Actors Sawyer and Raye Spielberg are set to star in the dark comedy thriller, Pink Flags, written and directed by indie filmmaker Misha Calvert.
The real-life married couple will play opposite each other as a feisty figure skater named Liberty (Raye) who turns the tables on an inept stalker (Sawyer) while preparing for a high-stakes skating competition. Production has started this month in New York City.
The short film calls upon the female gaze to help audiences connect to the emotional and psychological experience of stalking and assault, while using dark humor and a captivating aesthetic in the style of classic 1970’s paranoia cinema.
“I think it’s so interesting how [Pink Flags] plays with the line between spectator and voyeur,” said Raye about the themes of the script. “The main character, this fiercely-independent free bird, finds it more comforting to gaslight herself than pronounce herself a victim,” added Raye. The cast is rounded out by Nick Creegan (Batwoman) playing Liberty’s best friend, and Lana Young (Southpaw) as her ice skating coach.
Raye and Sawyer Spielberg are frequent creative collaborators, also sharing the screen in the upcoming indie film Merry Good Enough for Little Sky Film. They have appeared on stage together in Extinction by Gabe McKinley, and the world premieres of stage plays Leviticus by Mandi Riggi and (O)n THE 5:31 by Mando Alvarado. Sawyer Spielberg will also portray an Air Force pilot in the much-anticipated action series Masters of the Air alongside Academy Award-winning actors Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan, set to release this year on Apple TV+.
Writer-director Misha Calvert has worked extensively in indie film with series like Strut (Revry), which she wrote and starred in, and All Hail Beth (BRIC TV), which she wrote and directed. Her feminist thriller feature, Rager, is with production company Good Question Media with production tentatively slated for late 2023.
“As soon as Raye, Sawyer, and I started talking about the idea of Pink Flags, we were all an immediate yes,” said Calvert. “The message is simple: Believe women. And women, believe in yourselves.”
The film is produced by Cronin Cullen (This is Us, Camp Greenwood) and Consulting Producer Federica Belletti, who was recently awarded the BAFTA-Yugo commissioning grant for her short film, Arya. Pink Flags is the recipient of the Panavision New Filmmakers Grant.
