My Little Renaissance Girl

DIRECTOR: Bethany Berg 
WRITER & PRODUCER: Amy Heller
PRODUCER: Lauren Partch
PRODUCER: Anthony Gibson

SYNOPSIS: My Little Renaissance Girl is a surrealist dark comedy feature film that follows Amy in modern-day Chicago as her physical world is overtaken by Renaissance-themed garb and fanfare. Amy’s bodily anxieties take a turn after a surprise pregnancy, and she must face what she’s been avoiding in order to move her life forward. While comedic, the film deals with heavy themes of mental health, body image, and how ultimately, it’s love that sets us free.

Amy Heller
Amy is the writer, lead actor and co-producer of My Little Renaissance Girl. Her training comes from The Academy at Black Box Studio, The London Dramatic Academy, The Second City and Loyola University Chicago. Her credits include Edward Albee’s Fragments: A Sit Around (producer, actor, Director of Community Outreach), a five-year sold out run of the musical sketch comedy show Single All the Way (co-writer, producer, director, actor), and a sold out run of the original play For the Record at the Prop Thtr in Chicago (producer, co-creator, actor). Her professional life has been dedicated to works focused on social impact, self-referential comedy and strong feminist perspectives which were integral to the development of My Little Renaissance Girl. Amy uses her art to explore the paradoxes of humanity; what makes us laugh during a tragedy? How seriously can we take comedy? Her art strives to challenge society’s views of beauty and normalcy.

Bethany Berg
She received her training at the Second City Chicago’s Harold Ramis Film School - the world’s first school dedicated to comedic storytelling. Her student short film The Great Chicago Fire was officially selected for the New Orleans Comedy Film Festival, the Midwest Chicago Comedy Film Festival and awarded Best Student Short at the 2018 Chicago Comedy Film Festival. Her sensitivity to heavy issues and impeccable comedic timing made her an incredibly attractive director for this dark comedy.

Lauren Partch
Lauren, a producer of My Little Renaissance Girl, has trained at Illinois State University, The Academy at Black Box Studio, The Acting Studio Chicago and The Second City. Lauren’s professional credits include modeling for Nike Athletic Apparel, For the Record (producer, actor, Head of Marketing responsible for the show’s successful sold out run), 4.48 Psychosis with SaltBox Theatre (actor), MadSage Productions (Head of Marketing) and most recently was hired to produce and direct a book launch for Stef Caldwell, the CEO of Manifest Her, a group designed to bring women together to build community over competition. Lauren has a strong passion for feminism and uplifting other women entrepreneurs, which she has incorporated into the marketing strategy for this film.

Anthony Gibson
Anthony is a graduate of UC Irvine, a Chicago DCASE Cultural Grant recipient, and in 2020 was selected as an inaugural fellow in the Chicago Independent Producers Lab, a program funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and sponsored by Full Spectrum Features and the Chicago Film Office. He is a filmmaker with deep roots in Chicago independent film, co-founding the film collective, Familiar Pictures and producing over a dozen shorts in addition to the feature-length film He Who Lives in Hidden Lakes (Dir. Zach Lona). He can’t wait to see My Little Renaissance Girl hit the screen.