About The Film

MERIT BADGES is a narrative short film about a motley group of girl scouts who need to sell enough cookies and lemonade to attend the big Polliwog Jamboree. It’s a story for anyone who’s ever felt small in a hostile, scary world and finding it within yourself to create your own opportunities.

The story was born out of Writer/Director N.C. Jones’ desire to do a short, engaging and funny story after working on several challenging and dramatic feature film scripts. Jones set out to apply her storytelling craft and experience as a female filmmaker to make a film for her 8 year-old self, to encourage her boldness and to temper her patience. It is a message that Jones hopes to share with every misfit girl out there.

Produced by Negative Split Films and the Limerance Bureau and a team of dedicated volunteers and showcasing a fantastic cast and exceptional crew that the Raleigh-Durham filmmaking community should be well-known for, Merit Badges was filmed in Raleigh, NC in the Spring of 2018. The project is currently in post-production.

 

About the Filmmakers

 

N.C. Jones

Writer & Director

Screenwriter and Director N.C. Jones studied Theater, Computer Science and English at East Carolina University, but her preoccupation with creative prevarication began long before she received any formal training. With over ten years experience in screenwriting and production, she is a Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Semifinalist and Quarterfinalist. In 2010, she wrote and produced the comedic horror short UNSPEAKABLE and in 2011 she wrote and directed action comedy SAN SOUCI SHOWDOWN. She met producer Kieran Moreira and Director of Photography Paul Frateschi in 2013 working as grip and sound assistant on their award-winning 2014 film HARBINGER.

 

Kieran Moreira

Producer & Editor

A graduate of North Carolina State University’s Film Studies program, Kieran started making films as a child in his backyard with his younger brother. In 2012, his debut short film, The Weaver, which he directed and edited, screened at the prestigious Cucalorus Film Festival in Wilmington, NC and won “Best Editing” at the Carrboro Film Festival 2012.

Kieran’s film, HARBINGER (2014), started as a passion project during his time at Drawbridge Media. It won “Best Narrative Short Drama” at the 2015 Longleaf Film Festival and the “Excellence in Filmmaking” award at the 2014 Carrboro Film Festival. In February 2018, he launched Negative Split Films, LLC as a platform for himself and other filmmakers to continue to produce indie films. Negative Split Films will release Merit Badges and Moreira’s sci-fi short film, Gill, as its first two projects by the end of 2018.

 

Paul Frateschi

Director of Photography

Before graduating from North Carolina State University with a degree in Communication Media, Paul started Silo 12 Productions, a company that produced 2 feature length films and several award-winning short films, including THE REVOLUTIONARY which won “Best Editing” at the CMF International Grand Finale in Los Angeles in 2011. He works as Director of Photography for Drawbridge Media and has his own production company, LuxPictura Films.

 

CAST

Eowyn Blum Audra
Lilyanna Paige Miranda
Thai Toben Callie
Kayla Scott Jessica
Estes Tarver The Wheelman
Germain Choffart The Lanky Man
Paul Kilpatrick Hostage/Loanshark
Paul Paliyenko Priest
Ruth Gutierrez Shopping Lady Extra
Gillian C. Pruteanu Jamboree Extra
Alicia Cyrus Jamboree Extra
Ashley Jones Jamboree Extra
Rene Cyr Jamboree Extra

CREW

Paul Frateschi Dir. Photography
Monique Velasquez AD
Jonathan Serxner Key Grip
Aravind Ragupathi Gaffer
Piper Kessler Sound
Lance Johnson Grip/Camera Assistant
Ryan Hamlin AC
Patrick Dunnigan AC/Grip
John Bosco AC
Bart Jones Grip
Jim McQuaid Grip
Gerry Gutierrez Grip
Ruth Gutierrez Grip
Jeremiah David Production Assistant
Evelyn Putnam Hair & Makeup
Pierce Rogers Art Department
Paige Myers Art Department
Vanita Kalra Script Supervisor
Carlene Cearley Location Scout
John Boschini Legal / Attorney
Casey Hembrick Graphic Designer / Prop Design
Peggy C. Jones Seamstress
Ladonna Jones Craft Services
Marta Salman Craft Services
David & Nicky Bronson Car Providers

Filming Locations

Gateway Plaza Shopping Center
Raleigh, NC

Merry Oaks, NC