My Movie #eVeNgodThisFemaleIsNotYetRated™ is ON this list !
SO PROUD of the #AllFemaleCrew during Principle photography and the Mixed Gender, Mixed Orientation Music Team and Post-Production !
The project includes a #FemaleDirector and tackles #MeToo #LGBTQrights #WomensRights #InterracialLove and #ClimateEmergency !
We are such a TINY TEAM and would appreciate any and all support for our #ForYourConsideration campaign !
Hope everyone helps us #SHARE and spread the word for more #WordOfMouth and we are hoping Academy Members will consider us for nomination in several categories for which we are eligible !
More info on our tiny #FYC campaign is at calililiindies.com
also at our facebook pages, twitter, Instagram etc …
VENICE BEACH, California – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – December 2019 Updated January 2020
First-time director Cali Lili’s female-crewed, climate-emergency, interracial, love-is-love-story and self-described Womanifest0™ entitled “eVe N’ god this female is not yet rated ™” which opened Feb 1, 2019 at L.A’s Downtown Independent Cinema, aptly ran between last years’ “The Favourite” and “David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive” is now running her dark-horse “For Your Consideration” campaign, seeking noms in the “Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, Original Screenplay, Original Song” categories in spite of the woman-owned, independent, sustainable studio’s micro-budget.
Funded in part, with baby-sitting, lemonade stand, yoga-instructor and acting gig earnings then existentially threatened with losing both home and studio, due to gentrification and discriminatory push-back, the project officially announced it’s all female LGBTQ inclusive Production Crew in 2012 and shot mostly “on the water” in LA’s gentrification-torn Venice Beach hood.
Iconic Indie Spirits Award nominee, actor/musician Wings Hauser plays the lead male role, Doctor Godard / aka god, co-starring Cali Lili as eVe, and with appearances by Candace Burney as Lila and Isriya McFillin as “The Global Girl.” Certified on IMDB as Triple F-rated, meaning that it was written, directed and produced by a woman, making it one of the first (if not the first) narrative motion pictures made primarily by women, the film is described as an allegorical, avant-garde fantasy feminist fairytale.
Log-Line : “ One day in the epiphany of a 21st century girl, who kissed a girl ™ “
Synopsis : “A lost and found, edenic virginity fantasy bordering on polyamory, a bittersweet climate-change romance in the key of Rock N’ Soul and an immersive, sea-life sci-fi dream as the Global Girl awakens to the Legacy of Herself.”
Part “cinematic response” to #MeToo experiences, the project later evolved with urgent intent to raise awareness about inter-related social and environmental justice themes interwoven with a story based on true-life events, for a feature narrative drama, seeking to artfully break cinematic rules, for a cause. Story is based on true-life events including a semi-autobiographical coming out story, dedicated on-screen to victims of violence against Women, LGBTQ persons, African American Communities, Indigenous communities and the Environment, especially Sea-Life.
Ocean-conservancy footage includes a local octopus named “Octavia” and other sea-life, appearing unprompted for the lens during principal photography. Costumes and sets were manufactured from at least 90% up-cycled materials including fruits, vegetables and flowers supplied by farmers at local farmers markets to help create the “garden of eVe.”
Dialogue centers on a surfer-girl studying for her PHD in science, but who must work as a stripper to pay tuition and evolves into a debate over the love-hate triangle between eVe as every-woman, Doctor Godard as white male authority figure, and Lillith aka Lila, as eVe’s black lesbian lover and spiritual twin. The Global Girl is portrayed as greek chorus in this modern-day retelling of ancient secrets.
Description of the film as “breaking sound barriers,” references the lead female speaking over 51% of the film, “attempting to shatter narrative structures along with glass ceilings in a poetic, fluid, dream-like ‘Alice in Wonderland’ style where music and sound play significant roles.”
Screenplay was conceived with original songs built directly into the body of the text described as “born organically from a graphic novel, equal parts cinematic innovation, avant-garde love song, declaration of independence, and political protest on behalf of all vulnerable lives in the balance.”
