Killing Eleanor

"KILLING ELEANOR" SYNOPSIS:

Recently out of another stint in rehab, Natalie (Annika Marks) is hiding her everlasting pain killer habit, while living back at home and working for her Mom (Jane Kaczmarek) on the condition she's clean. When Eleanor (Jenny O'Hara), a terminally-ill old woman, sneaks out of her nursing home and surprises Natalie with a longforgotten IOU, her repayment request is shocking" she wants Natalie to help her die. Natalie dismisses Eleanor, but after a family intervention, led by her Type A sister Anya (Besty Brandt), she needs to get her hands on clean urine. So, the two strike a deal" Eleanor will pee in a cup, and Natalie will help kill her. Their right to die odyssey is filled with complications as Eleanor's past and Natalie's lies catch up with them. But ultimately, helping Eleanor die with dignity might just teach Natalie to live with dignity.

"Killing Eleanor" recently celebrated the premiere of their film at the 2020 Savannah Film Festival which resulted in a WIN for Best Narrative! The film can next be seen at the St. Louis International Film Festival, where the director is nominated for the NFF Emerging Director Award aka The Bobbie. The film will play at the festival throughout from November 5^th – 22^nd.

The film features a wide variety of dynamic, flawed, relatable female characters. Over half of the cast is female, including both leads (Annika Marks and Jenny O'Hara) and both major supporting roles (Jane Kaczmarek and Betsy Brandt). There was strong female representation behind the scenes as well. With 50% of Producers and 60% of department heads being female – including Director of Photography (Jessica Young), Production Designer (Chelsea Daly) and 1st AD (Jennifer Wilkinson). In addition, 100% of the vocalists on all 16 songs used in the film are from female artists.

"Brilliant performances from Annika Marks and Jenny O'Hara." – Pramit Chatterjee, Mashable

"Grabs hold of the viewer in the opening scenes and never let's go" - Jim Hemphill, Filmmaker Magazine 

"The power of Killing Eleanor is that of a stealth bomber" - Sheila O'Malley, The Sheila Variations 

"A riveting dramedy...smart, moving and surprisingly optimistic" - Taylor Gates, Fanversation