Madame X is a witty period short film about the scandal surrounding John Singer Sargent’s Portrait of Madame X and the woman whose life it upended: the painting’s subject, Amélie Gautreau. Set in Paris in the 1880s and ending in the present day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the film follows Amélie as one fallen dress strap turns from a private act of rebellion into a public catastrophe that simultaneously ruins her reputation while immortalizing both Sargent’s painting and the scandal, itself. Told as a playful dramedy with modern teeth, Madame X explores gendered scrutiny, artistic responsibility, and the slow, stubborn justice of history.
The Team
We're Mario and Roxy, the founders of All You Can Eat Productions and the writers and producers of Madame X. We're also best friends of almost 10 years with a demonstrated history of collaboration. Our web series, Filthy Rich, is available for viewing on Amazon Prime Video. We both wrote and starred in that project and Roxy co-directed alongside Bree Fleck and Andrew Gillespie. Roxy also starred in a reading of Mario's play, The Second Coming, at Mabou Mines. Most recently, we both adapted Stefan Zweig's novella, The Royal Game, into a one-man show that premiered at Wild Project, with Mario starring in it and Roxy directing. We've been working on Madame X for almost three years and we're so excited to finally step into the roles of John Singer Sargent and Amelie Gautreau. We're also so grateful to be teaming up with an incredibly talented cast & crew:
Dr. Pozzi - Will Burns Marie - Robyn Ferracane Director - Roxy Arecco DP - Coby Wise Gaffer - Luke Marino Sound Mixer - Matthew King 1st Assistant Director - Caroline Bennett 1st Assistant Camera - Dylan Lipitz 2nd Assistant Camera - Kamaryn Pecoraro Boom Operator - Casandra Lleras Script Supervisor - Christin Balan Key Grip - Ehtashuan Nazar Fight Director - Ida Mihok Costumers - Joy Grad & Roxy Arecco Props/set - Mario del Cubo
The Shoot
We'll be shooting in less than two weeks at the gorgeous, historic Bartow-Pell Mansion in Pelham Bay Park. The Bartow-Pell Mansion One of the rooms we're shooting in at the Bartow-Pell John Singer Sargent with the Portrait of Madame X
Why should we make this film?
A contemporary take on an outdated genre: Most period pieces can be quite stuffy and inaccessible to a younger audience. We’re prioritizing humor with witty, fast-paced dialogue and contemporary language to capture our target audience’s attention and expose them to an impactful artist and moment in art history that they may have otherwise missed entirely.
The first to tell the story: Though described as the “leading portrait painter of his generation,"John Singer Sargent is relatively untouched in the current media landscape besides some books, a couple of small-scale theater pieces, and a brief cameo in HBO’s TheGilded Age. Madame X will put the spotlight on this brilliant artist, his scandal, and, more importantly, the subject of his painting in a way that has never been done before.
Tone & Style
Sharp, contemporary dialogue with period aesthetics. Think The Favourite...
The Favourite
The Great... The Great and Dickinson ! Dickinson
Themes
Autonomy vs. Image Ownership: Amélie believes her appearance is the only part of her life she truly controls. Sitting for a portrait means surrendering that control to someone else’s interpretation. The film tracks how catastrophic that surrender becomes when society owns the narrative more than she does.
Gendered Double Standards: Male desire is celebrated while female desire is punished. Dr. Pozzi’s erotically charged portrait makes him more famous, while Amélie’s similarly provocative image ruins her. The same artist, similar sensual cues, and opposite outcomes expose how men and women are judged by wildly different standards for the same behavior.
Artistic Vision vs. Responsibility: Can creative integrity exist under social and financial pressure? John sees the fallen strap as an honest, electrifying detail that makes the painting great. The film interrogates whether an artist’s commitment to “truth” absolves them of responsibility for the real-world consequences experienced by their subjects.
Scandal & Legacy: The contrast between immediate outrage and historical reverence. What was once obscene becomes canonical. By ending in 2026 with the painting safely enshrined at the Met, the film explores how time and institutions can sanitize scandal, and how the subject’s suffering is often forgotten while the artist’s genius is celebrated.
Funding
We've received a $5,000 grant from the Inwood Film Festival Filmmaker Fund, with automatic acceptance into their festival once the film is finished.
Inwood Art Works Logo
With just a couple of weeks until our shoot, we urgently need help reaching out fundraising goal. Our budget prioritizes the payment of our cast and crew as well as period-accurate sets, costumes, and props so audiences feel fully immersed in Belle Epoque Paris.
This is an ambitious yet producible 15 minute short designed for festival submission and as a proof of concept for an already-written feature expanding on Sargent and Amélie’s friendship, their personal relationships, and how the scandal impacted both of their lives.
With your support, we’ll bring this infamous painting and the woman inside it to life on screen. Thank you!
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