Angelina Lilliana's LGBTQ+ Coming-of-Age Feature Sets Up Production in Morristown, New Jersey for Summer 2026

An untitled feature film written and directed by Angelina Lilliana is gearing up for a focused summer shoot in Morristown, New Jersey, with cameras set to roll from August 7 through August 23, 2026. The project is currently in casting and pre-production, meaning the hiring window for crew and talent is open right now. With a compact 17-day principal photography schedule on the books and a location already confirmed, this production is moving with clear intention, and professionals in the tri-state area would be smart to get on the radar early.

Lilliana serves as both writer and director on the project, which centers on a teenage girl navigating self-discovery, identity, and the social pressures that come with being out as LGBTQ+. It is a story with clear personal stakes and a specific point of view, the kind of material that tends to attract committed, mission-driven creative teams. Co-writer Mackenna Moslander shares screenplay credit with Lilliana, and Moslander is also listed as a producer on the project, suggesting a tight, creatively aligned core team at the helm. While Lilliana and Moslander may not yet carry the name recognition of more established industry veterans, that is precisely the kind of emerging filmmaking voice that working crew in the indie space often point to years later as an early career highlight.

The producing team is a three-person unit consisting of Mariah Morgenstern, Yvonne Cangelosi, and Mackenna Moslander. Morgenstern is also serving as casting director, a dual role that reflects the lean, hands-on structure common to independent features at this scale. That kind of producer-casting director overlap is a practical signal to talent and agents: submissions and inquiries about casting should flow through Morgenstern. The production company context has not been publicly detailed at this stage, and no studio or streaming platform has been announced, which is consistent with an independent feature in early pre-production. The budget tier and distribution strategy are not yet confirmed, but the tight shoot window, single-location base, and small producing team all point to a nimble, low-to-mid budget independent production.

Morristown, New Jersey is a sensible and strategically sound choice for an independent feature of this scale. Situated in Morris County in the northern part of the state, Morristown offers genuine small-town and suburban texture that maps well onto a coming-of-age story, along with proximity to New York City that makes it an easy reach for department heads and specialized crew who may not be based locally. New Jersey's Film and Digital Media Tax Credit program provides a transferable credit of up to 35 percent on qualified production expenses, which is a meaningful incentive for productions filming in the state and one that almost certainly factors into the location decision here. The state has seen a steady increase in independent feature activity in recent years, and while it does not have the deep below-the-line crew infrastructure of Atlanta or Los Angeles, its proximity to New York means productions based in Morristown can draw from one of the largest crew pools in the country.

The 17-day shoot is tight, and that compression matters for crew planning. A schedule this lean favors experienced heads of department who can move fast, make decisions on the fly, and work efficiently within constrained resources. The genre, a grounded, character-driven coming-of-age drama, does not suggest heavy VFX or stunt requirements, but it does point toward a production that will place real demands on its casting team, its costume and hair and makeup departments to authentically portray teenage life, and its locations department to secure the variety of real-world environments a story like this typically requires. Authenticity of setting will matter enormously to a film built around social identity and adolescent experience, so the locations and production design teams will carry meaningful creative weight here. Given the current casting phase, actors, agents, and managers should be reaching out to Morgenstern now, while crew across key departments should be positioning themselves for conversations in the coming months as the production moves deeper into pre-production.

ProductionList.com has the full listing for this project, including production contacts, office details, and crew information as it becomes available. Because this one is still in early pre-production with months before the shoot begins, there is real runway to get in front of the right people before positions are filled. Check the listing now, bookmark it for updates, and move on it before the summer staffing push begins in earnest.

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