I had just been booked to shoot a commercial for my dear friend and collaborator Sawyer Gilley; although I had directed plays and various film projects in college, this would be my first professional engagement behind the camera. I knew that if I bought myself this silly little hat, I would make sure I had reason to wear it again… And now, reader, the time has come. I am directing my first-ever short, titled SOMETHING IN THE WATER.

It’s a creature feature. It’s a little spooky and a little sweet. I’m throwing it together this August with some of my favorite people in LA. And we’re inviting you to get involved as a patron.

Here are the details.

LOGLINE: A man’s bond with his girlfriend is put to the test when a dip in the LA River transforms him into an amphibious creature.

GOFUNDME LINK HERE

CAST:
Remi (female lead): Leah Voysey (Terrifier 2)
Gil (male lead): Spenser Granese (Marty Supreme)

PRODUCTION TEAM:
Brittany Menjivar (that’s me!): Director/Co-Writer
Emily Robinson: Co-Writer
Rebecca Hochman-Fisher: Producer
Katarina Soto: Producer

WHAT YOUR MONEY WILL GO TOWARD:
-Paying (and feeding) our cast and additional crew (production and post-production)
-Funding SFX! We’ll need to pay for prosthetics in addition to compensating our talented SFX artist
-Prop and costume expenses
-That’s basically it… This is a low-budget production with only a handful of locations so we’re keeping it simple in a lot of regards, but funding cast and crew is a priority for us!

WHY YOU SHOULD GIVE US MONEY IN THE FIRST PLACE:
-You want to support indie filmmaking, duh
-You care about the environment 🐠
-You care about horror 🎃
-You’ve seen the LA River in such showstopping films as Grease, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and Drive and would like to ensure its onscreen legacy is upheld
-You want to see the nastiest and most creative SFX imaginable (the more you donate, the nastier we can get)

ABOUT YOUR FILMMAKERS:

BRITTANY MENJIVAR was born and raised in the DMV; she now works and plays in the City of Angels. Her short thriller screenplay FRAGILE.COM was produced by Lena Waithe through the AT&T Hello Lab Filmmaker Mentorship Program; it racked up multiple genre fest awards and is now streaming via ALTER, where it boasts over three million views. Her adaptation of Alex Kazemi’s novel NEW MILLENNIUM BOYZ, co-written with the author, is forthcoming from producers Chris and Roberta Hanley (AMERICAN PSYCHO, THE VIRGIN SUICIDES, SPRING BREAKERS.) After helming her first commercial last year—and performing under layers of prosthetics as a scare actor for years—she couldn’t be more thrilled to step into the director’s chair for a creature feature. Brittany is represented by Untitled Entertainment.

EMILY ROBINSON is a writer, director, and SAG Award-nominated, Special Drama Desk Award-winning actor known for her work in EIGHTH GRADE, THE YEAR BETWEEN, PRIVATE LIFE, THE EDGE OF EVERYTHING, and TRANSPARENT. Her directorial debut feature film, UGLY CRY, premiered at SXSW (2026). Her short films, VIRGIN TERRITORY and HEARSAY, have screened at numerous festivals, such as Film Independent’s LA Film Festival, Outfest, and Frameline. Her debut novel, CONSUMED, was published in 2023. Robinson holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from Columbia University.

REBECCA HOCHMAN-FISHER (HAVE YOU SEEN MALCOLM & GRACE, THE OCEAN CALLS ME, CVNTS) is a Producer and AD who’s interested in what interests you. She’s helped bring stories to life across television, film, and digital media with experience at Sony, Disney, and Electric Monster.

KATARINA SOTO is an award-winning producer/director. She produced the short film PROMISE TO STRONGER DAYS (PTSD), which premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2025, and she was the Grand Prize winner of the ShotDeck Hollywood Black Challenge in 2024. Her passion has landed her in production roles at Marvel Studios, 20th Century Studios, Fifth Season, and Partizan Entertainment. She has a B.S. in Film and Television from Boston University.

OK, you get the picture… Now do your thing :) And while you’re at it, subscribe if you want… I’ll be updating this Substack way more frequently.

X
Britt