• A Neo-Noir Drama from Writer/Director Miranda Spigener-Sapon

    Lifelines the Movie

  • From the Writer/Director

    I wanted to create a film that not just entertains, but raises awareness on something that affects us all. In some point in our lives we have dealt with anxiety...whether it is through a close friend, family, a colleague or even yourself. If you have a brain then mental health does matter. In this film, we take a journey through the mind of Ethan Grayson, a young man who has battled Bipolar II and depression his entire life. Then we meet Emily, his younger adopted sister who has looked up to him no matter what. The film is called Lifelines and I hope you not just enjoy it, but I hope you take home a greater sense of mental health and always look at ways to see the best in everyone.

    - Miranda Spigener-Sapon, Writer/Director

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    About the Film

    When your mind is your worst enemy...

    Ethan Grayson has battled mental illness and manic depression all his life and after several years of being estranged, he returns to his hometown and pays a visit to his successful, surgeon sister Emily.

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    About Bipolar Disorder and Manic Depression

    summary

    Bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness) is a neurobiological brain disorder that affects approximately 2.3 million Americans today, or almost 1 percent of the population. Individuals diagnosed with this disease have mood swings that alternate from periods of severe highs (mania) to extreme lows (depression). Suicide is the number one cause of premature death among people with bipolar disorder, with 15 percent to 17 percent taking their own lives as a result of negative symptoms that come from untreated illness. It can occur as early as childhood and also begin as late as 40 or 50. Bipolar disorder and depression has the average age-of-onset of about 25, but it can occur in the teens, or more uncommonly, in childhood. The condition affects men and women equally, with about 2.8% of U.S. adults experiencing bipolar disorder each year. Approximately 83% of cases of bipolar disorder are classified as "severe".

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    OFFICIAL POSTER

  • Meet the Cast

    A film isn't complete with an amazing cast to bring the story to life...

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    Ross John Gosla

    "Ethan Grayson"

    Ross John Gosla is an Arizona born-and-bred actor based in Los Angeles. Ross wrote and performed two solo shows at the Hollywood Fringe Festival -- Desert Warrior: A Benghazi Story (2017) and Sexual Misadventures of a Straight White Male: A Privilege Story (2019) -- both winning the Producers' Encore! Award. Other recent credits include starring as the romantic lead in Miranda Spigener-Sapon's award-winning Off-Broadway revival of The Flame and a one-night Valentine's Day show Coffee with John.

     

    Recently, Ross guest-starred in the post-apocalyptic web-series Wasteland and was the narrator on the documentary Masculinity That Inspires Change that is streaming on Amazon Prime. Gosla has a B.A. in Theatre from Arizona State University, where he learned all aspects of theatrical production. Focused on acting he performed in over a dozen plays and student films. Beyond performing he served a year as Producing Director at the student run Prism Theatre. After college, he was a founding member of the performance groups Orange Theatre Group and Sindicated Productions.

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    Fern Lim

    "Emily Grayson"

    Fern most recently played the role of Flower Girl in a docu-interview scene ala When Harry Met Sally for the upcoming feature film Like Love. In NYC, Fern last played James, a teen with a rough history on a mission to set things straight in the drama Business Dinner, directed by Sean Patrick McAuliffe and Frannie, in the sitcom Exit 0 – The Last Stop. Recently, Fern is a series regular and co-producer of the comedic webseries Human Telegraphs.

     

    She also writes a weekly newsletter called the little things, a collection of love notes to reality.

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    Lew Temple

    "Cooper Grayson"

    Lew Temple is a veteran American film actor, perhaps best known for his roles as Axel on "The Walking Dead," the character of Ned Oldham in the action adventure thriller, "Unstoppable" which also starred Denzel Washington, Chris Pine and Rosario Dawson; directed by Tony Scott, and Cal the diner manager in the comedy-drama "Waitress."

    Born and raised in the Bayou Country of Louisiana, Temple is an extraordinarily diverse actor who often is compared to a chameleon: he has the unique ability to take any character and make it his own.
    Other film credits include Hollis in the summer, 2013 Disney blockbuster "The Lone Ranger," alongside Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer; Locus Fender in the action film "Domino," starring Kiera Knightley and Mickey Rourke, directed by Tony Scott and Rob Zombie's "The Devil's Rejects" with Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, William Forsythe, and Sherri Moon Zombie. Temple began his acting career on the stage of the prestigious Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas, working alongside artists such as Vanessa Redgrave in "Julius Caesar" and "Anthony & Cleopatra", as well as acclaimed writer/directors Michael Wilson, Terrance McNally and Edward Albee. He next landed numerous television roles, as well as roles in independent and mainstream studio films, such as "On the Borderline," "The Newton Boys," and "Angels in the Outfield." Prior to acting, Temple had a Minor League Baseball career with the Seattle Mariners" and "Houston Astros." He worked his way through the Astros system to become Assistant Director of Minor Leagues and Scouting.

