Charm Circle
Director and Producer Nira Burstein, Producer Betsy Laikin
Logline
Filmmaker Nira Burstein returns to her childhood home—now crumbling from the inside out—to explore whether she and her two sisters can reconnect with their parents. With the discovery of a treasure trove of home videos documenting a tumultuous upbringing, moments of laughter, music, and loving spirit are also revealed. Their familial bond is put to the test when Nira’s younger sister announces her upcoming polyamorous wedding and tensions threaten to separate the family for good.
Nira Burstein - Director, Producer
Nira Burstein is an award-winning filmmaker based in New York City. She was recently selected for Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film and her documentary film Charm Circle has been shortlisted for the International Documentary Association’s Feature Awards. Charm Circle had its World Premiere at Sheffield DocFest in 2021 where it won the Audience Award and First Feature Award Special Mention. Nira is an Independent Film Project (now The Gotham) Documentary Fellow, and her work has been supported by the Jerome Foundation and Women Make Movies. She has written & directed several narrative short films, including Gangrenous, which premiered at the 2020 Nantucket Film Festival and Off & Away, premiering at the 2014 Brooklyn Film Festival. Nira has also directed several music videos, premiering on VICE and Impose Magazine among others.
Betsy Laikin - Producer
Betsy Laikin is a New York based creative producer and consultant. She is the producer of director Nira Burstein’s documentary film Charm Circle which premiered at Sheffield DocFest. She was a consulting producer for Jacob Feiring’s Samantha and the Amazing Acro Cats, which premiered at Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in 2017. She also produced Nira’s short films Gangrenous and Off & Away and was a co-producer on Leslie Koren’s Now Return Us To Normal. She previously worked as a film programming coordinator for Women’s Voices Now.
Project logline and bios courtesy of the grantees.