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Love, Danielle, First Scripted Feature on BRCA Gene Mutation, to Screen at the Garden State Film Festival
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MEDIA RELEASE
Please join us for a special screening of Love, Danielle at the 23rd Annual Garden State Film Festival on Sunday, March 30, 2025, at 11:45 AM. The event will take place at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel, located at 1401 Ocean Avenue in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
Following the screening, there will be a Q&A session with Garden State’s Best Actress Nominee Devin Sidell, whose personal journey inspired the film, and Executive Producer and BRCA expert Amy Byer Shainman.
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Tickets can be purchased through the Garden State Film Festival's official website:
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ABOUT THE FILM
Love, Danielle is the first scripted feature film to tackle the completely absurd decisions and issues faced by an individual who carries a BRCA gene mutation but has not been diagnosed with cancer. It is estimated that around 1 in 200-400 individuals worldwide carries a BRCA gene mutation.
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The dramedy film from Devin Sidell (Co-writer, Producer, Star as Danielle) and Amy Byer Shainman (Executive Producer, Activist and BRCA Expert) is a deeply personal and emotionally resonant story about a woman who carries a BRCA gene mutation and must decide whether or not to remove her breasts and ovaries to reduce her cancer risk. When Danielle tests positive for a BRCA1 gene mutation, she learns that this puts her at a very high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Her older sister Amy (Jaime King) is already undergoing chemotherapy for a breast cancer diagnosis. Danielle now contemplates preemptively removing her "ticking time bomb" breasts and reproductive organs before cancer gets her, too. Her decision-making process involves flashbacks of her childhood with absent parents, bizarre anesthesia-induced dreams, and toxic confrontations with her recovering alcoholic mother (Lesley Ann Warren) and self-absorbed 70's TV Western star father (Barry Bostwick). Ultimately, Danielle must figure out how to prioritize her health and well-being by putting herself first.
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|  | Devin Sidell
Actress, Writer, Producer
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In 2017, after receiving a positive BRCA 1 gene mutation diagnosis, actress and activist Devin Sidell decided to undergo a preventative double mastectomy and preventative hysterectomy/oophorectomy earning her the label of “previvor,” someone who has a predisposition to developing cancer but has not yet been diagnosed. Sidell is BRCA-1 positive and underwent a preventative oophorectomy/hysterectomy in November 2016 while her older sister was undergoing chemotherapy for Triple-Negative, Stage 2B breast cancer. Sidell’s mother survived Stage 3C ovarian cancer in 1994 as well as breast cancer in 2012. Her mother’s sister passed away from ovarian cancer in 1996. In December 2017, Sidell opted to undergo a preventative double-mastectomy. Since her diagnosis, Devin has become a spokesperson for women taking fate into their own hands and encouraging them to partake in genetic testing. She is also a co-writer, star and executive producer of the first scripted feature film about the decisions an individual who carries the BRCA gene mutation must face.
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Amy Byer Shainman
Actress, Writer, Co-Producer
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Amy Byer Shainman, also known as BRCA Responder, is an advocate, author, and producer providing support and education surrounding BRCA and other hereditary cancer syndromes. She is the executive producer of the award-winning documentary Pink & Blue: Colors of Hereditary Cancer and the new feature film about the decisions one has to face when diagnosis with BRCA gene mutation, Love, Danielle. Shainman is a BRCA1 gene mutation carrier and "previvor.” In 2010, she had two prophylactic surgeries to reduce her cancer risk drastically: a nipple-sparing, skin-sparing mastectomy with reconstruction and oophorectomy with a hysterectomy. Cure Magazine, The Jewish Journal, and The Palm Beach Post have featured Shainman's story. She has also appeared on numerous live and taped television and radio segments nationwide. As a digital ambassador for the National Society of Genetic Counselors gene pool, Shainman is considered one of fifteen influencers who have unique perspectives and knowledge in the fields of genetics and genetic counseling. She is an administrator for the largest female-only BRCA support group on social media. Shainman has published articles in The American Journal of Managed Care, Jupiter Magazine, and Oncology Nursing News.
Shainman's medical memoir Resurrection Lily: The BRCA Gene, Hereditary Cancer & Lifesaving Whispers from the Grandmother I Never Knew has won over a dozen literary awards and was the December 2020 book club selection of The National Library of Medicine.
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We look forward to your presence at this screening of Love, Danielle where we can engage in meaningful discussions about the film and the important issues it addresses.
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