Genre
Synopsis
CAROL spends her days holed up in her room, watching old VHS-tapes of community theater duets she and her late husband performed together. Her daughter BETH, concerned she’s become a recluse, pushes Carol to take daily walks in the mall. At first, Carol finds every step painful and embarrassing. Everything changes when she meets GLORIA, a sexy senior yoga teacher, who drives too fast, drinks too much, and manages to get Carol laughing again… until she tricks her into going on a double date with…Tattooed ex-con FRANK, who teases Carol shamelessly, but is dead serious about his theory about a large-scale burglary happening at the mall. Carol is initially repelled by Frank, who has conspiracy theories about everything, even teenagers he believes are punks because they drive BMWs. When Carol catches her granddaughter hanging out with those teens, she approaches Frank for help. Soon warms to this crew of kooky, fun-loving retirees. These friends challenge Carol to take chances, and to take a ballroom class, something she excelled at decades ago. She challenges them back, encouraging them to act on their ideals, and to take Frank’s suspicions about the burglary seriously. By spending her mornings following suspicious janitors and surveilling security guards, Carol has a renewed sense of purpose. Sparks fly between Carol and Frank as they attempt to catch suspected burglars in the act. Their amateur sleuthing, however, makes them behave so suspiciously that they get arrested. When the police dismiss Frank’s conspiracy theories, Carol begins to doubt Frank and question herself. Soon after, a suspicious death leaves everyone shattered. Carol retreats to her room. Can she survive another loss? Frank visits, despite her protests, and accidentally rambles off a clue that gives Carol her “Eureka” moment. She leads the seniors in a climactic battle, where they must rely on skills from their youth and the wisdom of their ages to survive. This ‘coming of old age’ story proves that they each have a healthy dose of fight left. Will it be enough?
Bio
Debra creates painfully honest stories about goofy, flawed women like herself. She is best known for writing, directing and producing the indie feature THE TOLLBOOTH, which starred Marla Sokoloff, Idina Menzel, Tovah Feldhuh and Rob McElhenney. Her latest feature script, MALLWALKERS, won the NYWIFT/Ravenal Grant, and invitations to Cine Qua Non Lab and Stowe Story Lab, and a spot on the Wscripted List of Excellent Scripts at Cannes. Her pilot SKETCH was developed at the 2021 Athena Film Festival Television Writers Lab and went through the 2024 Cinestory Lab, winning the Bellem Entertainment Scholarship.
Previous work includes the pilot Frog Kissers, the web series The Happy Mommy Hustle, and the short, Changing Clothes. She has also written, directed and produced several promotional videos and EPKs as well as activist videos for the group Rise and Resist. Debra started and led a creative writing program for homeless adults at the Hoboken Shelter and led a creative writing workshop for “Prime Time” Women over sixty in Brooklyn, who helped inspire MALLWALKERS. Currently Debra teaches Screenwriting at Brooklyn College and Digital Video Production at Fordham University.
Awards History
NYWIFT/Ravenal - Grant for a Second Time Feature Director - 2017
Nantucket Film Festival - Semi-Finalist - 2024
Wscripted - List of Excelent Scripts at Cannes - 2021