Songs are described as “sexy-smart protest-love-songs, thick with lyrics and percussion, recorded on the floating movie set, with a diverse, inclusive group of professional live musicians, minimal synth.” Singer-Songwriter style ranges from Feminist Rap / Soul Hip Hop to Anthemic guitar heavy Psychedelic Folk-Rock, to Femme-Punk and World-Beat Grooves. The 13 song soundtrack encourages audiences to know songs before seeing the movie, or get to know them afterwards, “seeking to bridge cultures and harkening back to broadway musical culture, when the audience bought the libretto.”
Movie out now on Apple, YouTube, Google Play and #WorldWideon #Vimeo
“VERY different from the sort of thing that I typically deal with. Much more discursive – ( Intent for the project comes through very strongly – that this is about trying to break preconceptions and make things better )
but not everything has to fit the Hollywood template, and in place of action you’ve got atmosphere, a contemplative sense of place and smartly executed intellectual pyrotechnics instead….
– it’s a pleasure …. but pleasures are guilty things!”
INTERVIEW: PART ONE – Cali Lili Indies™ talks about the amazing and mysterious teaser for her new film eVe N’ god™ this FEMALE is Not Yet RATED™
Actress/Filmmaker Cali Lili Indies™ talks with TV Store Online about the teaser trailer for the release of her upcoming film, eVe N’ god™ this FEMALE is Not Yet RATED™ In late 2013, actress/filmmaker Cali Lili Indies™put the a teaser trailer for her upcoming film eVe N’ god™ this FEMALE is Not Yet RATED™. The trailer offers it’s viewer a very powerful and visceral female image. TV Store Online decided to ask Indies all about it.
Actress/Filmmaker Cali Lili Indies™
TV STORE ONLINE: Hey Cali…Thanks for taking the time out of your schedule to talk with me. I took a look at the teaser trailer for your new film and I’m totally intrigued…
Cali Lili™: I love that you said you were intrigued by it. I’ve received feedback with that EXACT word from quite a few people online…and I love it.
TV STORE ONLINE: When I watch the trailer….The first thing I notice about you and also about your official website is that you seem to be trying to literally make art out of everything…It’s a wonderful notion and certainly not something that everyone is trying to accomplish either…. Cali Lili™: That’s very perceptive of you! But I don’t “try”… it just happens…Art does me. I don’t yet have an official website … I am “floating” on social networks currently … and it’s fun for now … but our official site is under construction ….
TV STORE ONLINE: One of the most interesting facets of this, is that you seem to be creating a totally different way of using basic language and in writing it too on your website…Are there any rules when it comes to making art?
Cali Lili™: Rules in art? Hmmm…”Do no harm to innocent living beings” is pretty much the only “No” rule I can think of in life or art. I don’t really believe there are any credible rule(S) about art. In Bali they have no word for “art”. Everything is intended to be beautiful, and to be art.
TV STORE ONLINE: Your teaser has such a strong and powerful female image in play…Where do you think that strength comes from in that image in your teaser trailer?
Cali Lili™: Thanks. The action in the teaser is me “ripping” off the Iconic NoHate/NoH8 tape. It’s a physical act… A moment. I hope that comes across in … That feeling you get, when you see that girl’s eyes onscreen (my eyes). “She” is feeling it for women all over the world, for LGBTQ communities, and for anybody who is disenfranchised or abused, also for the animals … for dolphins, any abused or unwanted creatures, creations. In creating that image…I was expressing the feeling that my own voice was becoming painful to squelch, and, I began to literally feel that many voices of women in the world were also feeling squelched.
TV STORE ONLINE: There’s something else that releases from the image in your teaser….There’s the power of the image itself, but it also seems to have a very dreamlike aesthetic to it as well. When I was reading through your website, I notice a phrase at work “Dream about a dream about a dream..” Is cinema a dream to you and why? And, who is the dreamer in your upcoming film?
