Miss Dixie High is a feature screenplay currently in development based on the completed short proof of concept film Miss Dixie High. This page is home for information and updates on both films.
Social Issue(s): Beauty pageant ethics, sexual abuse, domestic violence, racism, female empowerment, religion.
Filmmakers' diversity demographic(s): Female writer/director. Black co-writer.
Target Audience(s): Young adult, thriller audiences, women, people of color.
Additional Projects in development based on this property: Feature film screenplay titled Miss Dixie High by Jenna Cavelle and Xavier Burgin.
Logline/Synopsis: When the local high school beauty pageant offers a college scholarship to the winning contestant, Shelly imagines a future beyond her abusive home life and does whatever it takes to break free. Filmed on location at a junkyard/trailer compound, chain-linked fences frame key story moments to portray characters as trapped, abandoned cars and deteriorating machines symbolize social decay often associated with the southern United States. A coming of age story that digs deep into the complex nature of familial, mother-daughter, and male-female relations, remarking thoughtfully on stereotypes without perpetuating them. Passes Bechdel test and features themes of sexual and emotional abuse, codependency, patriarchy, beauty, stereotypes, entrapment, desperation.
DIRECTOR & WRITER: Jenna Cavelle
PRODUCER: Derek Sepe
CINEMATOGRAPHY & PRODUCTION DESIGN:
Johnson Thomasson
EDITING: Derek Sepe
SOUND DESIGN & MIX: Derek Sepe
SCORE: Bryan Curt Kostors
TRT: 6:01 minutes with credits
