Aubergine is now streaming on TVHi
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Aubergine is a lighthearted short about a sex worker who wants to create boundaries with her client, but when she uses her safe word, it works a little too well. Now, she has to learn to set proper boundaries in order to save her client's life.
Our Visual Style
We Love Color
Sex work doesn’t have to be done in the shadows. We use colors that are light, bright, and joyous.
We Believe in Magic
Words have powers. Friends pop in to visit. There’s magic everywhere.
We See You
Our hero speaks to camera.
We Show
Imperfect Bodies
Film shapes and twists our ideas of beauty. All bodies are beautiful.
We Don’t Indulge
Male Gaze
Our female-led crew is putting our female characters in charge.
We Respect Sex Workers
Sex work is Marie’s chosen work. She loves her job. Marie is not a victim.
Our Cast & Crew
Katie Austin - “Marie,” Director, Producer, Writer
Katie Austin is filmmaker in the Bay Area. She’s spent the last decade doing commercial acting and production with some of the fastest-growing startups in the US. This film will be is her directorial debut.
“I believe if more people thought of consensual sex work as good honest work, the world would be a better place. I hope this film can be part of changing the stigmas around both sex and sex work”
Jared Newman - “Jack”
Based in the Bay Area, Jared Newman has a love for storytelling. He started his journey as an actor and quickly fell in love with music scoring. Since then, Jared has composed music for films like Donovan Reid, Single, and most recently, Roc, where he also performed on camera. Passionate about sex positivity, Jared is happy to be a part of Aubergine.
“The narrative on sex work has always been demonizing. Sex workers are real people doing real work, and there’s no reason in our modern-day to keep the oldest profession in the world criminalized. I’m happy to be apart of a story that seeks to change that narrative.”
Carolina Espinosa - “Natalie”
Carolina is a Colombian actress based out of San Francisco. After spending the last 5 years working in Tech, she has recently transitioned into a full-time actress and storyteller, performing in several films and theatre productions in the Bay. She is a proud cat mom, ramen connoisseur, and painter—specializing in SpongeBob character portraits.
“What speaks to me the most about this film is the theme, being able to unapologetically advocate for yourself and your boundaries, and how relevant it is to women in particular, no matter your occupation. I studied Language, Culture and Society in school, and I love how this film demonstrates that language is power and has real life repercussions, doing so in a playful and light-hearted way.”
Connie Jo - Producer
Connie Jo Sechrist is an American actress and producer with considerable experience in film, television and theatre. She has successfully produced over 10 short films and web-series that have screened at festivals worldwide including Cannes, Toronto, HollyShorts, Cinequest and many more. As an actor Connie Jo is best known for her complex roles in drama, action and sci-fi genre films.
Connie Jo is also a Co-Founder of the Coven Film Festival, devoted to spotlighting films by emerging women and non-binary filmmakers.
“I started producing to help my acting career. I would act in my own projects to explore new roles and stories that I wanted to tell - but most importantly to have control over my career path. I see the same values in this project. This film is about a woman taking control of her path and defining her values in life.”
Sarah Simka Jaffe - Director of Photography
Sarah Simka Jaffe is a Bay Area-based Director of Photography. She’s a graduate of UC Santa Cruz's Film & Digital Media program. In addition to having a general love of filmmaking, her passion for working on set is matched with a desire to create a diverse and inclusive industry, both on and off screen.
“I'm interested in work that destigmatizes sex work and highlights the lives of sex workers in a positive way.”
Keri Shewmaker - Production Designer
Keri Shewmaker is a Bay Area-based production designer and all-around art doggie. She has a broad range of film production experience having worked in commercial, narrative, and experimental filmmaking.
"Coming from a background in Sociology, I'm interested in working on projects that challenge stigma and show portrayals of a diverse range of subjects and points of view. I'm excited to see sex work shown in an honest light."
Chris M. Rodriguez - Writer
As a kid, Chris M. Rodriguez, filled notebook after notebook with his stories until his shelves were filled. When he finally took the plunge into writing for film, he went full-tilt - writing, fundraising, producing, and directing his first film.
“I'm excited to be part of a project that presents sex workers beyond the common archetypes. So often, we get a tragic character who enters the profession out of desperation or we get a manic pixie / heart-of-gold type that exists only to help a male character on his journey. With the character of Marie, we have a woman who is not strictly defined by her work. She takes pride in her chosen profession. By presenting the story like this, we hope in some small way to dismantle taboos that will, in turn, begin to normalize and decriminalize sex work.”
Visual style images by: Dainis Graveris, @joshvfx (TIKTOK), Amelie, @sundaymorningview (Instagram), The Wolf of Wall Street, The Chosen Ones.
