Pop the Grapes

Stephanie needs $500 for an advanced self-defense course in the big city. When she finds an envelope full of cash, she reluctantly turns it over to a security guard. Assuming he’s used the cash to buy a pair of high-class cowboy boots, Stephanie shows the security guard the meaning of brute force.

Creative team

Writers: Deborah Robinson, Desiree Lavoy
Director: Nicole Dorsey
Producer: Deborah Robinson

Filmmaker’s statement

Deborah Robinson says:

“Desiree (Lavoy) and I had been working together on various comedy projects since 2009.

Since that time we have won countless awards for our live performances, including Best New Format 2012 for Happy Contest Time (a show we created where Japanese schoolgirls judge stand-up comedy.) We showcased at NXNE, and we were guests at both The Boston Women in Comedy Festival and Halifax Fringe Festival.

When coming together for Pop the Grapes, we knew we wanted the challenge of making a film, we knew we wanted the script to be quirky because that’s who we are as comedians and we knew we wanted to surround ourselves with talented women.

It all fell into place perfectly – Stephanie Kaliner (Versus Valerie), and Sara Hennessey (Video on Trial), are our amazing leads. Then once Nicole Dorsey signed on as director, we knew we were in good hands. We all came together to make this happen and Desiree and I are so thankful for the experience. We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we did making it.”

About Nicole Dorsey

Nicole Dorsey is a Toronto-based filmmaker whose short narrative films have screened internationally, winning notable awards.

With a penchant for naturalism, her work often embodies a documentarian’s objectivity and aims to present a realistic portrayal of the human condition.

Recently, Nicole received the Irving Avrich Award for Emerging Filmmaker at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. In 2012 her comedic short The Artists won best film at the Breakthrough Film Festival.

Nicole’s dramatic film Ivadelle took home best narrative short at RiverRun International Film Festival in 2010. She holds a bachelor of fine arts from Ryerson University’s film production program.

Nicole is currently developing her first feature film.