Cali Lili™: Yeah, there’s even a line in the film about that. It’s very much part of the style of the film. However, I do dislike “dreamy for dreamy sake” aesthetics. If I don’t “buy it” or “believe it” in a film, or on a set, I’m out. I think we’re all dreaming though. I do feel we are all “Connoissieurs of Media”. We’re all dreaming together in a collective unconscious manner. Everyone is online via social media, mainlining conversations, and when we watch movies together or listen to music together, we all dream together. We have the power to create a reality beyond the mortgage or the nightly news. I feel we all have the responsibility to dream beyond the everyday chores of life.
From the teaser trailer ‘eVe N’ god™ this FEMALE is Not Yet RATED™’
TV STORE ONLINE: What are some of the films that have influenced you and why?
Cali Lili™: I love so many films. In no particular order…HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940) … Howard Hawks, because of how the actors, the dialogue …. how the muscularity of it all operates. It’s a perfect dance. It’s brilliantly written, and also offers a potent social commentary. That’s what I aspire to … There’s also a great tension between the male and female roles, and that’s something I write about a lot .. It’s a theme, a conscience and consciousness, in all of my work … Another film I admire is WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (2009), which was directed by Spike Jonze. Seeing that really changed my life. We can be out there all alone, afraid, and with monsters around us. If we can survive, we can thrive. THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR (1975): I love the mystery. It tells us to question everything. Then it has this amazing style. I love the look of that era in film. All of the actors look really great, and the directors of the ’70s wanted them to look great and iconic. Directors weren’t trying to upstage actors either. There’s some weird voodoo shit going on in all of that. Sydney Pollack is a fucking genius…. so is Spike Jonze … so was Howard Hawks.
I’d add THE CONTENDER (2000) here = Rod Lurie …. Strong female character – Gutsy role – perfectly played by Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges and Gary Oldman in that film? I’ll never remember anybody EATING in a scene more than Gary Oldman eating that steak …. And … I’d add .. MERYL STREEP In ANY FUCKING THING …Watching her think without any sound would be Oscar Worthy. Same with Dustin Hoffman, there are so many genius actors that I wish I could work with as an actress and direct in something someday People say it’s a directors’ medium… but … I say : “we the actor” are the inevitable paint, canvas, subject …all to illustrate the human spirit ….that’s what is most culturally significant about the film medium … celebrating the human spirit and the magic that cannot be defined but must be experienced.
TV STORE ONLINE: I know you’ve just released a teaser on line for your new film, but could you tell us at least who’s going to be in the film?
Cali Lili™: I am so proud to say I got Wings Hauser to be in this film – and I can assure you he did NOT do this as a favor ! Ha! Yes he is my partner, but NO he doesn’t do film favors … It was a really life-changing experience to hear him say that of all the directors and actors/actresses he’s worked with in his career, I was in his top five – and I can’t wait to show off his KICKASS PERFORMANCE in this new film, for which, I take full credit …laughing
Interview Conducted by: Justin Bozung Follow Cali Lili Indies™ on Facebook HERE: Follow Cali Lili Indies™ on Twitter HERE: Follow Cali Lili Indies™ on Tumblr HERE:
The Teaser Trailer for eVe N’ god™ this FEMALE is Not Yet RATED™
Based on a story woven from true-life events, after a brutal attack, we enter the dreamscape of eVe, determined to save the life of her lesbian lover, Lila.
A bittersweet romance, an allegorical virginity fantasy, love-is-love-triangle story, bordering on polyamory, the world we experience is an immersive Sci-Fi Triple-F-Rated Fantasy Fairy Tale of the Global Girl awakening to the legacy of herself in a Venice Beach, Cali Surf Shack (eden).
Our experience of inner landscape, hovers over the cutting edge of life, death, dreams + reality.
Lush, green, yet minimalist.
In two hours, Miss Evening Lili / eVe Striptease Dancer / PHD STEM Science Candidate (Cali Lili) will present Oral Arguments to the PHD Committee. After last night, all bets are off. This morning is eVe’s final prep session with Advisor Doctor Godard / god Chair of Gender Studies (Wings Hauser).
