenly feels bizarrely distant.
Devastated by her father's recent death, Mara desperately tries to reconnect with her estranged family, including her distant mother, her clueless stepfather Ron, and self-absorbed step-siblings Chloe and Jackson. Yet, as Mara struggles to mask her frenetic mental state with polite conversation and strained smiles, she feels increasing alienation.
As Mara's mental state deteriorates, her long-repressed childhood imaginary friend, Mrs. Stanley, resurfaces.
Originally a comforting presence created to cope with her mother's abandonment, Mrs. Stanley now reappears with sinister intentions. However, the film's true villain is Mara herself, whose attempt at normalcy backfires with disastrous results.
Mrs. Stanley is equal parts horror and comedy, similar to how it is when strange people try to appear normal.
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ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
Tamar Levine didn't originally set out to be a director. With artist parents, naturally, she wanted to be a therapist. Unfortunately, she failed the AP Psych test and so found herself on a different path. She is now a director, writer, photographer, producer, and super fan of her dog Lizard.
Tamar began her career creating commercials, videos, and photo campaigns for a wide range of fashion, music, and commercial clients. She's had short films appear at LACMA and Palm Springs. Tamar is currently directing and Co-EPing the award-winning comedic series "Very Important People" for Dropout. She's completed seasons one and two, and can't wait to start on season three later this year.
Katie Marovitch is a comedy writer, actor, and director who performs improv and standup across Los Angeles. Katie currently writes, directs, and acts in Reality Check, a weekly YouTube series for FOXtv that is on its sixth season. Her short film Waffle premiered in Narrative Competition at SXSW, played at over 60 festivals worldwide, and won multiple awards, including Best Actress and Best Writing. For many years, Katie was a cast member at CollegeHumor where she wrote and starred in hundreds of sketches--many of which got millions of views and ranked in the top 10 on YouTube Trending.
She regularly appears in popular shows on the Dropout streaming service, including Game Changer, Breaking News, and Dirty Laundry, and has written for several others.
