Announcing Dirty Laundry, the first narrative feature film by 12 Stars Media

When the 12 Stars Media team visited San Francisco in April, 2023 to film a client project, they woke up at 3am to capture the sunrise over the Golden Gate Bridge - a surreal experience that had them feeling pretty invincible. Less than 24 hours later, their vehicle was a target for a smash and grab looting. They watched helplessly as thieves smashed their car window and stole more than $20,000 worth of equipment and priceless content. The horrifying experience would be enough to smother any creative flame, but 12 Stars Media cofounder Rocky Walls used it as motivation to try something new: writing a narrative film.

“As I sat in the San Francisco Airport, despondent, I realized I needed something else to focus on—a creative distraction,” Walls said. “So, I started writing. I didn’t start writing with the intention to have anything to show for it later, but something took hold of me and I just couldn’t stop. I wrote for a week straight, the whole time still in a mild shock from the experience in San Francisco, and came out on the other side with a screenplay for a fictional narrative film.”

Walls and his crew—comprised entirely of Indiana residents with a Hoosier-heavy cast as well—will begin principal photography on their first narrative feature film, Dirty Laundry, this week at a nostalgic and local laundromat. It will be filmed entirely in Indianapolis and Noblesville. The cast includes Mitchell Wray and Charlie Schultz, both Hamilton County, Indiana residents who had never met until their first year attending the same college, Savannah College of Art and Design. Indianapolis arts and theater legend, Deborah Asante, will also bring her talent to the film.

Dirty Laundry is a nostalgic story about friendship set in the 90s. When a mysterious stranger interrupts a laundry routine with words of wisdom and a random magic trick, two best friends find themselves inexplicably incapable of lying. As they work together to break the spell, they discover how much is at stake when the truth comes out.

It’s uncharted territory for 12 Stars Media, a team that has poured its energy into documentaries until now.

“I never thought I’d write a fictional film. Like, never,” Walls said. “I love documentary filmmaking. A blank page usually paralyzes me. I love witnessing, listening to and shaping the stories of the people I meet. So, I’m more surprised and excited than anyone to share that 12 Stars Media will produce and release our first feature narrative film in 2024!” Walls hopes to host Dirty Laundry’s world premiere in Indiana in Fall 2024.

There’s also a funny story behind a key scene and the setting for the film. Over the past couple of years, Walls had developed a silly idea that he often shared with the team at 12 Stars Media whenever they’d drive by a laundromat. “It was just a joke, but I told them I had this idea to film a reality/game show type series where we’d invite strangers to reveal their secrets while seated, backlit behind a makeshift, white bedsheet ‘curtain,’” Walls said. “The visual would be very witness protection-esque, and the content would be silly stuff like, ‘When I was 10 years old, I destroyed my sister’s favorite Barbie doll out of spite, but blamed it on our dog and to this day she still doesn’t know the truth.’”

Walls admitted it was a half-baked idea at best, but it still helped inspire the screenplay. “Just like our experience with the smash-and-grab in San Francisco, this random idea got woven right into the weird, creative sprint that produced my first screenplay,” Walls said.

Follow along with the production of the film on 12 Stars Media’s Instagram and Facebook posts.