SYNOPSIS:

Format: Feature Genre: Thriller/Action/Drama Nutshell: Sicario meets Set It Off FEMICIDE (Fem-i-cide) Noun the murder of a woman or girl, in particular by a man because she is female Logline: Marcella, an ordinary woman, and her three friends, trapped in a culture that fosters femicide, fight for their lives as modern day “Robin Hoods” with the help of a catholic priest; robbing a murderous Mexican drug cartel that’s baffled, but hell-bent on hunting them down. OVERVIEW: Las Soldaderas takes an unflinching look into the human trauma and existential horrors faced living in a culture where life is cheap and the lives of women cheaper. It projects slow, undulating waves of tension using universal and interesting themes that will leave its audience with cathartic moments of revelation which can make for a very commercial story. It uses sensual and visual imagery to confront societal mores and lay bare individual psyches in the spirit of stalwarts like Kathryn Bigelow and Martin Scorsese, and action, realism, and style reminiscent of Denis Villeneuve and Paul Thomas Anderson. Internationally, people have been talking about the issue of femicide for years. CHARACTERS Marcela Garcia Ramirez de Arroyo (35) – One of Marcela’s primary goals in life is to be a good mother to her only child; a ten year old son, Omar. She’s heartbroken by his murder, and furious to learn that her husband, Juan, is complicit in his death. Clarenza Lopez Covas (35) – Clarenza uses alcohol to dull the pain of losing her twin boys in a kidnapping, but regains strength and purpose fighting side by side with Marcela and the other women. Dextra Marcos Calla (late 20’s) – Dextra, who lost her police officer husband when he was killed in the line of duty, is the single mother of an eight year old daughter, and has the spirit of a lioness; a quality that comes in handy in a fight, but is of little help as she faces the stark reality of betrayal. Karmen Rodriguez (early 30’s) – Karmen is a creature of the night born on streets of Juarez. She has managed to survive using street savvy, cunning wit, willpower, and survival instinct, but struggles to find her spiritual center. Karmen is the heart and soul of the group and never holds back her tongue. Bishop Aiden O’Connell (70’s) – Bishop O’Connell is a former member of the military wing of the IRA, turned priest. He exorcises past demons by helping the women in their private revolution as he also struggles to be their spiritual guide. Summary: MARCELA awakens and gets her ten year old son, OMAR, ready for school. After a big breakfast, they head down the street as CLARENZA watches from next door, alcoholic drink in her hand. Military transports filled with ski-masked armed men roll past a long line of parents and children adding to the tension. Marcela kisses Omar goodbye and heads for home. She’s not far away when gunfire fills the air, sending Marcela, the other parents, and children diving for cover. Marcela runs toward the school when the gunfire stops and frantically searches for her son. She finds him sprawled out on the playground with a gunshot wound to the head. Omar is dead. After the funeral, BISHOP AIDAN O’CONNELL and Clarenza visit Marcela and her husband JUAN, to offer their condolences. DEXTRA CALLA and her father, DETECTIVE ERNESTO MARCOS, do the same, somber and heartbreaking. When the house clears Marcela and Juan argue about the death of their son, and the unsolved murders of her sister and niece. Juan, who works for one of the drug cartels, presses her to back off and storms out of the house with his bodyguard, CARLOS VENEZUELA, in tow. After he’s gone, Clarenza and Dextra return with tequila in hand to cheer her up. The women spend the night dreaming of life away from Juarez, as gunfire and chaos fill the night out in the streets. When Dextra returns home the following day, her step mother, CARMELITA MARCOS, is waiting with scolding words and a condescending attitude. She disapproves of Dextra’s lifestyle ever since her husband, Roberto, was murdered, and the way she raises her eight year old daughter, MARTA. Although Dextra puts her in her place, she feels the pressure of living there raising a child alone as a widow. Dextra’s best friend, KARMEN RODRIGUEZ, shows up to pick up Dextra and gets into an argument with Carmelita. Not one to back down from a fight, Karmen puts her in check and her and Dextra head back to Marcela’s house. Karmen, a creature of the streets of Juarez, brings the women up to date on the femicide and other killings taking place in the city, and shares what she knows about Omar’s death. Clarenza and her husband, JARIO, argue about the past kidnapping of their twin boys. Jario, a minor government hack, took the lead on getting them back. He naively trusted a high-level cartel member for help and didn’t pay the ransom. Their boys were never returned. Clarenza turned to alcoholism for comfort and their marriage degenerated into a loveless morass of depression and despair. Marcela and Clarenza attend a peace rally against femicide that erupts into a riot when the main speaker is assassinated at the podium. The women barely escape and end up rear ending a car on their way home after dark. Two drunken men exit the damaged vehicle and get the women out of their car. The situation escalates and the two thugs try and rape them, but Marcela gets one of their guns and kills them both. Marcela finds a duffle bag in their trunk filled with one hundred thousand dollars in cash. She takes the money and they speed off, leaving the two bodies on the side of the road. They take the money to Bishop O’Connell and give it to him to help take care of the orphans and widows of Juarez, who have been driven into the streets because of the violence. When the women tell Dextra and Karmen what happened to them, they are stunned. Dextra because of what happened, Karmen because they gave the money away. Marcela confides in Karmen that she doesn’t regret killing the men because it saved their lives, and the money went to a good cause. In fact, Marcela, feeling empowered, wishes she could do it again. Karmen believes that they can. The women execute a series of heists that baffle and anger the cartel. Bishop O’Connell becomes a helpmate and spiritual guide for the group. Carols, Juan’s bodyguard, emerges as a much needed asset whose hidden secret could mean salvation for them all. In the end, Marcela and her friends discover a strength they never knew they had, and realize that the fight for freedom is their own, and that you are never freer then when you struggle for it, even unto death.