USA Projects

Q: How far will a well educated, underpaid, twenty something Brooklyn hipster go to sleep through the night again?

A: TEXAS!

Though I plan to apply for two additional small grants, I am relying primarily on this US Artist campaign to completely fund the production and post production of my new feature film, tentatively titled “LOVES HER GUN”. I have set a minimum amount which will allow us to get through production on the most complex part of the film (the scenes shot in New York City, North Carolina, and Louisiana).  I hope to ultimately raise roughly three times the minimum to completely fund the film, so please consider supporting us even if we reach our modest goal. However, if you can help me reach $7000 by mid August, we will begin shooting this exciting project immediately, as in literally the very next week!

“Loves Her Gun” is a cautionary tale of transformation, crime, guns, and hipsters. The narrative film follows Allie as she leaves Brooklyn, New York running away from a violent attack and an uneasy social life. She hooks up with an absurd band of karate rock musicians from Austin and embarks on a fast paced road trip across the south. Once she settles into the slower paced slacker lifestyle of central Texas, she finds new friends, work with her hands, a crummy place to live on the east side, cool water to tube in, and several new love interests. Despite all this some of the same old problems follow her. After the BBQ’s and skinny dipping parties, there is still crime, and possible violence against women is a legitimate fear anywhere. As Allie struggles to find new ways to feel strong and in control here in her new environment, she walks the fine line between reasonable self preservation and paranoid withdrawal. As she spends more time on the shooting range than she does in her apartment, can she maintain healthy relationships, or will the weapons she uses to protect herself actually cause new problems worse than the ones she was fleeing?

This film will be my second feature film. Last year I completed the super low budget feature animated romantic comedy, “MARS”. “MARS” included a stellar cast including Mark Duplass, Zoe Simpson, Howe Gelb, Liza Weil, Cynthia Watros, Mike Dolan, Paul Gordon, Nicole Atkins, James Kochalka and Don Hertzfeldt. I co-wrote the software we used for the character animation, and the original soundtrack included Giant Sand, Neko Case, Jason Lytle, Victoria Williams, Kristin Hersh, and John Convertino. With it’s innovative look and their stellar performances, “MARS” went on to play at dozens of film festivals worldwide including South by Southwest, The British Film Institute’s London Film Festival, Sitges Fantastic Fest, Brooklyn Academy of Music Cinema Fest, Instanbul Independent Film Festival, Holland Animation Festival, Sidewalk Moving Pictures, BendFilm, The Maryland Film Festival, Perth Revelation Film Festival, and many more. Along the way it won awards at The Dallas Video Fest, San Francisco Independent Film Festival, IndieMemphis, and Just For Laughs Comedy Fest in Chicago. My short films have been worldwide on television and in theatres, including PBS, HBO, Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted, and Univision.

I know this is a very modest budget to complete a feature project with, but my experience making short films, and now features, in Austin, Texas really has taught me to stretch my dollar, while making a professional product. I am lucky enough to utilize my friends and students as collaborators, and I have worked very hard to create this project with our resources in mind. Like I did with “MARS”, I want to try innovative ways of telling a story. In “MARS” I used 3D backgrounds and rotoscoped actors. In “Loves Her Gun” I want to use unique locations, costumes, and stop motion animation to tell my tale. I want to produce a film that surprises the audience and offers something very different from the rest of the films they are likely to see.

I have assembled a wonderfully talented group of actors, crew members, and musicians to help me create this film. I am very proud of the script that I co-wrote with Austin writer Lauren Modery. Most of all, I am excited to delve into a dramatic film (most of my previous work has been experimental or comedic). This will be a adventure, and with your help, I believe we can make a thoroughly interesting film. Please feel free to follow the links to my previous work, articles about “MARS”, or message me directly if you have any questions about the project.

Thank you for considering supporting “Loves Her Gun”.