Roadhead

A SHORT FILM

In the near future, the economy has collapsed in America making fuel scarce and money valueless. Here, two teenagers, Brooke and Weasel,
are forced to use their sexuality to acquire basic goods. Desperate for a way out, they steal a car in hope of finding a better future.

THE STORY

After an economic collapse has devastated the country, the American West is a mere shadow of what it once was. Roadside motels
and gas stations are now sun bleached buildings that men use to hide. Here, money no longer holds its value and fuel is scarce. Women's bodies are quietly becoming a means of exchange, leaving most interactions between men and women to be purely sexual.

At one of these motels is Brooke, a quiet maid who buries her frustration in work. Her best friend is Weasel, a wild-child drifter,
who is always searching for a way out of town. After Brooke has an uncomfortable sexual encounter with an older male motel guest,
Weasel finds the keys to a weathered car that’s sitting out front, and they take the opportunity to escape.

Desperate to keep moving forward, Brooke and Weasel make pit stops for resources. Escaping from this world means
accepting the limitations of what it is, and redefining the rules for themselves.

moodboard

View our reference images below and immerse yourself in the world of Brooke and Weasel.

 PRESS & COMMUNITY

“By imagining a distorted future reality, ‘Roadhead’ really explores many pressing issues of today, especially relating to sexuality and women’s relationships to it... With its robust and detailed aesthetic vision — be sure to check out the filmmaker’s impressive storyboards — and refreshingly feminine approach to the traditionally masculine Western setting, ‘Roadhead’ offers a complete and fascinating take on the future.”

— Sophia Stewart, WomenAndHollywood.com

“Christa’s vision fills me with hope for an emerging generation of women storytellers. Her film
shows the promise of a rare, feminist voice demanding we see and hear her.“

─ Yana Collins Lehman, President and COO of Trevanna Post, Inc

 WITH THE SUPPORT OF

Roadhead raised $35,000 through crowdfunding and was featured as a “Project We Love” on Kickstarter.

Through our outreach, we continue to seek the remaining 30% of the budget through
financial support and/or in-kind donations, so that we can enter production.

the filmmakers

Christa Haley — Director, Writer, Producer

Christa began her career as an assistant to director Derek Cianfrance on the independent feature The Place Beyond the Pines (‘12). She has gone on to work in the editorial department on major feature films including Mary Poppins Returns (‘18), The Girl on the Train (‘16), Oliver Stone’s Snowden (‘16), and Kasi Lemmons' Harriet (’19). Christa has directed videos for Vogue Germany featuring Kendall Jenner and world-renowned fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier. She has edited for brands including Coach, Banana Republic, and Interview Magazine.

Kelsey Smith — Director of Photography

Kelsey is represented by Neer Motion. She graduated from Champlain College and began her career working with prominent experimental director Jason Rodi in Montreal, QC. Since moving to New York, Kelsey has DP'd numerous short films, documentaries, music videos, and branded content spots. Her client list includes Spotify, Bang & Olufsen, Madewell, and Mass Appeal. She is driven by a passion for authenticity and strives to tell stories with a sense of veracious emotion. (www.kelseysmith.net)

PORTFOLIO : CHRISTA HALEY

THE STATEMENT

I remember the first time that a boy checked me out. I was thirteen and at the zoo. A few hours later, blood trickled down my leg. It felt so animalistic, this boy almost sensing that I was becoming a woman.

As I grew up men shouted at me. They waved their tongues and grabbed at my ass. A stranger slipped his fingers up my skirt as I passed him in a crowded bar. An angry boyfriend picked my body up and slammed it against a wall. And what upset me most was the feeling of having my identity mistaken. I was misread as a body that was sexually available.

Really, I was internally wrestling with two characters: the responsible Brooke who gets lost in her day-to-day work, protecting herself from chasing impossible goals, and the courageous Weasel who won’t stop fighting for everything she’s ever dreamed of. I only felt in control behind the wheel. I would drive aimlessly for hours just for a sense of freedom even though it cost my whole paycheck to fill the tank.

I would imagine myself escaping across the west, the frontier of masculinity. It’s in this same landscape that I want to give a home to femininity. A home to Brooke and Weasel. I am desperate to set the female body free from the expectations that have come to define it, and to confront the possibility of building my own future.

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