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THE STORY OF GENESIS

GENESIS is a coming-of-age psychological thriller that follows Hazel, a repressed, queer, Catholic teenager who suddenly believes she must exorcise her debaucherous best friend to save their lifelong friendship.

It explores teenage girls discovering their sexualities, freedom, and the death of adolescence in a hyper-religious, conservative environment in the 1990s. It’s about the lengths someone will go to keep a friendship that has already ended.

Our goal is to show how Hazel's religious, repressive environment and her controlling nature push her deeper into a delusion, causing her to make a dark decision that she cannot take back.

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MEET THE GENESIS TEAM

JORDAN PFEIFER

DIRECTOR & WRITER

is a director, writer, and producer originally from Austin, Texas, but has spent the last 10 years residing in Los Angeles. She has a BA in Film Production from Loyola Marymount University and is currently in her 2nd year of the Master's in Directing program at the American Film Institute Conservatory.

She has directed 15 narrative short films that have won awards in the festival space, including Necromantic, Strawberry, and Call Earl. She has produced many other projects, including the award-winning feature film Meltdown. Her focus is telling authentic stories about women and the queer community through the lens of genre films.

PAMELA PATTON

WRITER

is a writer, filmmaker, and actress with a Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Social Science from Brigham Young University. Before AFI, she wrote for National Lampoon Inc. and recently served as head writer and producer for a live-comedy diversity show, Unrequited, at Pack Theater, selling out each show five months in a row.

She also recently produced and performed in an all-black women show on the Groundlings Theater Mainstage directed by Lyric Lewis, a historical show never before done at the theater. Patton's background includes production work with Hallmark Christmas Channel, collaborating with the writers behind Unorthodox on Netflix, and performing at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe and 2025 Edinburgh Improv Festivals. Her narrative storytelling focuses on character analysis and often features women of color with great internal strife, indecision, and bravery. She enjoys homemade ice cream and makes a mean ratatouille.

TATIANA FENNER

PRODUCER

is a producer, filmmaker, and native New Yorker with a degree in Theatre Management (BS) from Syracuse University. She is currently in her 2nd year at the American Film Institute, completing her MFA in Producing. Most recently, she has worked as a producer on numerous documentary television series that have been featured on HBO Max, Paramount+, Showtime, and Outside TV.

She produced the narrative short film Ella's Suite, which earned a nomination for HBO Max's “Best of Fest” award at the Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival. She is a development-minded filmmaker championing subversive, diverse, and boundary-breaking storytelling through film and television.

MAHSATI MOORHEAD

CINEMATOGRAPHER

is a recent graduate from Spelman College with her B.A. in Photography and Anthropology. Her work highlights the role of adornment in self-presentation and celebrates cultural heritage and autonomy. During her junior year of college, she had her short film, Auspicious Return, featured at BlackStar and the Maryland Film Festival in 2024.

She has worked on a number of projects, including assisting Tribe7 Lens, Telfar, and Loophole of Retreat in the Venice Biennale. She is currently a 2027 MFA candidate at the American Film Institute as a Cinematography Fellow.

IRINA SUN

PRODUCTION DESIGNER

is a production designer and filmmaker from Nanjing, China, currently completing her MFA in Production Design at the American Film Institute Conservatory. With a background in visual storytelling, spatial design, and digital world-building, she uses color, texture, architecture, and atmosphere to translate characters' inner worlds onto the screen.

Her recent work includes designing narrative short films across coming-of-age, fantasy, and sci-fi genres, where she has developed a strong interest in subjective spaces, emotional realism, and stylized visual transformation.

Irina's creative practice often explores identity, memory, desire, and the tension between reality and imagination. She is passionate about building cinematic environments that feel intimate, psychologically layered, and emotionally immersive.

YUFEI YANG

EDITOR

is a media artist, designer, and editor, currently an Editing Fellow at the American Film Institute Conservatory. She graduated with High Distinction from the University of Toronto, earning an HBA in digital media.

Bridging her background in game design and filmmaking, Yufei's creative vision centers on crafting immersive and engaging audience-driven narratives. She is dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices, continuously working on stories that explore queerness and the Chinese diaspora.

Yufei's editorial work on the short films A Necessity and Birthday won multiple awards at the 2024 and 2025 UTM Film Festivals, including Best Editing and Best Overall Picture.

OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT:

MATCHING GRANTS
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SPECIAL THANKS
A donation of any size gets you a mention in the credits of the film in the special thanks section.

TAX DEDUCTION
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, all donations through the American Film Institute may be eligible for a tax deduction.

THE STORY OF GENESIS

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Thesis Film