The Imposter

Directed by Jenny Deller

On the cusp of a pivotal promotion, a burned-out theater professor has 24 hours to save her marriage, rescue her new play and win over an infamous celebrity playwright who threatens to destroy her for sport.

  • ABOUT
  • BIO
  • AWARDS
  • CREDITS
  • GALLERY

Genre

Synopsis

Trudy Svoboda, the former artistic director of a once-successful theater troupe, has followed her high-profile husband into academia, only to be plagued with self-doubt and suppressed creativity. As a last-ditch effort at tenure, she’s staging a new play: a memoir about her Czech dissident father who was killed in a hit-and-run. But two days before the show, everything blows up. Her lead actor drops out, and Trudy is saddled with playing the role of her father. Her husband—accused of forging data—goes missing. And her juror, playwright Paul Ian Kennedy, turns out to be a renowned narcissist. As they battle it out over an icy weekend, the two form an unlikely connection that propels Trudy’s work—and life—in a startling new direction. Balancing sharp satire with moments both tender and surreal, THE IMPOSTER asks what is the cost of performing all the roles that capitalism demands of us?

Bio

Jenny’s debut feature, FUTURE WEATHER, stars Amy Madigan, Lili Taylor, Marin Ireland and Perla Haney-Jardine as an aspiring conservationist. It received the Showtime Tony Cox Award for Screenwriting, grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and Best Feature at the Napa Valley Film Festival. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, screened in 15 cities and was distributed on Netflix, Starz, Amazon and HBO Europe. Commissioned by the Science and Entertainment Exchange, her short doc, CONTAINING ADDICTION, explores the mind-body connection through two recovering addicts. Jenny produced the thriller CLAIRE IN MOTION (Betsy Brandt, Sakina Jaffrey) which premiered at SXSW in 2016. Trained in acting, Jenny has performed in classical plays, a one-woman show, and on LAW & ORDER. She has been selected for talent programs with Film Independent, The Gotham and Film Society of Lincoln Center. Her projects have been supported by Tribeca Film Institute, Netflix, Women in Film and The Screenwriters Colony. Her current feature in development, THE IMPOSTER, was selected for the FEST Pitching Forum—part of the New Directors, New Films Festival in Espinho, Portugal.

Jenny is also a seasoned pitch deck designer who loves helping fellow filmmakers take the first step in launching their visions. Her decks have assisted award-winning film, TV and commercial creators land work for Warner Brothers, HBOMax, Showtime, AppleTV+ and OWN; as well as brands like Toyota, Amazon and Home Depot.

Awards History

Ohio Arts Council Award 2024

Artists Elevated Award 2023

FEST - New Directors, New Films: Pitching Forum 2023

Credits

Actor - Gaby Hoffmann

Executive Producer - Joe Guest