Family dysfunction coincides with a woman’s decision to undergo preventative surgeries to reduce her risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.

Synopsis

When Danielle, a a happily married thirty-something, tests positive for a BRCA1 gene mutation, she learns that this puts her at a very high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Thanks a lot, DNA. She now struggles with daily life, working at her bakery with her hubby Pat and hanging out with her clueless best buds on game night. Her older, smart-alecky sister Amy 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 screwed up childhood with absent parents, bizarre anesthesia-induced dreams, and toxic confrontations with her recovering alcoholic mother and self-absorbed YEEHAW-filled 70's TV Western star father. Ultimately, Danielle must figure out how to prioritize her health and well-being by putting herself first. 

"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 400 individuals worldwide carry a BRCA gene mutation.

Origin

Devin Sidell, who will be playing Danielle, 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.  Before her reconstruction surgery, she shot footage for the film that openly exhibits her scars and expanders so that the audience can truly get a feeling for what a difficult decision this is and how the aftermath honestly looks.