SYNOPSIS
Traumatized by body shaming during her childhood, a mother struggles to separate her past from her daughter’s present.
Dr. Bethany Carter-Fuentes has been invited to attend her high school reunion as the Guest of Honor. Her ten-year-old daughter and her husband are proud of Bethany and excited about her achievements however, the invite dredges up Bethany’s long-buried wounds as the victim of childhood body shaming.
Fearful of the same trauma happening to her own self-assured daughter, Bethany must decide which is better: to encourage her daughter's strong sense of self-esteem or to prepare her for the painful reality of judgment.
WINNER "TEXAS DRAMA SHORT" - AUSTIN REVOLUTION FILM FESTIVAL 2023
TRAILER
WHY THIS FILM
Our media is saturated with perfection.
There is so much pressure to appear a certain way - we glorify bodies and faces that don't exist without filters or photoshop. With women and girls, there's an additional insidious layer rarely discussed: the cycle of insecurity passed down from mother to daughter, woman to girl.
Andee found herself caught in the cycle when her daughter approached puberty. Writing was a means to deal with her own feelings of guilt and shame. When Chiara read the script, it was immediately relatable. She recognized the cycle in her own family life. Her own insecurities resurfaced as well.
These insecurities, especially body image issues, begin at a very young age. They mess with your mind. We hope that this film will help women and girls to stop the cycle of insecurity and find that the image reflected back at them is perfect just the way they are.
THE TEAM
Written, Directed, Produced by Andee Kinzy
ANDEE KINZY is a writer/producer/director from Austin, TX. She has a BA in Drama from UT Austin and trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC. In New York, she was president of the nonprofit women’s film organization, CineWomen NY. Later, that group was absorbed into NYWIFT.
Andee has written, produced, and directed over twenty Shakespeare for Kids productions and has worked with hundreds of students in Texas, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Berlin, Bangalore, and Melbourne. Shakespeare’s Global Hamlet, which Andee wrote, produced, directed, and edited, is an episodic web series and feature film showcasing youth around the world. As Festival Director for the Girl Improved Film & Television Festival, now in its fourth year, Andee continues to inspire girls and nonbinary youth to challenge gender inequality in entertainment.
She served on the board of WIFT Austin. She's currently in development on her feature, Dolores and Howard Kick the Bucket.
Directed, Produced by Chiara McCarty
CHIARA MCCARTY is an actress and director originally from Ortona, Italy. She received extensive training in Los Angeles where she attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Hollywood and the Theatre Academy at Los Angeles City College, a three-year acting conservatory focused on theatre, and earned a Certificate of Advanced Acting in Theatre as well as an Associates of Arts in Theatre. She continues to study the craft of acting at Crash Acting Studio under the guidance of Benjamin Mathes. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from UCLA.
Chiara has acted in over two dozen films and over a dozen theatrical productions. You can catch her on Amazon Prime as Cleo in the filmed stage performance of Kill All Politicians and as the Schoolteacher in the short independent film Spindletop: The Beginning. She was nominated for Best Acting Performance in the short film VivÃan at Austin After Dark Film Festival 2022.
Shame Full is Chiara’s directorial debut. She serves on the board of Women In Film & Television Austin.
CAST
GISELLE DE LA ROSA as BETHANY CARTER-FUENTES
Giselle is a proud daughter of immigrants born to a family of artists in Southern California. She studied in New York City and is currently based in Austin. Giselle has received accolades in dance, theatre and film and has participated in notable collaborations with Theatre En Bloc, Ground Floor Theatre, Marfa Live Arts, ScriptWorks and Performance Platform Austin. She also works as a film festival director and film screener with Cine Las Americas, The Arthouse Film Festival and SXSW (2021-2023).
WINNER 'ALLISON WOOD TEXAS ACTRESS' - AUSTIN REVOLUTION FILM FESTIVAL 2023
ZOE MONTOYA as JASMINE FUENTES
Zoe is a 12-year-old from South Texas who started acting when she was 8 years old. Her love for acting and the arts started when she saw her older brother take on the role of the infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar's son for the show Murder Made Me Famous. Since then, her love for the craft led her to participate in musicals at school and local community theatre.
JASON COX as RAFAEL FUENTES
Jason is a native of San Antonio who began his performing career at twenty-five as a ballet dancer.
He recently decided to explore working in TV and film and had the good fortune to work with the talented cast and crew of Shame Full. Jason hopes all of his future work will be this effortless, meaningful, and fun!
KATE FERGUSON as
KAT MORRISON
Kate is an L.A.-based Actor, Writer, Filmmaker, and Photographer with a deep love of storytelling and all things art.
BETTY ARMBRUSTER
as
ELLA MORRISON
Betty is based in Austin, TX. She enjoys dancing, singing and all types of sports.
CREW
Directed and Produced by
Andee Kinzy & Chiara McCarty
Written AND EDITED by
Andee Kinzy
Director of Photography
Lance Seymour
Consulting Editor
Spenser Reich
Music by
Analia Lentini
SOUND MIXER
Joseph Cooke
BOOM OPERATOR
Victoria Linares
SOUND SHADOW
Teresa Y. Roberson
GAFFER
Zack Kearns
KEY GRIP
Calvin Henson Jr.
G&E SWING
Caden Conaway
SCRIPT SUPERVISOR
Jenny de la Fuente
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Rosheena Daniels
LYRICS
Moniq Guevara
COLORIST
Maria Forsythe
Grace Goen
SOUND DESIGN
Victoria Linares
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Pamela Oliver Munoz
SCREENINGS AND AWARDS
*** Filmmakers will be in attendance***
Official Selection: October 13-15, 2023
Screening: Coming Soon!
Official Selection: October 12-15, 2023
Screening: Sunday, October 15, 12:30pm
Official Selection: October 20-22, 2023
Virtual: October 12-22, 2023
Official Selection: November 5, 2023
Screening: Sunday, Nov 5, 2:00pm
PAST SCREENINGS
Official Selection: September 5, 2023
Screening: 7:00pm
LAKE TRAVIS FILM FESTIVAL (TX)***
Official Selection: September 14-17, 2023
Screening: Saturday, Sept 16, 1:30pm
Private Screening: September 19, 2023
COMMUNITY PARTNER SCREENING:
IG Live Screening + Q&A: June 30, 2023
Official Selection - June 16-18, 2023
Winner:
Nominated:
Stay in Touch
We need your help to stop the cycle of insecurity and spread
the message of body positivity.
We are raising funds to help bring this film and its message to schools and organizations.