The Story

A character drama inspired by those who survive what they can't control

 When a blue collar loner takes in a young girl alone and destined for foster care he must peel back the layers of his own childhood trauma to save her from the same fate.

As a complicated and intricate subject, childhood trauma deserves more storytelling. Abuse for a child takes on so many facets which can fester for years and affect how they interact with the world into adulthood. This film opens up that world through two characters who share with us a “behind-the-scenes” look into their memories, emotions and realities, and directly reflects the core issue of how to approach healing trauma by bringing individuals to life that help answer the question “What happened to you?” rather than “What is wrong with you?”

Taking place in urban Milwaukee, our two brave leads, Gibbs and Ruby, show us what different types of PTSD look like at both its origin during childhood and the outcomes in adulthood. We hope that you contemplate, cry, laugh, wonder and most importantly, empathize with our two leads as they bring transparent and gutting moments to the screen. In the process, their struggles, memories and reality expose untapped inner strength to form an unexpected bond.

Birds of a Feather stakes the claim that exposing truths are important in building more empathic, knowledgeable communities, and we are excited to tell a narrative that supports these goals.