FILM TYPE:

Short

SYNOPSIS

In 1950s Oklahoma, a 16-year-old girl must decide whether to stay with her abusive father or elope with her new beau. Based on a true story.

DIRECTOR BIO

Allex Tarr is a writer-director based in Los Angeles.

An Oklahoma native, Allex made her way to LA in 2015 after obtaining her Master's Degree in Film & Creative Media Production from the University of Sussex in Brighton, England.

Allex writes feature-length screenplays that she hopes to direct someday. She currently directs episodic kids' shows for Brat Studios, branded digital content for companies like BuzzFeed, as well as music videos for a wide array of artists.

Allex is the winner of Best Use of Native Advertising/Sponsored Content in the Digiday Content Marketing Awards for the 2018 “Slay with Olay” campaign.

She just completed her first short film entitled "The Ritz", a romance-drama set in 1950s Oklahoma.

DIRECTOR STATEMENT

My grandparents eloped when they were sixteen. They were walking home from a midnight movie at The Ritz when my grandma turned to my grandpa and said, "I think we should get married". After a moment, he said, "Okay". They eloped, inevitably got caught, but stayed married for fifty-five years until my grandma passed away after a long illness, during which my grandpa took care of her every day.

In addition to being young and in love, the reason they each agreed to this elopement was because they were both trapped and desperate - each living in abusive homes and looking for a way out.

I am in awe of my grandmother's strength to take control of her situation and propose marriage to a man - something that did not happen often in 1950. I made "The Ritz" because I wanted to bring her spirit to life on screen. I wanted to remind women, myself included, that there is always a way out of an abusive situation – even if it doesn't feel that way.

It's even better if the way out is love.

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This short film was shot on-location in Oklahoma with over 60% female-identifying cast and crew.

PLAY TRAILER