CASHED
Cast: Serena Ryen, Ethan Itzkow , Jessica Sharples
Crew: Producers: – Screenwriters: – Director, Co-Writer, Producer: Ethan Itzkow – Co-Writer, Producer: Serena Ryen – Director of Photography: Jorge Arzac
Email: serenaryen@gmail.com
Web: www.cashedfilm.com
Synopsis
After a rare night of drinking on her 25th birthday, Jess wakes up to a wicked hangover and surprise unemployment. As she struggles with whether or not to spend her last few bucks on weed, she tries to pick up the pieces of her life and find some peace of mind in the process.
Director
Ethan Itzkow is a NYC based director, actor, and writer. His play Theft had two successful runs at the American Theater of Actors, and his play Monsters ran at the 133rd Street Arts Center as part of the thrilling immersive show Survive Survive. As an actor he’s appeared on both stage and screen, most recently in the national tour of Freedom Train, and he will be making his television network co-star debut later this year on Lifetime’s new show “YOU”.
Filmmaker’s Note
Living in New York is hard. My generation and I, we know that. We know we’re not the first straight-jacketed residents of this concrete madhouse. However, with “CASHED”, I wanted to explore a few truths that are objectively unique about the Millennial experience in a big city like New York. We’re the most educated generation in American history, and many of us have got bupkis to show for it besides a monthly student loan payment. We exist in a gig economy with no sense of security, and we’ve been in school long enough to know it’s been better, and could be better. Things cost too much and most of us make too little. It’s incredibly frustrating. Sometimes, as one might say, it just blows ass. “CASHED” is a little bit of my experience dealing with all these facts and feelings, and about my relationship to pot because of them. I smoke Cannabis. It helps me unwind after 13 hours on my feet, it helps me go to sleep when I struggle with insomnia, and it’s how I choose to socially intoxicate myself. I want to be able to go to the damn weed store, get my Grapefruit Kush, and chill the hell out, like any red-blooded, tax paying American would with a nice frosty beer. And while pot isn’t a risk-free source of relaxation, medicine, or just plain fun, there’s more suffering caused by its being illegal than by the plant itself. “CASHED” is my way of speaking to that truth, even through the lens of psychological dependence that Jess inhabits. I hope you laugh, I hope you feel, I hope you think. Light up, sit back, and enjoy.
