THE LOTTO LINE - a new short film written, directed, and produced by Niva Dorell adapted from an excerpt from Christola Phoenix’s forthcoming memoir “Paper Curls and Peanut Earrings” (the original excerpt was published on Roxane Gay’s publication The Audacity).
65-year old Christola is standing in line to place her daily lotto numbers in Harlem, NY when she encounters a young woman who doesn’t have enough money to buy food. The young woman’s desperation haunts Christola, who remembers her own childhood growing up poor in 1950s Harlem: a time of trauma, but also stronger community. While Christola doesn’t help the young woman at first, she vows to do better next time. But when she gets another opportunity, will she step off the line?
Currently fundraising. For more information, go here or contact Niva for a corporate sponsorship proposal.
ENDANGERED – original feature film screenplay written by Niva Dorell based on a true story about a daring animal rescue mission that took place in Iran on the eve of the revolution in 1979. As the revolution intensifies, the mission becomes a race against time and a test of courage, wits, and the indelible power of reconciliation.
“Quite possibly the best story I’ve ever heard.” – David Mamet
“Loved reading this screenplay.” – Scott Frank
David Mamet attached as Executive Producer.
LIVING, LIVING – original feature screenplay written by Niva Dorell about the unexpected love story of Nailah and Omar, two young people whose love feels designed to last an eternity. When Omar is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor, their relationship both speeds up and is cut devastatingly short. Following the loss of Omar, Nailah begins her journey through grief by deconstructing their time together. What she comes to realize is that her life is just beginning. But is she strong enough to let go of Omar and embrace living it?
PIGEONVILLE – original one hour television pilot written by Niva Dorell about an ambitious gallerist who moves back to her small upstate New York hometown to take care of her dysfunctional family and ends up working for a dangerous art dealer to protect them.
JANE – original half hour television pilot written by Niva Dorell an introverted woman who discovers her true passion when she turns to online sex work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stellar reviews by TheBlcklist; BlueCat screenplay competition: Quarterfinalist.
BYE BYE BABY – one hour television pilot written by Niva Dorell based on the memoir Bye Bye Baby: My Tragic Love Affair with The Bay City Rollers. Over four hot summers from 1975 to 1979, teenager Caroline Sullivan and her friends criss-crossed the USA in the Rollers' wake. They staked out airports and hotels, tricking airline clerks and wheedling information out of PR companies. Commissioned by Atlanta-based production company The Wondermnt.
STONE MOTEL – feature length screenplay written by Niva Dorell and Morris Ardoin based on Ardoin’s memoir “Stone Motel: Memoirs of a Cajun Boy.”
In the summers of the early 1970s, Morris Ardoin and his siblings helped run their family's roadside motel in a hot, buggy, bayou town in Cajun Louisiana. The stifling, sticky heat inspired them to find creative ways to stay cool and out of trouble. When they were not doing their chores—handling a colorful cast of customers, scrubbing motel-room toilets, plucking chicken bones and used condoms from under the beds—they played canasta, an old ladies’ game that provided them with a refuge from the sun and helped them avoid their violent, troubled father, whose mission was to “fix” his son Morris.
TRAVELING MERCIES - a new short film directed by Niva Dorell, written by Madison Trice, and produced by Social Cinema Foundation.
Two Black high school students have different attitudes about the daily micro aggressions they experience in an ultra wealthy neighborhood of Houston, TX. When one of them encounters a shocking outburst at their private prep school, they’re both forced to reexamine their viewpoints.
Currently in post-production.