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    Jeanine Harrington

    "Dr. Leah Kaye"

    Jeanine is an actress who has guest-starred in several hit shows such as: Fox's The Mick, HBO's Westworld, Supergirl and Criminal Minds on CBS.

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    Laurie Foxx

    "Janet Grayson"

    Laurie is a multiple award-winning Producer/Author/Musician and actress. Laurie won the prestige WorldFest Houston Gold Award, Las Vegas Film Festival Golden Ace Award and the Accolades Competition Award of Merit for her Caveman Theory series. Foxx Produced and co-starred in The Open Road that starred Justin Timberlake, Jeff Daniels and Harry Dean Stanton. She also co-starred in IFC Midnight's thriller Red, White and Blue.

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    Jeremy Denzlinger

    "Jeff Hoffman"

    Jeremy is an American actor who has guest starred and recurred as a regular in numerous shows and TV movies. He was prison guard Henry Sladinski in the FX series Justified first season episode "Riverbrook". He held a recurring role in HBO's hit series True Blood as Wayne. Additionally, Denzlinger appeared in Eleventh Hour, The Unit, Three Rivers, Gary Unmarried, Sons of Anarchy, The Mentalist, NCIS, The Young and the Restless, Boss, Scorpion, Bones, The Middle, The Rookie and CBS All-Access's Strange Angel.

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    Pete Freeland

    "Neil Stanton"

    Pete is an accomplished SAG actor and producer, with over 20 years of program and project management experience in both the aerospace and the entertainment industries. He is a former military aviator and test pilot, and was selected in the first class of commercial astronauts. Pete starred alongside Eric Roberts in the film, In The Name of God, and was on shows such as Criminal Minds and other network series. Pete also co-starred and was a producer on the recent award-winning web-series Windward Spirits. Additionally, he co-starred on stage in the role of Thom in the 20th Anniversary revival of Miranda Spigener-Sapon's award-winning/Off-Broadway play The Flame.

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    Elly Kaye

    "Mia Stanton"

    Elly Kaye is a TV Host, actress and CEO Designer of LAVISH PETS - a Designer Fashion & Accessory company for pets. She has appeared on MSBNC and several news outlets about her pet clothing couture business. As an actress she has co-starred in Alien Dawn, Star Trek: Into the Darkness, General Hospital, recurring on The Bold and the Beautiful and she appeared in an episode on TBS's Conan.

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    Tysha Williams

    "Violet"

    Tysha is a Producer, Dancer, Model, Host and actress taking the entertainment industry by storm. With an air of confidence that proclaims, “Yes, I can,” she hails from Atlanta (also affectionately known as “Black Hollywood”) by way of Missouri and now dwells in Los Angeles for past 6 years. She looks forward to blazing an unforgettable path on the runway, on the big screen, onstage and in the boardroom. Tysha, co-starred as Jana in the 20th Anniversary Los Angeles stage production revival of Miranda Spigener-Sapon's award-winning/Off-Broadway hit The Flame. Recently, she produced the 2019 Lucky Strikes Film Festival award-winning show The Gourmet High and she is in development on a feature film that she will star and produce.

  • Meet the Filmmakers

    The Dream Team

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    Miranda Spigener-Sapon

    Writer/Director/Executive Producer

    Miranda is an award-winning writer whose first scripted television series currently in development, Marisa Romanov is inspired from the 2001 Venice and Berlin Festival winning short. Spigener-Sapon has a 4-Book Deal on the Marisa Romanov Stories, prequels to the series from Winterwolf Press. Recently, Miranda directed the documentary feature Masculinity That Inspires Change, written by Gunter Swoboda that is streaming on Amazon Prime. A Texas native, Miranda Spigener-Sapon lives in Log Angeles with her husband, Felipe.
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    Felipe Sapon

    Executive Producer

    Felipe is the COO/VP of Operations for Noirtainment Productions. He studied at LACC and LA Trade Tech and has supervised teams for various corporate retail outlets. Recently, he was Colorist on the film Positive that screened in LA in 2013, Camera Operator on The Power of Forgiveness and Supervising Editor on several commercials.

