A strange light on a woman’s Ring camera unravels her holiday party. As the cul-de-sac’s secrets pour out, the neighbors struggle with whether their beliefs will unite them or tear them apart.
When Jayla’s Ring camera catches a mysterious light hovering in her backyard she becomes fixated on figuring it out. But on the day of her holiday party a neighbor leaks the footage and the block goes feral. As cul-de-sac arrives at her house, everyone has their own theory: It’s Jesus, a government experiment, the universe with a message, the raccoons!
With champagne flowing, the facade of a perfect neighborhood crumbles as the neighbors lies they have been telling each other and themselves spill out. As Jayla races to solve the light and get it to appear again, the neighbors must decide if their individual beliefs will tear them apart or if faith in something they can’t explain will unite them once and for all.
Charlene is a queer filmmaker from the Catskill Mountains and an ex-Army sergeant whose search for belonging led her to storytelling. Her feature documentary THE FOUNDERS won the Audience Award at the Atlanta Film Festival and Best Documentary at La Costa, followed by a series of acclaimed short films (LIMERENCE, THE LICK, RIDESHARE, THE MOTH) that examine the tension between isolation, connection, and the need for community.
She directed the Emmy-winning series INTERSECTION and episodes for Discovery and TLC. As a producer and editor, she helped shape MAN MADE (about trans bodybuilders), HOME FIELD (Tribeca), and AMERICAN REBEL for PBS (American Masters).
As a cinematographer she's lensed several short films, series and network content for Discovery, Netflix, TLC and Magnolia. Her screenwriting has been recognized by Slamdance, Stowe Story Labs, Cinestory, Southern Producers Lab, ScreenCraft, Athena Writing and Developing Lab and Austin Film Festival. Her short screenplay, CALL AND RESPONSE, was number one on Coverfly’s 2025 top short scripts all time.
Charlene’s work lives at the intersection of grief, identity, and resilience. She is always reaching for what’s raw, unspoken, and completely transformative.
