About the Film

In 2007 the short film, The Job, premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. The Job was produced by Screaming Frog Productions and was Jonathan Browning’s writing & directorial debut.

In order to attend the festival, he and his wife (Leslie McManus) packed a cooler with food and drove from LA to Austin. At the end of the film festival, Jonathan started the long trek back to LA. (His wife being smarter and busier took a flight.) 

Before leaving Austin he had a brief phone conversation with his older sister, Kim. Earlier in the week she had attended a “sex toy party” and wanted to share the experience with him. She talked about how liberating, fun and exciting the party had been for her. How rare it was to have an opportunity to talk openly and honestly with another group of women. 

On those long stretches of highway, Jonathan had plenty of time to mull over the misconceptions people had about what “type of women” attended “those parties”. His sister wasn’t “one of those women”. She is an incredible mother, a fantastic sister and a genuinely dear sweet person. That’s when it hit him, “Maybe she was exactly the type of woman who attended those parties!”  Somewhere outside of Tucson The Party was born.

Upon his return to Los Angeles, Jonathan started developing his ideas. He began by contacting women in his family and circle of close friends. He spent several months asking them questions about love, sex, life, fear and hope. (He is deeply indebted to them for being so open and for sharing their stories with him.)

He then reached out to Jason Pardo, a trusted friend and an amazingly talented writer & comedic talent. Together they wrote the script for The Party.

When it came time to cast, Jonathan & Jason turned to some of the most talented actors in Los Angeles…who, as luck would have it, were also great friends of theirs. Using improvised rehearsals and mock parties, Jonathan & Jason worked with the cast to capture an honest and realistic portrayal of a cross section of women in a variety of situations.

Finally, they built an amazing crew of talented men and women to round out the project.

The Party is the result of inventive and passionate people coming together to create something truly original and incredibly honest. This short, like The Job, is truly a team effort and only exists because so many people believed in it.