     

    Felipe has a unique eye for detail and precision which makes him an asset to any production.

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    Pete Freeland

    Producer

    Pete is an accomplished SAG actor and producer, with over 20 years of program and project management experience in both the aerospace and the entertainment industries. He is a former military aviator and test pilot, and was selected in the first class of commercial astronauts. Pete starred alongside Eric Roberts in the film, In The Name of God, and was on shows such as Criminal Minds and other network series.

     

    As a producer, Pete has worked on several television shows and new media productions, and has brought several feature films from initial concept to fully distributed status, and consulted on multiple others. As Executive Producer for feature films, On the Border and Taking Fire, Pete secured distribution. Other producer credits include Smile, Equilibria, The President’s Dogs, the Windward Spirits series on Op-Prime TV and Marisa Romanov coming to Amazon Prime.

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    DeVonna Prinzi

    Producer

    For over 25 years, DeVonna Prinzi has produced events, from galas to disaster relief drives. She is known for her stellar performances in 3 of Miranda Spigener-Sapon’s early films: True as the Narrator that screened at L’Entrepot Cinema in Paris, France; next as the lead in the short film Copy Café and a Field Reporter in the PBS series Eat Art, that aired in 5 markets. Prinzi has coordinated and produced several major events and festivals as well as worked as a promoter. She was educated in film and acting at The University of Tampa and in modeling and industry training at The Model Studio. Her breadth as a creator and producer can not only be seen in her dynamic film Yellow Belt, a promotional video for Martial Arts of America, which shows the advantages of martial arts training for students with behavioral disorders and also in her film Bronze Casting, an instructional video. She is currently coordinating retreats and social media campaigns. DeVonna is a highly motivated, conscientious and tenacious individual with the innovation as a creator that secured her current position at The Kaizen Tropical Wellness Institute as an Executive Producer of their upcoming documentary series.

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    Gunter Swoboda

    Consulting Producer

    Gunter holds over 30 years experience as a Psychologist. His passionate perspectives and scrutinies on what makes human beings thrive allows him to develop relationships with people in order to ignite their aspirations. Gunter is exceptional in facilitating outcomes in learning, productivity and communication by providing a safe environment with unobtrusive assistance and guidance wherein participants experience the flow between content and context.

    Swoboda is the creator of the Making Good Men Great movement which gained attention of BuzzFeed, Oprah and Arianna Huffintong. Swoboda is the author of Surfing the New Wave of Masculinity available in stores and online everywhere. His critically-acclaimed upcoming novel, Mountains of Sea, debuts soon from Winterwolf Press.

     

    Recently, he as Written/Produced Masculinity That Inspires Change streaming on Amazon Prime and Host of Inspire Change on iHeartRadio.

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    Elly Kaye

    Producer/Production Designer

    Elly Kaye is a TV Host, actress and CEO Designer of LAVISH PETS - a Designer Fashion & Accessory company for pets. She has appeared on MSBNC and several news outlets about her pet clothing couture business. As an actress she has co-starred in Alien Dawn, Star Trek: Into the Darkness, General Hospital, recurring on The Bold and the Beautiful and she appeared in an episode on TBS's Conan.

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    Kristin Ruggaber

    Associate Producer

    Kristin Ruggaber has been called many things in her life, daughter, wife, mother, homemaker, and storyteller, to name a few, but not always in that order. As a kid growing up in Northwest Indiana during the 50’s and 60’s when the region was still still mostly rural, before growing into an endless sea of suburbs for an ever expanding city of Chicago, Kris was like any normal child of her time digesting a steady diet of Gunsmoke, Maverick, I Love Lucy and of course, the show that put them all to shame, Bonanza. On the back of her own horse Gypsy, Kris would dream of the old west, fantasize about being part of it, and imagine tales of a bygone era where life was more simple than it was in the bustling technology-cluttered modern days of the second half of the 20th century. As it does for all, time marched on, technology evolved, life changed, children of her own were born, grew up, moved on, but one thing stayed the same, the romance of the old west. After settling west in Virginia City Nevada and then later in Southern California, Kris and Mike have settled in, “at home” and strangely, back in time back in Indiana.

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    Andrew Flores

    Associate Producer

    Andrew Flores is a visual artist/painter, singer and actor. He starred in the Houston Grand Opera’s Prince Igor from 1999-2000, Don Carlo from 2000-2001 and on the PBS TV Variety Show “Eat Art” as a Co-Host and Singer. Most recently Andrew has co-starred in WGN’s Salem, James Franco's 11/22/63, TNT’s Dallas (Season 3), USA’s Queen of the South and Tig Natarro’s Hulu serie’s One Mississippi. Recently, he was key supporting in the anniversary return to stage in Los Angeles in the hit Off-Broadway play The Flame.

