Official Trailer – Princeton’s in the Mix from Heather Brawley on Vimeo.

Princeton’s in the Mix

Director: Jonathan DiMaio

Writer: DiMaio

Cast: Heather Burns, Charlie Besso, Syra McCarthy and Nate Duncan

Indy Shorts International Film Festival 2024 Midwest / Indiana Premiere Screening: Friday, July 26th, 8:00 PM ET at Living Room Theaters, Indianapolis

Screened at: Critics Screening Link, New York, 7/24/24

Coming-of-age movies have longed thrived for their ability to realistically chronicle the struggles insecure teens face when they start preparing for their futures. But the genre has powerfully been overturned in the new short horror film, ‘Princeton’s in the Mix.’ The thriller is a satirical and fun – but equally disturbing – parable about what happens when a wealthy mother’s obsession with her son’s college admissions process makes her lose sight of his actual well-being.

‘Princeton’s in the Mix’ will have its Midwest and Indiana Premieres tomorrow, Friday, July 26 at 8:00pm ET at the Indy Shorts International Film Festival in Indiana. The screening comes after the black comedy had its World Premiere at Dances With Films: LA last month.

Jonathan DiMaio wrote, directed and edited ‘Princeton’s in the Mix.’ Heather Burns and Charlie Besso play the reversed roles of the mother and son, Beth and Teddy Simpson, in the movie. Beth is a status-obsessed parent who finds a shortcut as a way to cheat on the SAT that is resisted by her principled and earnest piano-obsessed son.

‘Princeton’s in the Mix’ follows Beth as she struggles to keep up appearances with the other fellow wealthy, tech industry parents of her son’s classmates. She wants nothing but the best for Teddy, a high school senior whose future seems to be defined by the fact that he’s a talented pianist.

The prim and proper Beth is more upset than her son that he has only received average scores on his SATs. While Teddy believes his musical talent will help him be accepted into a prestigious college, his mother is struggling during the pressure of his college admissions process.

Beth soon learns from her peers that Teddy can get extra time on the all-important standardized test if he’s injured. Determined to help him be accepted into an elite university, she decides to do whatever it takes to get the testing outcome she wants – even if it means taking matters into her own hands and wounding her own son.

‘Princeton’s in the Mix’s features a clever blend of social satire on elite classism, particularly when it comes to education, with thriller and horror elements. The short serves as an engaging and thought-provoking exploration into how privileged but equally insecure parents no longer see – or have never seen – their children’s abilities in their educational journeys.

Burns helped drive the character development DiMaio created for the short, particularly when it comes to the excesses of privilege. Through her campy physical mannerisms, notably the unnerving determination in her eyes, the actress highlights the pressures that collegiate acceptance has on parents. Beth is the epitome of the warping of society’s higher education admissions process. Teddy, meanwhile, is more accepting of whatever test results he receives without cheating.

The film’s technical aspects also evoke the perfect blend of narrative tones, from black comedy to thrilling suspense. The movie’s cinematographer, Jason Joseffer used engaging lighting techniques to highlight the story’s shift in tones. The narrative begins on brighter lights to emphasize Beth’s initial hope that she can find an easy way for Teddy to earn a higher score on the SATs. But the lighting becomes dimmer as she slowly begins to realize that her son isn’t willing to go along with her devious plan to cheat during his college application process.

While ‘Princeton’s in the Mix’ is an at-times over-the-top campy black comedy, overall DiMaio’s new short is an ingenious exploration into elite classism, particularly when it comes to education. The thriller features the perfect blend of social satire and horror elements that explores how a status-obsessed mother cares more about privilege than her child’s principled beliefs. Led by Burn’s stellar and campy performance, the project is an engaging and thought-provoking short film that’s driven by the disadvantages of elitism, academic cheating and parental pressure.