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Set in 2004, The Film Domme plunges into the world of Ebonee Blak, an eccentric, down-on-her-luck director, and her ragtag group of whimsical imaginary friends. A perpetually ashy sock puppet, a BAPS-esque disembodied hand, and a blaxploitation heroine! After a failed pitch meeting, Ebonee spirals down a journey of self-discovery through sex work, drugs, and violence to create her film and confront her stalker.

Ebonee's world is bold and imaginative; her DIY punkified version of Pee-wee's Playhouse studio apartment reflects the technophilia of the early 2000s and surrealism. And beyond her safe haven, the outside world becomes a disorienting, nightmarish landscape that physically manifests through set design and cinematography. Her anxieties are reflected in the industrial noise sound design.

Her stalker/neighbor lingers in the shadows of the outside world, a continued haunt in the narrative that slowly drives our isolated protagonist to madness. Moving through a patriarchal world, in her body, Ebonee’s reality is filled with absurd and crass secondary characters. Every setting Ebonee inhabits reflects her inner world, offering a singular and unflinching glimpse into her unique reality. All of these intersecting components in The Film Domme evoke rich imagination and detail, expressed through sound design to hair/makeup, costume, and set design.

Ebonee Blak is an award-winning director and costume designer based in Philadelphia. She has worked on wardrobe for the OBIE-award-winning performance, Weathering. Her graduate thesis film, “The Gold Digger: Murder, Money, & Mayhem,” won the “Audience Award” at the Savannah College of Art and Design student showcase. Later premiering at the Broad Humor Film Festival in Santa Monica, CA. Since age five, storytelling has been a profound aspect of Ebonee's personhood, as has her conservative upbringing. As an act of resistance, Ebonee uses comedy to critique the status quo through satire of race, gender, class, ableism, and heteronormativity.

I feel extremely dedicated to portraying complex black femme characters who are often hidden away and ignored. Examining our experiences through a stylized lens that offers a raw and nuanced look at the lives of black sex workers is deeply important work. Using horror to examine the madness resulting from a world that is unrelenting and uncaring towards black femme humanity and apathetic to our marginalization. The Film Domme is bold, brash, but also deeply intimate and human. I hope this work continues to expand the landscape of cinema and push the boundaries of black femme stories thus far.

To bring this vision to life, we need your donation to fairly pay cast and crew and build this unique world. Our crowdfunding goal is $25,000. Your contribution covers these production essentials:

1. The cost of equipment and skill to create builds and set designs that fully capture Pee Wee's Playhouse-inspired apartment and theatrical secondary set designs.

2. Creating original fashion designs and sourcing period-accurate pieces.

3. A dedicated makeup artist to create custom SFX for Ebonee's transformation and other secondary characters.

4. Professional-grade supplies for the nail and hair artist which are a crucial layer of storytelling in the film.

5. Location rental fees

6. Sourcing a 16 mm film camera, camera monitor, covering the cost of the rolls, and developing of the film.

7. Covering travel/lodge for crew members and cast during the film's festival circuit.