A few years ago I optioned the rights to Ruth Galm's debut novel, Into the Valley. I have since adapted it into a screenplay.
In order to promote interest in the feature, I also wrote a short proof of concept based on the screenplay. We raised over $50,000 via Seed&Spark over the summer, filmed on location in the Sacramento Valley in July, and began post-production in August. The film was completed in February 2023 and we are in the process of submitting to festivals.
Please check out the crowdfunding page and our Instagram for more info.
Into the Valley has placed as a quarterfinalist in both ScreenCraft's Feature and Drama Competitions 2022 and Outstanding Screenplay's Feature Competition 2021. The short was a finalist in WeScreenplay's Shorts Contest 2021 and made Barnstorm Fest's Short List 2021. To view all rankings, please visit my Coverfly Page.
Logline
In 1967 San Francisco, a former debutante suffering from anxiety, flees her dead-end life for a new identity in the Sacramento Valley, but her journey takes a turn through taboo relationships and a check-fraud scheme she follows to dangerous depths.
Tonal/Stylistic Notes: A 1960s Thelma and Louise "woman on the run" film meets On the Road told through a Terrence Malick lens. The protagonist, B., is a female anti-hero struggling with existence and gender roles, lost on the open road.
Emily Somers ©
Director: Emily Sandifer
Writer: Emily Somers
Based on the Novel by Ruth Galm
Cinematographer: Jon Pears
Producers: Emily Somers, Emily Sandifer, Callmeana