SWEET RELEASE

sweet release

A dramatic science fiction magical realism feature film 
Written by Meeshelle Neal
Producer: Heidi Lasi, Pelee Entertainment

Status: Fully developed script available; seeking co-production partners 
Country: Canada

Pelee Entertainment is thrilled feature film Sweet Release was selected for the Whistler Producers Lab along with writer Meeshelle Neal.

From the Whistler website:
The WFF Producer Lab is an intensive multi-phase project development program designed to accelerate the careers of up to six independent Canadian producers through the development of their original, scripted, feature projects.

Logline: Science can break your heart… When a mysterious virus traps humans in a terrifying cycle of being brought to the brink of death and held painfully in life, a brilliant neurodiverse researcher creates a cure. But when her teenage daughter contracts the disease, she confronts a horrifying dilemma: cure humanity or keep her daughter alive? 

Meeshelle Neal is an award-winning queer she/her Canadian filmmaker who has been working in the industry for over a decade. She is known for creating powerful and intimate surreal work that raises questions and explores difficult themes. Her powerful films have been making an impact, worldwide, for many years. 

Meeshelle apprenticed with director Gary Harvey as he took her from prep through to post on the last two episodes of the Netflix series Tiny Pretty Things. After that experience, Meeshelle made the life-altering decision to be closer to where content is created in Canada, moving from Vancouver to Toronto in April 2020. 

She is best known for her films Sweet Release, Mental, and Therapy. She adapted Mental to the screen from a one-woman stage play. The film received BravoFACT funding and earned her a WIFTV Spotlight Image Award for her unique, visionary approach.

Her proof of concept short for Sweet Release, is currently touring festivals and receiving accolades as well as international acclaim, garnering five nominations in the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival to take home Best Female Director and Best LGBTQ+ Film. 

As part of ongoing professional development, Meeshelle has participated in training such as the: STORYHIVE Career Accelerator Program, Women in the Director’s Chair (WIDC) Career Advancement Module, and the highly competitive, fully immersive, Story & Leadership program. 

As well as writing scripts, in recent years, Meeshelle has published two books set in a fantastical world with a third on the way. As an author, she recently received the Amy Ferris Fellowship award. 

She enjoys telling heightened reality stories that remain grounded in the nuanced complexity of human emotions.