Fundraise for Social Impact Film "At What Cost"

At What Cost is an independent short film led by BIPOC women and film students/ alumni of Boston University in collaboration with Asian Women For Health, a Boston based non-profit.

Story Synopsis

The film follows the journey of Amelia, an Asian American ex-dancer, as she’s forced to confront her childhood trauma in the wake of her mother’s death. While Amelia tries to navigate grief and rebuilds a strained relationship with her younger brother, she also learns to make peace with her past and rediscover the courage to return on-stage.

At What Cost reflects the experience and struggles of immigrant families: the generational divides, the unrealistic expectations and traditional ideals parents force onto their children, the difficulty to express love outwardly. These dynamics often lead to damaged relationships and unspoken mental health concerns, such as loneliness and imposter syndrome, that are especially common in Asian-American youths.

Social Impact

We hope the film can give voices to the BIPOC immigrant community and struggling artists whose stories are often not represented in the popular media and the white male-dominated film industry. We also aim to make a difference both on screen and off-screen through this film. Funds raised through the GoFundMe will go towards both the production and a Boston-based local non-profit, Asian Women For Health (AWFH).

“AWFH is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing health and wellness for Asian women and underrepresented people through education and advocacy. We envision a world where underrepresented people are well-informed, have access to care that is culturally appropriate and high quality, and inspired to live happy, healthy lives.” https://www.asianwomenforhealth.org/

20% of the proceeds will be donated to AWFH in support of their mission. The other 80% of funds raised will go towards a variety of production and post-production costs including craft services, location fees, equipment, transportation, film festival submissions, and premiere logistics. We will be having a premiere in December 2023 in collaboration with AWFH to reach the Boston community before submitting the film to festivals this winter.

Director/Writer's Statement

My name is Christine Jiaqi An, and I’m the writer/director of At What Cost. As an Asian immigrant and artist myself, bringing this story to life feels incredibly personal, exciting, but also terrifying at the same time. Writing the story has been both a vulnerable and healing experience as it challenged me to make peace with my own past, reconnect with my culture, and to confront the fears I have as a BIPOC woman filmmaker in this competitive industry.

I feel incredibly lucky to be able to turn the script into a full-scale production with the help of friends and many talented filmmakers in the BU community. Currently, all production costs are coming directly from the money I saved up from scholarship and stipend (earned through a non-profit internship I completed this past semester and summer), which is why the money raised through this GoFundMe will be extremely helpful to alleviate production costs and to elevate our vision.

I hope this film can resonate with people who are undergoing similar experiences and push us to examine our own dreams & costs. I also hope to make this a memorable experience for the entire cast & crew. We are here to build community, showcase talents while uniting to tell a meaningful story.

Producer Statement

My name is Maggie Borgen, and I am the producer of At What Cost. As a woman of color, I am always excited to support meaningful BIPOC-centered stories. I am incredibly honored to be a part of the project and am inspired by Christine’s storytelling. My grandmother is an immigrant so I resonate with the story on a personal level as well as the community impact that At What Cost will have. The whole team is passionate about bringing this story to life and I am grateful to be a part of it.

We began pre-production for the project in May 2023 and have a cast/crew of over thirty people so far. The crew consists of Boston University students with the actors being from multiple places, including outside of Boston. Pre-production meets have been happening throughout the summer. Production will be throughout September which is why any funds donated will directly impact the project. We hope that the project resonates with you and that you can help us bring this social impact short film to a larger audience.

Community Engagement

If anyone in the Boston area is interested in participating in the film, we would love to include you as an audience-extra (sign up using this link: https://forms.gle/BTkfTzNimbdAiEDV8).

In collaboration with AWFH, we hope the film premiere in December can bring together people to celebrate stories that resonate with the community, and potentially highlight other Asian-American filmmakers and their work. Please contact or reach out to us @atwhatcost.film on instagram if you are interested in participating or being featured at the premiere. Thank you so much for your time and support!