ANNABELLE CRANE is the story of a novelist who searches for inspiration at a writer's retreat, Blackpoint Manor. As isolation, obsession and anxiety take over, her experiences at Blackpoint my unravel her forever. 

Emotional, cinematic, and rooted in character, ANNABELLE CRANE is inspired by the legacy of Sylvia Plath, and it focuses on the darker parts of a writer’s imagination. I used the life of Plath as a point of departure and introduce my own protagonist, Annabelle, a novelist who somehow belonged to everyone, just not herself. She searches for inspiration at a writer’s retreat, in an effort to fight the anxiety of recreating the early success of her first bestseller. This anxiety and fear has been projected outwards in figments and characters from her past works, which haunt her and prevent her from committing thought to paper. It’s fear and anxiety that catapults her into the arms of another retreater/writer at Blackpoint, Riley Carter. Annabelle and Riley enjoy an idyllic time together in the “Garden of Eden.” But her demise also awaits with open arms, and it's this delusionment of grandeur which sends her fighting for her life.

Blending the dark, foreboding nature of Hitchcock’s “Vertigo,” and the unsettling, fantasy aspects of "Black Swan," Annabelle Crane seeks to tell a female-driven story that is visually beautiful and emotionally gripping. 

Under faculty guidance, development for this Chapman University Dodge College of Film Thesis film started in the spring of 2015, and it is one of five films chosen to represent the Women of Chapman Grant this year (A grant given to films with strong female characters). 

With a female writer/director and producers driving the project, we're fighting to break into and change a male dominated industry. You can be part of a film which will provide a platform for discussion, debate, and most importantly, change. We are making this movie for anyone who struggles with any kind of mental situation that prohibits their growth. It is our hope that this movie will speak to them in particular. Let Annabelle Crane stand as a timeless lesson about purpose and well-being. "Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness." - August Wilson.