Support "The Phoenix"

Update: July 2021

We're so grateful for the support from everyone who helped us reach our $15,000 stretch goal. Since then, we've completed production on the film, and are excited to announce our new fundraising goal of $25,000, which will cover our post-production expenses, including visual effects, marketing, and film festivals fees. To donate, head to our Indiegogo and select a perk on the right side. 

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Support the film today by donating to our Indiegogo fundraiser. Any donation, no matter how small, gets us one step closer to making this film a reality. 

The story

Inside a working class home in 90’s America, eight year old Charlie wants nothing more than to be a superhero. Her overworked parents are drifting apart, and their arguments just keep getting worse. Charlie’s only escape is her dream of being super. Eventually, the toxicity around the house boils over, and Charlie watches as her mother throws a frying pan at her father. BAM! Charlie freezes time, her arms outstretched in a gesture of protest. She has finally unlocked her super power! Instinctively, Charlie discovers that she can not only stop time, but turn it back. Immediately, Charlie turns back time just before her parents' most recent fight and tries to avert it through her innocent, eight year old diplomacy.

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What unfolds is Charlie’s growth to realizing that her powers may not be the solution to solving the problems of her broken home, but rather the answer to finding that her strength to rise above hardship, lies within herself.

director's statement

When I started writing this story, it wasn’t meant to be autobiographical. Yet my subconscious mind had a story to tell, and writing this story was hugely therapeutic. 

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The protagonist’s story mirrors my own upbringing closely. My parents constantly screamed at each other, at me, and fights would often escalate into threats or thrown objects. The only friends and role models I had were in books and movies, and I was terribly lonely. Like Charlie, I desperately wanted superpowers—I wanted to save the world! I wanted to save my parents! I never wanted anyone to feel the same way as I did. 

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I never got ‘superpowers,’ but continued to try and help my parents, always to no avail. As soon as I helped my dad clean the house and throw away the things he’d hoarded, it would revert back to disaster within weeks. No matter how many ways I helped my mom, or how many times she would apologize for her actions, she would always revert to calling me a useless bitch. It wasn’t until after college, after a series of particularly bad incidents, that I finally realized that no matter what I did, I could not save them. I could not save them, because their actions were never my fault. And thus, the heart of The Phoenix was born. 

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Though I no longer wish for a physics-bending magical transformation, I do still believe I have the power to create mass positive change. My superpower is my voice. My superpower is my drive, determination, and hard work to create stories that inspire and uplift.

Regina Pigsley

Directer & Writer, "The Phoenix"