Casting Call: Baltimore Student Film

Casting “Red Prior,” a Johns Hopkins University and Studio North short drama film exploring the weight of motherhood through immigrant and BIPOC lenses.

Synopsis: A pregnant mother in prison begins to make sense of her guilt after connecting with a kindred inmate. When this leads to an unexpected breakthrough, she must rethink everything she thought she knew.

This story paints a portrait of motherhood that is truly multidimensional by charting its depths of joy and sorrow. Insomuch as we hear the voices of these women, we grapple too with their flaws, their hurts, and their wrongs. ‘Red Prior’ is an unrelenting exploration of the darkest edges of our psyche and the power of human connection to bring us to see the light.

Ling (Lead, Female, 25-40) is an Asian American immigrant, introspective and unrelentingly self-reliant. After giving up her firstborn daughter as a result of her poverty-stricken conditions, Ling is imprisoned for trying to kidnap her daughter back. She believes she has failed as a mother and as a human, grappling with almost insurmountable pain.

Rehearses June-July remotely; shoots Aug. 21-25 in Charles Village and Station north neighborhoods of Baltimore, MD. Note: All scenes but one short scene will be shot in indoor locations.

As this is a low-budget student film, we unfortunately do not have the means to provide compensation for our cast and crew. Studio North has previously casted talent from Backstage for unpaid roles in over a dozen student short films. Note: All cast members will receive IMDb credit, an invite to the film’s premiere in Baltimore’s Parkway Theater, and a copy of the finished film.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:
Sophia Lin is a rising senior double majoring in Film & Media Studies and Cognitive Science at Johns Hopkins University. She has written, directed, and shot a variety of narrative and experimental shorts. Outside of class, she has worked as director of photography on two Studio North-produced films, MAGNUM OPUS and SUNDOWN, three senior thesis films, and an upcoming music video. Last summer, she worked with Emmy-winning producers Judy Plavnick and Jane Bloom to develop, produce, and shoot STRONGER START, a documentary miniseries for the Washington DC network DCTV. She has associate produced the 2023 feature film SENIOR, a recipient of the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund, and is currently producing COME INTO MY ARMS, a 2024 feature film and finalist for the Rubys Artists Awards. She has been the recipient of the Johns Hopkins ASPIRE Grant and the Freedman Creative Media Award. This summer, she is interning in development and production at FilmNation Entertainment.

Requirements