     

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    Francesca Esposito

    Camera Operator/Lighting

    Francesca Esposito is an Italian Assistant Camera for Film and Television, based in Los Angeles. Graduated with a master’s degree in architecture in Italy and gained a cinematography certificate at UCLA Extension, she developed a unique combination of artistic and technical expertise.

     

    Francesca has shot features, shorts, and web-series. One of her latest project, the short film “Everyday” (2019) that she also co-produced, has been released in Italy for a press campaign, and has been mentioned on national media.

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    John Lazear

    Consulting Director of Photography

    John Lazear, SOC is a Camera Operator/ Director of Photography based in Hollywood California. Lazear is member of the International Cinematographers Guild, and was inducted into the prestigious Society of Camera Operators in 1996 with a unanimous vote.

     

    As Director of Photography he specializes in shooting feature films in the 35mm film format. His body of work as DP covers full length feature films, and several TV Series, music videos, and documentaries. A native of Los Angeles, born in a small hospital nestled between Disney studios and NBC studios John was destined for the movie industry. John has been fascinated with the art/science of capturing images since a child. On making his first 16mm documentary at 12, Lazear knew he wanted to make movies. In College Lazear tried a number of artistic endeavors including painting a historic 300 foot x 20 foot mural that still stands in Studio City.

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    Anna Sahlstrom

    Director's Assistant/1st AD

    Anna Sahlstrom is an actress, writer and producer. She has written, produced and starred in the comedy shorts, Pick Me!, Business Casual and Super Break-Up. Pick Me! was an official selection at the 2011 Filmstock Film Festival. Her feature script, The Go-Girls, was a finalist in the 8×8 Screenwriting Competition in 2014. Anna’s first love is the stage and she has a Post-Graduate Certificate in Acting from Drama Studio London and attended the Summer Training Congress at ACT. And she has a Theatre BA, and Spanish minor, from LMU.

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    Maria Martin

    Set Photographer/Lighting Design

    Maria is a Los Angeles-based documentary and fine art photographer/editor. She currently shoots for local newspapers and magazines, where she enjoys shedding light (pun slightly intended) on the people, places and topics that make Los Angeles unique (although she’s also been known to grab her camera and head to other cities/states/countries when the travel bug inevitably makes its presence felt every so often). In addition to telling visual stories for media, Maria produces her own fine art passion projects, and several of her pieces have been featured in group exhibitions (at Bergamot Station and Annenberg Beach House, most notably) or sold to private collections.

     

    Maria is available for fine art photography commissions, as well as for photodocumentary (including BTS/productions stills) and editorial work. She also provides editing services for clients on product, lifestyle, portrait, travel and architecture assignments.Maria is a professional member of

    the American Society of Media Photographers and the Los Angeles Women's Photography Alliance.

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    Gayla Bentley

    Wardrobe Supervisor

    Gayla has over 30 years as an international style consultant. Through The Gayla Bentley Fashion Design Group, Gayla is able to design and market women’s apparel and accessories for Women with Curves. The Gayla Bentley Houston-Paris Collection is sold in over 100 specialty boutiques worldwide, including Zappos.com, Myshape.com, neimanmarcus.com as well as www.gaylabentley.com. The collection has also successfully sold online. In 2009, Gayla made her national television debut on ABC’s Shark Tank, where Gayla found guidance and support from sharks such as Daymond John and Barbara Corcoran. Gayla was Costume Design/Co-Producer for the film, Hidden Assets, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival.

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    Laura Medina

    Craft Services/Catering

    Laura Medina is a national and worldwide lifestyle, entertainment and food blogger. Her knack for knowing what people like to eat especially on the go or when on set makes her perfect to handle our craft services. Laura is the Editor in Chief of the Nationally Syndicated The Arriviste Blog.

  • Press/The trades

    Lifelines the Movie in the news...

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    The film reported officially by the trades!

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    Lifelines mentioned in this exclusive interview with writer/director Miranda Spigener-Sapon in Gladys Magazine

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    New York Times

    Promo running in New York Times June 2021 for MIPCOM Cannes Premiere

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    Wall Street Journal

    PROMO running in WSJ for MIPCOM Cannes 2021 World Premiere

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    Lifelines was mentioned this show on Oct. 2, 2019

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