Dexter

Sinister

Entertainment

  • Screenwriter/Actor/Producer

    “The story is everything.”

    A newcomer to the screenwriting industry, Mitch is making exciting moves by blending classic storytelling traditions with a fresh and innovative voice. His work revitalizes timeless narratives, offering audiences a new perspective while honoring deep heritage.

  • Director/Cinematographer

    “Fighting the battle of creativity against the elements of reality.”

    Kurt brings international expertise, having served as the cinematographer on seven feature films. His skills extend beyond cinematography to directing and art direction, showcasing a versatile and comprehensive approach to filmmaking.

  • Art Director/Actor

    “Film is art. Art is helping others see what YOU see.”

    Lee is a San Diego Film Awards “Best Production Designer” winner and an accomplished art director known for his work on multiple feature films and series. With a keen eye for detail and a strong creative vision, Lee has helped bring numerous stories to life through meticulously crafted sets and visual environments.

Solitaire

Original Feature-length

Screenplay by Jenn Hajj and Mitch McDonald

Log Line

Ann flees to the Ozark Mountains to escape a life she never wanted. In the blink of an eye, she has wagered her heart and soul to an other-worldly force and the means of her undoing wants everything Ann is running from.

Ann’s road to a new life began with abandoning her failed marriage. Buying a quiet nest in the prettiest nook she could find in the Ozark mountains, Ann is prepared to re-forge her path. Unfortunately, arriving at her new home, Ann finds she’s been sold a bill of goods. The house has been stripped by locals, leaving her with a barely functional shell.

Ann immediately sets about rebuilding, but every step of the process turns against her. Materials disappear. Tools break. Solid work cascades failures. She is constantly pestered by the backwoods Romeo hoping to get a taste of the big city and his crazed mother who honestly believes someone would want her man-child.

Her new life rapidly begins to overcome her lifetime of coping mechanisms as a functioning alcoholic. One night, her frustrations peaked, Ann meets a stranger. THE Stranger. He promises her a way through her difficulties in the form of a cheap but effective labor. Anyone born in the hills would know better, but Ann accepts and finds Janus on her doorstep the next day.

Before she realizes it, Ann is surrounded by deceit, secret machinations, and covert efforts to break her will. What she can’t see is that the forces working against her aren’t just after her home. Janus has her own wagers to settle, because the other-worldly energies that feed these old mountains must themselves be fed.

Ann and Janus are both on the menu.

Synopsis

Ann

Ann has given away her life focusing on everyone but herself. Now she’s going to live it the way SHE wants to. Talent and skills have allowed her to ignore her own addictions and fears. They haven’t prepared her for the Ozark mountains or the people…the things…that live there.

Janus

Debts must be paid. Janus has many. She also has a plan to discharge them. Lifetimes in service to unfathomable powers have taught her that she can only keep what she can take. Reclaiming her life will take everything she has…and more.

Darryl

Life is a cake walk when you don’t have to mess with self-awareness and consideration. Darryl is the result of generations of Ozark living. There’s nothing he can’t catch, nothing he can’t skin. If it’s not gonna feed him or fuck him, what’s it for?

Char

Char is Darryl’s mom. Keep your hands off what is hers and you’ll be fine. She worked hard to build a home. She worked harder to keep her boy out of trouble. Can’t have some hussy homewrecker leading him off with fleshy temptation. Ann isn’t the first one Char has had to run off, but she might be the last.

Larry

There is nothing better than being a big fish in a small pond. Larry is the biggest realtor, hell, the ONLY realtor in town, so staying on top is easy. He’d have succeeded anyway. It comes naturally when you are just that damn pretty.

Buzzy

Humans are not meant for this world.
….
Buzzy probably isn’t either.

The Stranger

The world is quite simple. Say what you mean. Mean what you say. The Stranger has had longer than the mountains know to teach that lesson to the people of the Ozarks. Fortunately for him, they haven’t learned it well enough.

This will be a tight production, requiring as few as 3 locations and six characters. VFX can be tailored to budget without serious impact on the story-telling.

Coming

Soon!