He wants to know eVe’s conclusions. Problem is: eVe has awoken to so many questions, she can no longer settle for Doc’s limited world.
Shot mostly On the Water with an original 13 song Rock Rap World Beats soundtrack Album to be released with Movie, ‘this female is not yet rated’ unfurls mysteries of an untold interracial love story between women of color eVe + Lilith / ‘Lila.’
Smashing story structure, breaking boundaries, born organically from a graphic novel / script that is surreal, narrative, love letter, declaration of independence, political protest for Democracy on behalf of all vulnerable lives in the balance.
Told ‘Like A Girl,’ with a sexy -smart edge, this story is dedicated to Mother Earth, endangered communities: global girls, students, LGBTQ, bisexual, trans, BLM, Dreamers, indigenous cultures + wildlife / climate communities, especially ocean life.
Are we trapped in a liminal state-of-consciousness between life + death?
meditations on “eVe N’god this female is not yet rated ™”
“ What happens before you shatter the glass ceiling ?
What does it even really mean – to ‘shatter glass ceilings’ ?
In my movie, ‘eVe’ as ‘every-woman’ has left the proverbial ‘eden’ – to start a ‘garden’ of her own.
We find her, where she ‘landed’ after ‘walking out of eden’ – it’s a little rough for now – her suit-case barely unpacked – the closet over-crowded and flowers breaking through the floor, yearning to find the sun.
eVe explores : what happens after you shatter glass ?
Belting out : ‘ I believe in myself ‘ is an easy platitude –
but …
arriving at a place of one’s own –
a place – where it’s SO incongruent – to take one more step, remaining steeped in the old terrors of abandonment or loss – while still trying to ‘win’ + live a joyful life ?
Dancing ‘backwards in high heels’ as Ginger Rogers described – in order to take one step forward ?
a place – where ‘eVe’ as every-woman – must finally face the demons threatening her very survival
a place – where she knows in her bones : SHE CAN + MUST rely on herself now –
a self which is not alone – but made up of many other ‘every-women’ she can call upon to self-rescue –
the ‘every-women’ are represented by ‘Lila’ – eVe’s yin-yang-twin lover + partner
when everything – including her own faith in others or in the world or ‘god’ – is shattered – together – eVe + Lila – can heal the world.
To ‘shatter glass ceilings’ we must be willing to dare first – to be shattered from your old disempowering beliefs about self and culture.
Now that I’ve explored what happens BEFORE and during — I can’t wait for my next movie – to share what happened NEXT ! “
” VERY different from the sort of thing that I typically deal with. Much more discursive –
( -Intent for the project comes through very strongly – that this is about trying to break preconceptions and make things better – )
but not everything has to fit the Hollywood template, and in place of action you’ve got atmosphere, a contemplative sense of place and smartly executed intellectual pyrotechnics instead….
– it’s a pleasure …. but pleasures are guilty things! ”
Dear #ShirleyMaclaine right after I graduated – I worked so hard 2 cast u in a Movie – but after several phone brawls w ur agent, who did everything he could 2 make the deal impossible – I had 2 give up, heartbroken. Later I found out what happened to our industry –
Tonight I saw u in a movie + I am once again – completely amazed by the depth, complexity, Humanity of ur work. Our industry is trying to sell even more b.s. these days about their b.s. claim that ” #AmericanActors don’t have the training or dedication or … blah blah blah
Truth is – everything that’s happening in politics today was foreshadowed by what happened to the entertainment industry – the big$media – it’s been a process of #GentrificationOfCulture ™ same as other gentrification – an absconding with our heart + soul –
But we don’t have to give it away …
I hope artlovers cinephiles movielovers musiclovers will rally + support the movie + album I was finally able to make against all odds …
+ I still hope someday I get to work with u + many other actors + directors I so admire.
Thank you SO MUCH to Lilly @kxlu for today’s #shoutout + #AirPlay on #KXLU #Radio – a total honor for us coming from YOU ! We 💕 u + ur cool show on a hot #LaborDay2019
