A feature film that follows Penny, who, after learning she is going blind, turns to psychoanalysis to confront her past and redefine what it means to see and heal.
Set in 1970s New York, PENNY follows a young woman quietly unraveling beneath the weight of expectations she can no longer meet. Intelligent, sensitive, and deeply introspective, Penny appears to be functioning on the surface, holding a job at a publishing company, navigating a complicated romantic relationship, and attempting to maintain a sense of normalcy. But internally, she is slipping. As her vision begins to deteriorate, so does her grasp on reality, intensifying a fear she cannot fully articulate that she is losing control of her own mind and body.
Desperate for clarity, Penny begins working with Dr. Becker, a psychoanalyst whose calm, measured presence offers both relief and confrontation. Through their sessions, the film moves fluidly between past and present, unearthing memories of Penny’s upbringing, her parents’ rigid expectations, and the subtle emotional fractures that have shaped her sense of self. As these fragments surface, Penny is forced to confront the dissonance between who she has been told to be and who she actually is.
Outside the therapy room, her life continues to destabilize. Her relationship with Jeremy grows increasingly distant, her performance at work falters, and her family struggles to understand the depth of what she’s experiencing. When Dr. Becker is suddenly gone, Penny spirals further into isolation, triggering a confrontation with her parents that exposes years of unspoken tension and misunderstanding.
But PENNY is not a story of collapse. It is a story of reconstruction. As Penny begins to reclaim her voice, she makes a series of quiet but radical choices, stepping away from the life that no longer fits, redefining her relationships, and embracing the uncertainty of starting over. Through pain, memory, and self examination, she moves toward a fragile but hard won sense of clarity.
Anchored by intimate performances and a restrained, observational style, PENNY is a deeply human portrait of identity, mental health, and the courage it takes to become the person you were always meant to be.
Baylee Toney is a writer, director, producer, and actress based between Austin, Texas and New York City. Raised in Southern Oregon, her work is rooted in Americana and explores family, identity, and the emotional landscapes that shape us.
She recently directed and starred in PENNY, a 1970s true story alongside Julianna Margulies and Joanna Gleason. The film positions Toney as a performance-driven director with a strong command of character and tone, marking a significant step into the prestige indie space.
Toney also directed, wrote, and starred in Timber Lands, a neo-Western drama featuring Wes Studi, Irene Bedard, Tanaya Beatty, and Owen Crowshoe, and recently directed and starred in her upcoming quirky comedy western Run Honey Run, currently nearing completion. Her debut feature, Last Tour Home, premiered at the Soho International Film Festival and was released by Freestyle Media.
With a background in acting, Toney brings a deeply collaborative, performance-first approach to directing. She is actively building a slate of character-driven films that balance emotional specificity with strong visual identity, positioning her as an emerging voice in contemporary American independent cinema.
Actress - Julianna Margulies
Actress - Joanna Gleason
Actor - Michael Pare
Actress - Lio Tipton
