Director letter of intent.

In telling the story of Cecilia, my Ragamuffin, I wanted to start from a traditional myth with a universal message and develop it in a modern way.

I wanted to express the evolution of time, the issue of recomposed families and sibling conflicts, particularly in families of remarried parents, and more than anything, my concern for ecology.

Somewhere between a fairy tale and a musical comedy, Princess Ragamuffin is a fantastical story about a girl called Cecilia who lives with her 2 sisters and her stepmother. In order to save the forest she has inherited from her father, she must marry at once to free herself from the power of her stepmother...

Although the plot will be vaguely familiar to the Cinderella myth, the fun of “Princess Ragamuffin” is all in the way it is told. I have combined the traditional fairy tale with core modern issues such as ecology, the relationship between men and women, tradition versus modernity and ultimately the sacrifices one makes for love. By playing with the audience’s expectations and adding spectacular musical performances I will make the original myth more appealing to a Young modern audience.

Although my Cinderella, Cecilia, is based on a fairy tale character, she is nevertheless a strong woman who fights for her independence, her freedom, her dignity. No one not even the Prince, no matter how charming he is, can govern her life. Cecilia is a rebel. At her young age, she already knows that life is not a fairy tale, especially for women, and that in life one needs to fight to get what one desires, the biggest fight of all being the fight to love.

The use of dance and music in Princess Ragamuffin will reinforce emotions and touch the audience’s innermost feelings. Dance and Music can effectively relate the simplest action in many extremely different moods and nuances and help transport emotions. The singing and dancing sequences in Princess Ragamuffin have therefore been chosen to bring sheer dream-like pleasure and draw us right into Cecilia’s world. To keep the audiences emotional commitment unimpaired from scene to scene, the lyrics, music, and dance will collate with the plot, each musical sequence relating to the next and to the narrative as a whole. Sound and movement will flow and mix with the narrative in a seamless way.

To lead emotions and to appeal to a wide audience, I want to use catchy upbeat songs or slow ballads that the listener can sing or hum along to. I am therefore planning on working with talented composers and writers to produce an original soundtrack, with fresh, innovative and edgy songs, of diversified musical influences.

Body movement and music is also what connects Cecilia to the natural elements of wood, fire, water and wind. These elements are a core issue in Princess Ragamuffin, and should reflect my approach to the main theme of ecology.

In Princess Ragamuffin, the forest is a character in itself. Trees are living elements. They may not have walking abilities, talking abilities, or the ability to feel pain and pleasure in a visible way, but they have life, and should not be torn down for any reason at all. Cecilia communicates with the forest. She understands that the Forest is the lung of the world, and that without it the human race would not survive. It is an important message I am trying to get across to the audience through Cecilia’s relationship with the forest.
Colors will be deep and rich, the settings fantasy-like, and the costumes bold and beautiful. Music, dancing, acting, visuals and captivating song sequences will all contribute to create a rather unusual and memorable cinematic experience.

More than anything, I want to make a movie that will be a lot of fun for any and every audience. Ultimately “Princess Ragamuffin” will be an unforgettable feast for the sense, an imaginative work that will be a glorious testament to the limitless and largely untapped possibilities of cinema.

Vera Belmont, Paris, July 2008