Jane is a short narrative project which was recently selected for best editing by Venice Shorts of California. The project is directed by Sydney Scotia and edited by Nathan Young. Jovanna Burke is the screenwriter of the award winning short.
When a misunderstood young wife in the late 19th century is restricted by her well-intentioned physician husband to a summer of bed rest, her imagination takes her down a spiral of what we think is her descent into madness, but is it?
The short film is told as a first-person confessional by a young married woman (Jane) who is suffering from “temporary nervous depression – and slight hysterical tendencies”. Actually, the diagnosis has been made by her husband, who also happens to be “a physician of high standing”. In line with fashionable medical practice, “John” has prescribed a radical rest cure that involves separating the narrator from her writing and confining her to the top-floor bedroom of a rented country house.
As Jane's sanity is questioned, we start to wonder whether she is to be trusted. Can it really be, as she is now suggesting, that her husband is acting, not as her caretaker, but as her warden? And because of the constant gaslighting, her mind starts to trick her further as a woman behind the wallpaper comes to life, and they create a bond and a plan to eliminate John together and escape the manor.
Sydney Scotia recently wrapped a series lead role in the Crave series, PILLOW TALK. She is best known for her role as Geneva in the YTV/Netflix comedy, SOME ASSMBLY REQUIRED; for which she won two Joey Awards, and earned a Leo Award nomination for Best Comedic Actress during its three season run. In May 2016, her short film I DARE YOU (producer/actor) screened at the Cannes Film Festival, earning her a fourth Joey Award nomination. Sydney then went on to star in the Netflix series, REBOOT: THE GUARDIAN CODE, based on the cult classic cartoon. Her other credits include The CW’s MY CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND, and Hallmark’s, EAT DRINK & BE MARRIED. This year she will make her theatrical debut in FRANK & PENELOPE, in theaters June 3rd. Season two of PILLOW TALK to begin filming September 2022.
She pursues a career behind the camera as well with her feature length documentary, THIS HITS HOME, which brings to light the traumatic brain injuries that victims of domestic abuse suffer, winning audience choice at the Boston Film Festival. Her most recent short films DEAD END and JANE are to be released in 2022 after attending festivals.