FIRST REGENERATIVE PROJECT :
The Mentor
" The Mentor is a psychological thriller that follows Sophie , a young woman who ’ s just graduated from a rehabilitation program for cPTSD survivors , and is trying to reassimilate into society . We follow Sophie through an inexplicable series of events where she is forced to reckon with whether she is unprepared to handle everyday life , or if she can trust her grasp on reality .
A phrase I ’ m notorious for saying is : “ people with neurotypical brains have the privilege of trusting that their minds will work exactly as they expect them to ”. In writing The Mentor it was important to me to explore how trauma is not just an event , but the lasting effects it creates for the survivor . In The Mentor , the audience gets a glimpse into the world as seen by Sophie as she struggles with a mind , and nervous system , that are constantly shifting what reality looks like for her .
It was important to me to take a look into why the seemingly “ mundane ” is still a challenge for a survivor , why gaslighting works tremendously well on someone whose brain is in recovery , and the obstacles survivors continue to face long after the traumatic event has ended . In my work with survivors as a healer , it ’ s paramount for me to make space for the fallout of abuse and how its adjustments to the nervous system can leave a survivor feeling the intensity of it ’ s reality long after the abuse itself has stopped . This ability to trust reality and safety is the ride The Mentor takes us on .
The Mentor has a team behind it that are voices for the silenced . Our director , Cameron Morton , has spoken out about a legacy of male staff abusing female students at the renowned university she attended . Producer Sarah Ann Masse was one of the first women to come out against Harvey Weinstein , igniting a fire that burned through Hollywood with the # MeToo movement . The Mentor is also in partnership with Hire Survivors Hollywood , an organization founded by Masse , working to reverse the career retaliation and blackmailing of creative professionals who have named their abusers . As a survivor of sexual violence , it ’ s been my life ’ s work to understand the complexity a survivor faces with their trauma , including my own , and learn how to carve a pathway to healing for all . Each team member has dedicated their lives in their own specific way to inspecting a culture of normalization around abuse , and take our audience on an exhilarating journey into empathy and self-reflection where they can do the same ." ~ Sami Bass
To support Sami and other regenerative filmmakers : regenimpactmedia . com / mothers-of-film /
regenimpactmedia . com