The main goal of my thesis project is to make a suspenseful film that not only hooks the audience but also informs them about the prevalence of domestic abuse in the Indian immigrant community. My story depicts the troubles of a young Indian immigrant woman living with an abusive husband. The first chapter explains my motivation for making a suspenseful film and discusses the potential problems I might face in making a Telugu (an Indian Language) film in America. In Chapter two, I discuss various theories about suspense that have been developed by researchers across many different disciplines such as film theory, communication studies and cognitive science. I also discuss the "circle of violence theory" that tries to explain how abusive spouses interact with their partners. Chapter three discusses the various cinematic tools and techniques that I will use to create suspense in my plot. The practicalities of production ultimately forced a change in the focus of the film from domestic abuse within the Indian immigrant community to domestic violence within the lesbian community. The reasons for this change are discussed in a concluding chapter. The screenplay for the film can be found in Appendix A. The DVD is available for viewing in the Media Center of Love Library.
