Five years ago, Gianna Rossi was a Palme d'Or nominee and a darling of the independent film world after directing her cinematic marvel, "Black Night". Now, after a series of aborted projects and her relationships with the studios wearing thin, the industry waits with interest to see if Gianna can deliver her comeback project. It may be her last chance.
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Ambitious young actress, Jane, is obsessed with Gianna and her work. When we meet Jane, she is struggling with endless rejection. Just as she reaches rock bottom, her dreams are realised when she is plucked from obscurity to play the lead in the auteur's upcoming comeback feature film - “Frayed" - a thriller shrouded in secrecy, about a young drifter infiltrating a cult.
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We follow Jane as she steps into Gianna's world, trying to assimilate and cope with the burden of carrying the film. Encouraged by Gianna, she leans on her enigmatic co-star, Rory, a veteran of Gianna's films, struggling to navigate the cycles of his own complex relationship with this powerful mentor.
Frayed is a psychological thriller with an undercurrent of elevated horror, which delves into the cutthroat and transactional world of filmmaking. Through Jane's eyes, we enter the artifice of a toxic film set, forced to witness her downfall in real time. As this process happens, the surreal aspects of the film and Jane's subjective experience become heightened, as we are forced to question the degree to which she is being exploited and manipulated by those around her.
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As Jane is pressured to sink deeper inside her character, driven by Gianna’s unyielding pursuit of perfection, her reality fragments and the boundaries between the self and the character blur. With the threat of replacement looming over her, can Jane overcome her demons and deliver the performance of a lifetime?
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Proof-of-concept for feature film / TV miniseries
On the surface, Frayed is an exposé of the transactional and exploitative elements of the creative industries, informed by the writers' appreciation for the space and deep peer experience.
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The pressure to have something real to say, to be brilliant, is familiar to all creatives, and a heavy burden for young people to carry as they search for their voice. At another level, the film is also a parable about the dark side of obsession, and of losing oneself in a quest for something just out of reach. As well as touching on these themes, Frayed also explores the timeless and unanswered question of what price great art, set within the unique habitat of an independent film. Frayed asks the question how far an artist should trust a mentor, and whether the mentor must ultimately be defeated, if the artist is to realise their full potential.
Unique narrative structure
During the film, we will witness Gianna's filmmaking process, with Jane acting as a surrogate for the audience when she steps into Gianna's world for the first time.
The "film-within-the film" framing device allows us to explore the themes at a greater depth, by giving us access behind the curtain, as we step between the "real" world and the "film" world. The increased blurring of that line will enhance the sense of reality being fragile, bringing to mind classics such as Birdman and Mulholland Drive.
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This allows the audience's experience to be far more immersive, as we are directly exposed to the simultaneous thrill and terror of Jane's new reality, as she digs ever deeper in her attempts to deliver.
Visual and storytelling style
Frayed will be a visual feast, using cinematography, light and colour to expand the scope and depth of the story beyond the short format.
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The mood and visuals will shift incrementally throughout the film, as a means of framing Jane's character arc. As an audience, we will spend the majority of the film deep inside Jane's perspective in the most immersive way possible. Initially we will be seduced by this beautiful new environment and bask in the warmth of Gianna's approval, but ultimately become disorientated and disillusioned as the pressure rises and Jane's self-worth erodes.
Frayed will be carefully constructed to take advantage of the "film within a film" framing device, using it as a means to develop character at a deeper level, exploring perspective and the battle for objective truth.
Key references
From a thematic standpoint, Frayed will live in the territory of films such as Tár, Whiplash, Black Swan and The Master.
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From a visual / kinetic standpoint, Frayed will be a blend of Lynch, Aronofsky and Fincher.
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Screenplay and further visual assets available on request.