LOGLINE

Arthouse Horror Short Film

A gifted teenager spirals under grief and life’s crushing blows as his unstable father resurfaces, demanding custody, awakening his mother’s protection from beyond the grave.

SYNOPSIS

After the death of their beloved mother, two brothers cling to each other in a world closing in. Bills mount, grief lingers, and danger circles their door. A dangerously unstable, faith-obsessed father resurfaces, claiming divine authority to reclaim his son. His presence twists righteousness into threat, shattering the divide between the living and the dead. Refusing to rest, their mother returns, her love burning into fury. As her power transforms the youngest, the worlds of mother and father collapse into one.

WRITER / DIRECTOR ARTISTIC STATEMENT

I create stories that live where the spiritual and the real collide. Rooted in my Trinidadian lineage and shaped by Brooklyn grit, my voice is guided by ancestry, empathy, and lived experience. I am drawn to the unseen, how grief, love, and memory linger in rooms long after presence has left, and how people carry ghosts that are both burden and blessing.

With Lavender Claws, I explore how generational wounds shape identity, how trauma and love can coexist, and how sometimes the spirit must rise when the world refuses to protect. Through the eyes of a young Black boy, I want to reveal the quiet conflict in heroism, the work of surviving, staying soft amid pressure, and holding onto love when everything around him tries to harden him.

My work calls for compassion over judgment. Each story I tell is an offering to my ancestors, to the silenced, and to those who understand that even in darkness, love insists on being seen.

Jennifer Dottin-Rossi, Writer, Director, Producer.

Jennifer Dottin-Rossi is a Brooklyn raised filmmaker rooted in a lineage of Trinidadian women who move through the world with words, spirit, and inherited memory. A teenage mother turned filmmaker, she brings lived, layered experience to the screen through storytelling that is gentle yet visceral, centering underrepresented voices. A co-producer and cinematographer with Meliki Hurd Entertainment LLC, her work includes Dipshits, Vampires in Brooklyn, 8:17 in Richland, Desdemona, and Outta My Mind, a semifinalist at the Paris International Short Film Festival. Her writing credits include the short Lavender Claws and the feature Pedaling Pursuants, which earned her selection into Stowe Story Labs 2023.

Alicia (Lee) Slimmer, Producer.

Alicia (Lee) Slimmer is an award-winning filmmaker. Her debut feature film, Creedmoria, won over a dozen awards, including the Jury Prize for Best Feature Comedy at Cinequest, Audience Favorite at the Brooklyn Film Festival, and the Industry Choice Award at Dances With Films. Lee is currently working on her next feature, It’s All Relative starring Karen Allen. Her indie approach has been highlighted in multiple publications, including The Wall Street Journal, and The Hollywood Reporter. Lee is a contributing writer to Thrive Global, a member of Film Fatales, and runs a monthly writing group. Creedmoria is available on Amazon Prime.

RaShad Frett, Mentor and Script Consultant.

RaShad Frett is an award-winning Caribbean American filmmaker based in New York City. After serving as a U.S. Army combat medic and experiencing 9/11, he committed fully to storytelling as a means of social impact. He earned his MFA from NYU Tisch’s Graduate Film Program and has received honors including BAFTA-HBO, Martin Scorsese Young Filmmakers, DGA Student Film, Spike Lee Production Fellowship, and Ryan Murphy’s HALF Initiative. His Oscar-qualifying short Ricky premiered at Sundance, and his debut feature won the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

Margie Verghese, Production Designer and Aristic Director.

Margie Verghesehas worked across nearly every facet of the Art Department since beginning her career in film and television, most recently specializing in Set Decoration. From a young age, she has been deeply intrigued by how arrangement, color, and light shape the emotional understanding of a space. With a strong reverence for storytelling, Margie translates concepts into texture, palette, and object placement to deepen character and narrative. A former Propmaster, she believes every object a character touches becomes a talisman, drawing viewers further into the story. Her credits include Smile 2, Poker Face, Unspeakable: The Murder of JonBenét Ramsey, Skin, I Know This Much Is.

Meliki Hurd, Actor.

Meliki Hurd is a Brooklyn born actor, filmmaker, and musician whose work is anchored in storytelling across performance and original work. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, he trained at various acting studios throughout his career and studied musical theater and drama at the Professional Performing Arts School. At 12, he made his Broadway debut in Matilda the Musical and joined the production’s first national tour. His credits include The Equalizer, The Last O.G., The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Netflix Film Club’s Home, and Cracked, the 2021 NYU Wasserman second place winner. In addition to acting, Meliki has created his own body of work through the YouTube mini series Dipshits, short films, music videos, and three albums: Golden Boy (2022), More Alive Than Ever (2023), and Golden Scars (2026). His short film/music video Outta My Mind was a semifinalist at the 2023 Paris International Short Festival and received an honorable mention from the 2023 One Reeler Short Film Competition.

Stowe Story Labs alumni can initiate an application for fiscal agency here.

LAVENDER CLAWS

Jennifer Dottin-Rossi, Writer, Director, Producer.

Alicia (Lee) Slimmer, Producer.

RaShad Frett, Mentor and Script Consultant.

Margie Verghese, Production Designer and Aristic Director.

Meliki Hurd, Actor.

LAST DITCH