Ever prepared for an intervention? It’s fucking tense, dude. Like the night before a battle but the person you have to battle is your own daughter. You want to vomit. You want to call it off. You want to institutionalize a family member. And it all has to be done in an hour and half.

“One day we’ll laugh at this,” we told ourselves. Then we realized 90 minutes is a good length for a movie.

And here we are.

the story:

Intervention is about a family coming together to have an intervention for Amanda’s drinking problem. They’ve hired a therapist named Trevor, written emotional letters, chosen the time and location, and now they sit and wait for Amanda to arrive.

But when amanda arrives, trevor realizes the family… hasn’t been entirely honest with him. This is not going to be the straightforward intervention he thought he’d signed up for.

The intervention turns into a whodunnit of how and why this family is miserable. As we flash back and forth from contested family memories to the claustrophobic intervention room, we’ll piece together the mysteries that haunt this family -- and why they’re so locked into the dynamics that make them go into survival mode around each other.

intervention is a gasp-worthy comedy, filled with twists and turns that’ll have you laughing on the edge of your seat. We’ll make you laugh, we’ll make your heart hurt, and we’ll make you want to call your mom.

ABOUT THE WRITER/DIRECTORS:

We’re Marina and Nicco, a writing duo who have collaborated for 18 years. Our longtime collaboration hasn’t just transcended our differences, but been deeply enriched by them. Nicco’s Black, Marina’s White. Nicco’s a man, Marina’s a woman. Nicco’s Palestinian, Marina’s Jewish. Our collaboration has led us to write comedies that center around questions of identity, while delighting, thrilling, and shocking our audiences.

We’ve created work for The New Yorker, Comedy Central, and many other places. We’ve also pitched television shows to buyers. But our biggest project yet, the one we’re proudest of, is Intervention – our feature film that we shot in a whirlwind 15 days, with the most magnificent cast and crew.

WHY WE MADE THIS:

We STARTED WRITING “INTERVENTION” SHORTLY AFTER WE HAD TO PARTICIPATE IN INTERVENTIONS IN OUR RESPECTIVE FAMILIES.  It’s strange when a family that doesN’T believe in therapy comes together for A last-minute, last-ditch, hail mary pass at HEALING.  After refusing to talk about anything, everything has to come out. There may be no other time when you’re as acutely aware of all of the weird, overlapping, conflicting PATTERNS that make your family messed up. In the midst of such a moment, how presumptuous to look at a single person in the room and say -- “hm, I think YOU have something to work on!” IT’S AN ABSOLUTE PRESSURE COOKER OF A SITUATION, WHEN FAMILY DYNAMICS ARE AT THEIR MOST DYNAMIC, WHEN THE STAKES COULDN’T BE HIGHER. OF COURSE WE HAD TO WRITE A MOVIE ABOUT THIS.

FOR MANY YEARS WE’D PICK THE SCRIPT UP AND PUT IT DOWN, ON AND OFF, WHILE WE WERE PITCHING TV SHOWS, PODCASTS, AND OTHER PROJECTS. PROJECTS WE CARED ABOUT TREMENDOUSLY, WITH CHARACTERS WE ADORED.

THESE PROJECTS GOT STUCK IN WHAT MANY PEOPLE CALL “DEVELOPMENT HELL.”

AFTER A PARTICULARLY GRUELING AND DISAPPOINTING ROUND OF PITCHING TV SHOWS TO NETWORK EXECS — ONE OF WHOM WALKED AWAY IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR ZOOM MEETING! — WE DECIDED, SCREW IT. WE LOVE THIS STORY, AND WE KNOW SO MANY TALENTED PEOPLE. WE CAN BRING THIS TO LIFE OURSELVES! AND SO WE GOT TO WORK.

ABOUT 18 MONTHS LATER, WE HAVE A FILM THAT WE’RE BEYOND PROUD OF — AS WELL AS AN EVEN BIGGER CREATIVE FAMILY, FILLED WITH PEOPLE WHO POURED THEIR HEARTS INTO BRINGING INTERVENTION TO LIFE. WE COULDN’T BE PROUDER. LONG LIVE INDIE FILM!

MOST (BUT NOT ALL!) OF THE INTERVENTION TEAM