The cast of “We’re So Dead,” which premieres at the Tara Theatre on September 22. (Photo by Blake Studwell)
Every 28 minutes. That’s how often a food service worker needs a bit of assistance to keep themselves and their families afloat, according to Leah Melnick, senior director of field operations for Giving Kitchen, an Atlanta-based nonprofit. Giving Kitchen’s mission is to provide support for food service workers when they reach out for help. To date, the nonprofit has provided $16 million in financial assistance to more than 31,000 food service workers.
To meet its mission even better, Giving Kitchen is accepting a bit of aid itself — in the form of proceeds from ticket sales for a special indie horror-comedy film premiere of We’re So Dead at 7:30 p.m. on September 22 at the Plaza Theatre.
The premiere, crowdfunded largely by the service industry community, is in conjunction with National Food Service Worker Day on September 25 and it will help showcase the storytelling chops of career restaurant-worker creatives.
Jenna Kanell (Courtesy of Jenna Kanell)
“We’re So Dead is a movie by the service industry, for the service industry — written, produced, and brought to life by people who know the realities of restaurant work,” Melnick describes. “It’s a horror-comedy with heart, and it reflects the grit, talent, and creativity that so many food service workers embody.”
Atlanta-based actor and stunt performer Jenna Kanell, who plays Ashley in We’re So Dead and also appears in studio films like Renfield and Terrifier, gravitated to the script straight away.
“I’d done lots of work in the gig economy, but not in restaurants,” Kanell says. “So writer/director Ken McLaughlin trained me by having me do a restaurant shift, waiting tables.”
She sums up, “The film is a Christmas horror-comedy about a Karen (played by Atlanta-based Leanna Adams) that comes into a restaurant and is unhappy with her service and, as a result, makes it a bad night for everyone. My character, Ashley, has been a server for years—for as long as she was legally allowed to work. And now she’s the manager in charge, working in the only world she knows and debating whether or not to throw in the towel.”
Additional talent who brought We’re So Dead to life on screen includes Kevin Saunders (Doug), Artemis (Gina), Darron Cardosa (Dirk), and crew members.
The cast of We’re So Dead viewed through a monitor on set. (Photo by Mike Greene)
Proceeds from the premiere — $2.13 from every ticket sold — will be donated to Giving Kitchen’s work.
“The film’s proceeds directly support food service workers in crisis by providing financial assistance and connecting them to community resources,” Melnick says. “(Things like) keeping a roof over their heads, the lights on, and stability in food service workers’ lives.”
Melnick adds, “When the producers of We’re So Dead reached out to partner with us, it felt like a natural alignment. They wanted to shine a spotlight on the industry, and (to help) support the hard-working people who make the industry run.”
For Kanell, the Atlanta-produced film and its premiere are cause to celebrate indie filmmaking, too, and the components that make its storytelling so strong.
“I love working on indie films because they’re very collaborative,” Kanell notes. “There’s less time and money and fewer resources, but it’s fun — things like getting to weigh in on character choices and dialogue, and the autonomy it fosters. With a highly collaborative environment and a smaller crew, indie films often have a summer-camp, celebratory vibe on set.”
Celebratory and lifesaving, it seems — even when served with some horror on the side.
Where & when
We’re So Dead screens at the Tara Theatre at 7:30 p.m. September 22. Advance tickets are $15.13 and can be purchased here.
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Carol Badaracco Padgett is an Atlanta-based freelance writer who focuses on film and television, the automotive industry, architectural design and collaborative storytelling projects.
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